Italy's 'shock therapy' as eurozone manufacturing buckles

Markit’s manufacturing index for Euroland dropped well below the break-even reading of 50 in October. The data for Italy plunged five points to 43.3, the biggest drop since the survey began in the 1990s.

“Italy is a serious concern. Total and export new orders collapsed,” said Francois Cabau from Barclays Capital. Italy’s economy is almost certainly in a double-dip recession already, exacerbating the country’s fragile debt dynamics.   Full Read