Silvio Berlusconi

The financial crisis facing the European Union claimed another member country's leader when Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc announced on Monday his decision to step down. Prime Minister Boc said that he was resigning in order to reduce political and social tension that had been growing after weeks...

Tensions are rising in Germany and the United Kingdom due to a Friday meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron. The two European Union leaders are scheduled to meet today to discuss issues surrounding the European financial crisis. Prime Minister...

From his friendship with Gaddafi to his apparent reluctance to even begin to pull his country out of the mire, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has set new bars for leadership ineptitude during his time at the top. He has been stubbornly sticking to his nonsensical principles, but it seems...

"8 1/2" was a great movie, but having bond yields approach that number is downright scary. Last night, the London Clearing House disrupted markets even further than they already are by raising margins on Italian debt, sending yields on Italian, and French debt soaring. The yield on Italian ten...

Hot off the presses, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced he will resign after the 2012 budget is passed. As a result, gold is moving lower, giving up some of its gains. It is currently trading at $1,795.40, up less than $5 an ounce today. Italy just approved the 2010 budget...

Italian bond yields hit a record on Monday, signaling that the European debt crisis is entering its next phase. The spread between Italian bonds and German bunds reached as high as 491 basis points during today's trading session. Although yields have been widening in recent weeks, today's record...

From Greece to Italy, the fire keeps burning in Europe, just in a different country on the continent. There were rumors early this morning that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was going to resign, as first reported by Italian newspaper Foglio. This sent the Italian stock market, the...

Everyone and their brother was euphoric yesterday, as equity markets acted like Europe had solved its problems overnight. Sorry to be the bearer of bad bad news, but it did not. There were no concrete details on how the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) will be leveraged, how the...

If you have been heartened by the recent rally in stock prices and were thinking about searching for some bargains, we have a quote that might make you reconsider. This is the type of thing that you simply can't make up and borders on the surreal. According to Bloomberg, "Italian Prime Minister...

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday downgraded its ratings of Italian bonds to A2 with a negative outlook, down three levels from the previous rating of Aa2. Moody's Investors Service went on to say that all but the highest rated eurozone countries were also under pressure and could face future...

Here in the States, our politicians give us plenty of sex scandals, but over on the other side of the Atlantic, the Europeans take the concept to whole new levels of decadence and, in the case of Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, rock 'n' roll-style debauchery. Take note, Republicans and Democrats –...