Italy Election Results Send Markets Tumbling

Italy's gone rogue! In national elections on Monday, global embarrassment Silvio Berlusconi and comedian Beppe Grillo, who both ran against European-imposed austerity measures, grabbed a surprising share of the vote. Now fears are rising that the victors won’t be able to form a functional governing coalition—or keep the nation’s debt under control—sending markets tanking around the world. U.S. stocks had their worst day since November, Japan shed two percent, and the euro crisis worsened. With these results, voters in Italy are now openly in rebellion against the European Central Bank and any politicians seen to be aligned with austerity.