Italian PM 'surprised' by Obama's praise

AIG will sell its aircraft leasing business. Mario Monti will resign from his position as a Prime Minister. DJIA on green as HP and other tech giants showed improvement. Uncertainty in gold prices as taxes are expected to rise.   

When Mario Draghi (now ECB President), had oversight of the Italian bank system as Bank of Italy Governor, the Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Italy's third largest bank) hid information on the derivatives transactions between 2006 and 2009. This information is just now out, and shares of the bank have plunged 22% in a few days. Mario Draghi ought to be under fire, but he says it's a "Matter for the Italian Authorities". The Mish translation is "It's a Matter for the Italian Authorities, to Sweep Under the Rug".

Yesterday, the man planted by Goldman to be Italy's unelected leader in November 2011, officially stepped down and shortly thereafter his government was dissolved in advance of the February 25, 2013 elections.

Anti-euro sentiment in Italy is already very strong and about to get stronger. Eurointellihence has come interesting comments today regarding Italy. The demonstrations and protests [in Spain] are very likely now to spread  to Italy. The country’s largest union, CGIL, said there would be a public-sector strike in September to oppose the Italian government latest austerity plan, Il Fatto Quotidiano reports.

Conditions at the EU summit are breaking down more than expected thanks to a position taken by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. Acting like a spoiled brat in a game of marbles, Monti refuses to let anyone else play unless he gets the big green marble he wants. In less colorful terms, Bloomberg explains Monti Withholds EU Growth Pact Approval Unless He Gets Interest Rate Relief.

The G-20 summit is over. As expected, the two-day summit produced nothing but bickering. On day one, European Commission president Jose Barroso kicked things off by sniping at a Canadian reporter and blaming the US for Europe's problems. UK Independent Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage responded by calling Barroso a "delusional idiot".