Just in case anyone out there's still labouring under the impression that the EU is a nice worry free place to be:
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The IMF has warned that Italy faces two decades of stagnant economic growth.
Its latest report on the country puts growth this year at under 1%, down from its previous 1.1% estimate, and forecasts growth in 2017 of about 1% - down from a 1.25% estimate.
The IMF says Italy will not reach pre-crisis levels until 2025, by which time its neighbours will have economies 20-25% above 2008 levels.
Italy is the third largest eurozone country.
It has 11% unemployment and a banking sector in crisis, with government debt second only to that of Greece.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36770311
We're certainly not isolated from the fallout but better off as far out of the EU as possible I reckon. There's plenty more bad news on the way from that direction and we need to concentrate on developing trade elsewhere.
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Italy's banks are the latest trouble spot for the eurozone.
They are struggling with a burden of bad debt, loans that are unlikely ever to be repaid fully.
They are a potential flashpoint in an economy that has for some time been seen as posing wider risks to the EU's currency area.
Meanwhile, the Italian government is considering a banking sector bailout which could breach European Union rules.
It's the size of the Italian economy and its government debt that makes the country a smouldering financial volcano. The risks are aggravated by the political situation.
It's the third-largest economy in the eurozone. The government debt burden, depending on which figures you look at, is certainly one of the largest in the eurozone, indeed the largest by one measure.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36708357