Eurozone crisis live: Italy tries to raise €5bn of debt Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti on a visit to Bethlehem. Italy is approaching the debt markets today. Photograph: Ammar Awad/REUTERS 8.39am: The markets are mixed this morning, with the FTSE and the Italian and Spanish exchanges all down, while the French and German bourses have inched up. FTSE 100: down 0.3%, or 17 points, at 5618 Spanish IBEX: down 0.7% Italy's FTSE MIB: down 0.5% German DAX: up 0.7% French CAC: up 0.5% 8.15am: Soros continues (article behind the paywall) by saying Europe is facing a long period of economic stagnation or worse, whether or not the euro endures. He suggests some guidelines to avoid the "deflationary debt trap [that] threatens to destroy a still-incomplete political union." First, the rules governing the eurozone have failed and need radical revision. Defending a status quo that is unworkable only makes matters worse. Second, the current situation is highly anomalous, and exceptional measures are needed to restore normality. Finally, new rules must allow for financial markets' inherent instability. Legendary investor George Soros makes radical proposals for EU salvation. Photograph: Isifa/Getty Images He also suggests some extraordinary measures to return conditions to normal, including a regime that punishes member states that fail to meet their commitments and reward those that do. He also puts forward the rather remarkable idea that "to narrow the competitiveness gap, all members should be able to refinance existing debt at the same interest rate." Soros accepts that Germany's powerful central bank would never accept these proposals but conlcudes by saying: The future of Europe is a political issue: it is beyond the Bundesbank's competence to decide. 8.06am: George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management and legendary investor, says the eurozone crisis "has entered what may be a less volatile but more lethal phase" in a gloomy piece in the FT this morning. Far from abating, he said, "the euro crisis has recently taken a turn for the worse" as the gap between creditor and debtor countries continues to widen. 7.58am: French consumer prices rose faster than expected in March, as the price of clothes and food shot up. The national statistics office INSEE said prices rose 0.8% on the month and 2.3% on the year, compared with forecasts of 0.6% on the month and 2.1% on the year. Food prices rose 5.5% over the month, while the price of clothes and shoes rose 11.7% as the sales ended. 7.54am: There's plenty of economic data out today, including inflation data out of France and the ECB's monthly report. Here's the agenda for the day: France consumer price index for March: 6.30am BST • ECB monthly bulletin: 9am BST • UK trade data for February: 9.30am BST • Eurozone industrial production for February: 10am BST • ECB board member Joerg Asmussen speaks: 12pm BST • US producer price index for March: 1.30pm BST • US trade balance for February: 1.30pm BST • Portugal votes on EU treaty on budget discipline: 2pm BST • IMF chief Christine Lagarde speaks: 4pm BST In the debt markets, Italy is selling €2bn-€3bn of 3-year debt, and €1bn-€2bn of of three, eight and 11-year bonds. The UK is selling £2bn of 20-year debt. 7.48am: Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the eurozone financial crisis. Italy is looking to sell up to €5bn of debt this morning, which should prove interesting. The value of Italian 10-year debt rose yesterday, pushing yields down to 5.5%, as investors recovered their appetite for risk following Tuesday's market turmoil. IMF managing director Christine Lagarde is speaking later on "seizing the moment" and "thinking beyond the crisis" ahead of the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. And the OECD, which on Tuesday called the turning point of the eurozone crisis just before the markets bombed, will issue a note on fiscal consolidation.