Monti meets parties as markets sour

Italy’s prime minister-designate won wide backing from political leaders today as he worked to put together a cabinet that can steer the eurozone’s third-biggest economy through its debt crisis.

Mario Monti, a respected economist and former European commissioner, is under pressure to quickly reassure markets that Italy will avoid a default that could tear apart the 17 countries that use the euro currency and push the global economy back into recession.