If you hear the phrase "sick man" and "Europe" in a sentence, then you probably expect to hear "France" mentioned very soon.
But increasingly that honor ought to be awarded to Italy.
In December, Industrial Production plunged 0.9% vs. expectations of no change.
Via Fast FT, here's a chart of shriveling Industrial Production.
italindprod
Istat
This is far from the only number that's been bad.
According to Markit, both the Italian Service and Retail sectors are in contraction (Manufacturing is doing better).
So when will the ECB act?
A Evans-Pritchard        ✔ @AmbroseEP
Italian industrial output down 0.9% Dec, France down 0.3%, both worse than expected. Recovery very fragile. Monetary Policy too tight