Rome — Italy’s central bank warned on Tuesday the country was only "a few short steps" from losing investors’ confidence, as financial markets suffered the biggest sell-off in years on fears that repeat elections would become a proxy vote on euro membership. Bank of Italy governor Ignazio Visco raised the alarm as investors dumped Italian bonds, causing the biggest one-day leap in short-term market interest rates in almost three decades, and as the head of state sought to install a stopgap government. "We must never forget that we are only ever a few short steps away from the very serious risk of losing the irreplaceable asset of trust," Visco said. President Sergio Mattarella has designated former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as prime minister to calm political and market turmoil, which Italy’s two anti-establishment parties blame on the head of state. Cottarelli, 64, is set to announce his cabinet later on Tuesday after a meeting with the president in the ...
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