Well, it used to be Greece taking us down daily, but now it is the much larger concern of Italy.  The markets were supposed to be cheering that Silvio Berlusconi was going to step down but then suddenly the fears of who would or could replace him and the uncertainty have set in.  Now Italy’s ten-year yield is not just above 5% and 6%, but above 7%.  Unlike Greece just being a flea on a dog, Italy is even larger than a dog’s tail and it is frankly too big to just get a bailout.

Eni SpA (NYSE: E) is down over 4% around $42.30 and shares are down 3% in Milan.  Luxottica Group SpA (NYSE: LUX) has not traded and we do not yet have Ney Work indications, but shares were down 3.1% in Milan.  Telecom Italia SpA (NYSE: TI) is indicated down around 7% in New York at $11.30 but shares are down 4.5% in local trading in Milan.

Elsewhere in Europe….

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) is down around $1.98 (ouch, 52-week low) after a $2.16 close in New York, and shares are down almost 4% in local trading in Paris.

Arcelor Mittal (NYSE: MT) is down over 8% at $19.03 and BHP Billiton Ltd. (NYSE: BHP) is down 4.5% at $76.47 in New York trading in the early pre-markets.

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) is down 7% at $7.50 in active early New York trading but the stock is down more than 3% in local trading in Madrid.

The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE) is down 1.4% at $5.17 in New York and shares are down 2.2% in local trading in Dublin.

Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) is down 7.1% at $24.77 and UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) is down 6.1% at $11.97 in early New York pre-market trading.

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) is down over 9% at $36.80 in New York and shares are down about 5% in Frankfurt.

France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) has not traded in New York yet but its shares are down 2% in local trading in Paris.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (NYSE: PHG) is indicated down around $19.65 after a $20.86 close in New York for a loss of close to 6%.

LM Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) is indicated down 5% around $10.15; Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK) is down 4.7% at $6.50.

National Bank of Greece SA (NYSE: NBG) is indicated flat to down a couple cents after a $0.59 close in New York but shares are down 4.1% in local trading in Athens.

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is down 4.5% at $98.56 in New York trading and shares are down 1.6% in local trading in Frankfurt.

iShares MSCI Italy Index (NYSE: EWI) is trading down 5.2% at $12.87.

Another rough day is being brought on by the woes of the nanny and endless welfare nations in Europe.  S&P futures are down over 2% with well over two hours until the market opens.

JON C. OGG

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