I’ll read both of those articles later; they’re behind a paywall. I’m not an economist, and I’m open to being shown that I’m wrong, but I still think that if It

I’ll read both of those articles later; they’re behind a paywall. I’m not an economist, and I’m open to being shown that I’m wrong, but I still think that if Italy were to default on its debt, there would only be two inevitable consequences: French and German banks would lose a lot of money, and Italy would have serious trouble borrowing at a reasonable rate in the future. I don’t see how anyone could call either of those outcomes “catastrophic” with a straight face. But I can easily see why those who stand to lose a lot of money would want the public to believe that a default would be catastrophic.