Holders of Italian bonds will nervously eye the debt-rating agencies over the next few weeks ahead of what many anticipate is an imminent downgrade of the country’s sovereign-debt rating, a move that would inflict pain on a bond market already struggling to stem selling among skittish investors. Analysts say sooner or later one of the ratings services will pull down Italy’s credit rating to a notch above the so-called junk level, and spark fears of an eventual slide into the dicey-credit bucket altogether. Despite the higher yields on offer in the Italian bond market, investors are wary of being caught in a scenario ... (full story)