The crisis takes a much longer time coming than you think, and then it happens much faster than you would have thought. - Rudi Dornbusch

Italians dream that the ECB (European Central Bank) will make their life easier than the Bundesbank does now... The new central bank is certain to establish itself at the outset as a direct continuation of the German central bank.

Once Italy is in, with an appreciated currency, the country will soon be back on the ropes, just as in 1992, when the currency came under attack.

Monetary policy affects the ... of goods and assets and (iii) effects through changes in explicit or implicit real interest rates on aggregate demand.