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.

Pulling string around the continent:

Economy

Degradation:  Spanish debt was was downgraded two notches to A1 by Moody's yesterday. This makes it a hat trick of downgrades, as Fitch and Standard & Poor's had already done the dirty to Spain. (more here for those who read Spanish)

Today's French papers are full of speculation that France's debt will be next. Moody's has put France "under surveillance." 

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.