Safety-first approach to aid

Stabilizing the euro important for international monetary system, but BRICS want guarantees on any investment

The eurozone debt crisis is continuing to spread. The Italian sovereign debt market has been shocked by sell-offs in recent weeks as the yield for 10-year government bonds rose to 7 percent; a figure that is unsustainable, because the cost to Italy of refinancing the debt is untenable. If this situation continues, Italy will have to follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal to the doors of the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek help.

But Italy is not like these other countries. It is the third largest economy in the eurozone. It is too big to fail. Yet the cost of rescuing it is too big to pay.