Happy New Year Minyanville readers! I’m back from ten days of eating around Italy to report that unfortunately the economic problems that just six months ago (when I visited last) seemed confined mostly to the government have now filtered down to the real economy. The new “IMU” tax which is the jacked up property tax that now covers all real property holdings (primary residences were previously exempt) has gutted a very significant portion of Italy’s disposal income. How bad are things? I walked into a clothing store in the center of Rome and before I could open my mouth ...