• Italy completed a series of bond sales today raising 7.5B euros. The figure was just below the maximum 8B euros of the top range. The yield on 3yr paper was 7.89%, near a record for euro-era issuance, and up from 4.93% last month. From Reuters News.
• American Airlines parent AMR Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. With still high fuel prices and unable to control labor costs, the airline was forced to seek protection in an attempt to restructure. From the Wall Street Journal.
• Facebook is considering floating 10% of the company for $10B in an IPO next year. A formal S-1 has not been filed. The company does not disclose revenues, but that massive valuation would rest atop an estimated $1.6B in annual sales. From Reuters News.
• The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that economic growth forecasts have been cut to .9% this year, and .7% in 2012, from 1.7% and 2.5%, respectively. He also said that recession will be difficult to avoid if the European debt crisis remains unresolved. Sticking by austerity measures will be challenging, to say the least. From Bloomberg News.