At the end of the worst week for Europe politically and economically since the fall of the Berlin Wall here's where we are:

Greece's new Prime Minister Loukas Papademos was sworn in and the new PM pledged Greece would do everything required to stay within the euro

Italy's Senate voted through a package of austerity measures the first step in paving the way for Silvio Berlusconi to resign.

Like the return of some oscillating wave, the idea of street protests has come back to the Mediterranean.

The wave began early in the year on the southern shore of what the Romans called "our sea," as Arabs took to the streets ... and eventually to the battlefield to challenge and overthrow the political establishment.

It stopped to pick up momentum in Spain with the indignados occupying the center of Madrid

It reached the shores of North America last month in the form of the Occupy Wall Street encampment.

Now it has returned to the Med.

Bad things come in threes, my mother always said. Here are three from yesterday:

1. Italy

The country had its credit rating downgraded by Moodys three notches with a negative outlook for the future. For all the complaints about the agencies and their criteria for these pronouncements they can still shape perception about a nation's creditworthiness. The fear has to be that interest rates on Italian bonds will continue to rise, although Moody's report indicates that Italy in likely to default.

According to La Repubblica the downgrade comes "in part from risk derived from economic and political uncertainty." The focus on Italy's political uncertainty is a reminder that the bunga-bunga parties of Silvio Berlusconi are more than tabloid entertainment ... they have an effect on Italy's global economic position.

The BBC quoted Emma Marcegaglia, the head of Italy's leading industrial association, Confindustria, on the matter of Berlusconi and the ratings downgrade

"We are a serious country and we are fed up at becoming the laughing stock of the world."

When Italy has to start paying interest rates over 6% (nudging in that direction since last week) on its bonds it won't be very funny.