Italy's debt crisis worsens and no solution in sight

• Gold blips above USD1,800
• Berlusconi promises to resign so Asian stocks rally temporarily

The question is: Is Italy's debt problem down to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi or is it systemic and really caused by a global banking system that is out of control.

Obviously it would be easier to control if Berlusconi's resignation woudl somehow magically turn Italy around but why should it? After all if the solution is already on the table why would the Italian PM refuse it?

Perhaps his fellow Italian parliamentarians are just too scared to contemplate the truth and they would rather try to stave off the inevitable by offering Berlusconi as a sacrifice to temporarily satisfy the market and wait and see what happens.

Gold continues its steady rise today, pipping the USD1,800 mark briefly yesterday and is now settling in the USD1785 -1795 range.

If gold persists to rise, be prepared for a lot worse, plus there is the looming Israeli invasion of Iran that some analysts say will lead to stratospherical oil prices, suggesting that it could go as high as USD300 to USD500 per barrel.

This may well translate to RM10 per litre for us.

Read more HERE, HERE  and watch a video of Berlusconi's humiliating defeaet in a parliamentary vote HERE

Euro summit may miss deadline, collapse imminent

The Crisis in Europe is looking ever more likely to implode as European heads of Government and their bankers struggle to cobble together a deal that to put to be Greece's debt crisis but hurdles after hurdles keep coming up.

In the last days of the crisis, it now appears that they may miss the deadline and many analysts say this may lead to the collapse of the Euro, this chorus of doom is led by none other than former US Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan.

click on the links below for more

Greenspan: Why European Union doomed to fail - CNBC
Fears Euro summit could miss final deal - FT
US Stocks end sharply lower on Euro worries - CNBC 
European investors fret ahead of Key European meeting - FT

While European leaders are struggling to save the union, Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi's government may collapse under the weight of his many scandals.

Italian Government on brink of collapse - FT