I just spent 10 days on vacation in Italy, and besides the amazing ruins, breathtaking art, delicious food, fabulous wine and exotic locales (Venice is like being in another world!), I was treated to a daily dose of frenzy in the local media about Europe's public-debt crisis.

Greece was the latest troubled nation in the spotlight as European leaders raced to strike a sovereign debt-relief deal to stave off an outright default that could reverberate not only throughout the continent, but around the world.

Italy was very much on the hot seat as well the week I was in town, pressured by its fellow European Community members to get a better handle on its own debt problems by making big, politically unpopular budget cuts.

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