Italy crdit rating downgrade

The Italian state has had its credit rating downgraded from A+ to A according to BBC News 24. Before there is Global currency speculation and stock exchange speculation against what have been termed by economists in teh past as teh 'PIGS' (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain) that could cause problems to the entire Euro zone such as occurred in the early 1990s, lets pause and think.

If third world states such as those helped at Gleneagles can default on what they can't pay back and pack what they can over a longer time period (termed Sovereign Debt Restructuring), then why not the same for each state within the Euro Zone under aggreed ECB guidelines. It could make an interesting (and important for them too as their economies contain real people just like here in the UK) case study for how a federal UK with fiscal devolution to each of its national (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) and other territories (Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Gibraltar, Falklands and other such territories) could operate fiscally autonomous and yet contribute to the federal state.