Italy is real eurozone endgame, says top credit quant

Edward Altman sees Italy as the litmus test for Euro survival

Italy is the key to the survival of the euro rather than Spain, as has generally been assumed, according to a top credit quant.

Speaking on a panel discussion at New York University's Stern business school's annual alumni conference in London, Edward Altman, Max Heine professor of finance at the school, said that according to his models, eurozone members could probably finance a Spanish bail-out, but the picture for Italy was more uncertain and would prove pivotal to the single currency's