Italian Officials See Economic Drag from Spain's Woes

If Madrid would only clean up its yard ...

Italian officials might breathe a sigh of relief if Madrid finally requests a full bailout in coming weeks, though there is no guarantee it would allow Italy to escape Spain's shadow in the financial markets and receive credit for controversial economic reforms.

"If Spain requests a bond-buying program is Italy safe, because Spain [has been rescued], or, do markets start to wonder why Italy hasn't requested one, too?" said Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, a London consulting firm.