JPMorgan's Swaps Occupying Cassino Prove Curse Like World War II

``Across Italy, cities faced with shrinking income and rising expenses bought swaps from JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, and other lenders to cut short-term interest costs, putting them at risk of paying more in the long run. Cassino purchased a 22 million-euro ($28.7 million) contract from New York-based Bear Stearns Cos., acquired by JPMorgan in 2008, which switched interest payments on the town's debt from a fixed rate to a variable one. The rate, a record low at the time the contract was signed in 2003, soared over subsequent years. About 300 municipalities, from the toe of Italy's boot to the Alps, were losing a total of 912 million euros on such derivatives as of March, Bank of Italy data show.''