Euro DIVES amid fears Italy’s referendum is beginning of the END of EU
ITALY’s referendum could be the beginning of the end for the European Union (EU), investment experts warned, as markets remained on edge ahead of Sunday’s crucial vote.
By LANA CLEMENTS
Express.co.uk
Tue, Nov 29, 2016
The euro tumbled against both the pound and the dollar today, as fears for the bloc’s future gathered pace.
Markets are gearing up for political and financial turmoil if Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi loses the vote, as expected, over constitutional reform.
The last poll ahead of the vote gave the ‘no’ campaign against reforms a five per cent lead.
It is thought an anti-euro party could replace the leader, sparking contagion in Spain and Portugal.
More immediately, Mr Renzi’s failure is likely to plunge Italy’s fragile banking sector into chaos, sending panic waves across Europe’s financial system.
As many as eight of Italian lenders could buckle amid a crisis of investor confidence in the country, it is feared.
Darius McDermott, managing director of FundCalibre, said: “If Renzi loses, European market reaction may well be stronger and longer than we have seen in the post-Brexit and post-Trump days as investors worry that this could be the beginning of the end for the EU.
“It could be a serious trigger point and bad for risk assets.
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