US hedge funds are placing large bets against the value of Italian government debt, directly shorting the bonds of the eurozone’s third largest economy. The funds have increased the size of short positions in the last month, speculating that investor concerns over the country’s ability to fund itself may spread from Europe’s periphery to Italy, according to investors in the funds briefed on the strategy.According to this theory they are capitalizing on Italy's presumed insolvency, in fact they are creating it.
https://www.alphametrix.com/blog/2011/07/10/us-hedge-funds-bet-against-italian-bonds/
