Italian PM Renzi resigns

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi resigned on 6th December.
●    Renzi tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella, who said he would consult with political parties to decide the next steps. 
●    He asked Renzi to carry on in a caretaker capacity until a solution is found.
●    After the consultations, which began on 8th December and will end on 10th December, Mattarella is widely expected to ask a member of Renzi's cabinet, or a politician from his Democratic Party, to try to form a new government.
●    Elections are due in 2018 but many politicians are calling for them to be held earlier.
●    The political crisis sparked by the referendum coincides with a crisis in Italy's debt-laden banks, especially at its third-biggest lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which looks likely to require government intervention to survive.
●    Two sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Renzi's administration was preparing to take a 2-billion-euro ($2.15-billion) controlling stake in the bank by purchasing junior bonds.