Italian populist rule risk ‘underestimated’

Investors may be underestimating the chance of a Eurosceptic, populist government taking power in Italy, one expert on the country warned this week, as the Five Star Movement and Northern League on Thursday made strong progress on forming a coalition — without any mainstream parties. When the general election in early March failed to deliver a government, such a coalition was widely deemed the worst possible outcome for the market — particularly as one of the few policies the duo share is a looser fiscal policy.