The fourth and final Italian Presidential ballot — scheduled for later today — is destined for failure after Berlusconi said his party would not take part.
The three previous ballots required a two-thirds majority but the final vote only needed 50.1%. There is chatter that Bersani could give up leadership of his party.
At the moment, the market is focused on the ECB and Schaeuble, not Italy. With so many moving parts, headline risk is abnormally high in Europe at the moment — tread cautiously.
