Airstrip One

A rather technical review of a rather technical book by John Brimelow, brother of Peter. Hidden in it is a gem:

"Dunbar directly asserts, and supports with a detailed discussion, what can only be inferred from Lowenstein: that the Italian authorities in effect hired LTCM to groom or manipulate the Italian bond market, in order to accelerate convergence with the other European Monetary System bond markets and to reduce the Italian government interest burden. This permitted the achievement of the Maastricht criteria and allowed Italy to adopt the Euro."

This Long Term Capital Management gig seems very murky indeed.