Credit Crunch

The Atlantic Ocean is wide, but maybe not wide enough. On Thursday, markets had a mixed reaction to the deepening economic crisis in Europe. Some sources reported that the European Central Bank would step in. But in the U.S., small business owners are growing nervous.

LDK Solar has long depended on demand driven by government subsidies from countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy, which makes it vulnerable in this period of European austerity. Trefis has revised its estimates for LDK Solar down -- but still meaningfully above the market price.

With the fears of a European sovereign debt crisis growing worse, the Spanish government said Wednesday that it's taking several measures to stop the fiscal contagion from reaching its shores, including selling a 30% stake in its national lottery business, Bloomberg reported.

Many aspects of the financial crisis are still with us. But when it comes to one of the most profound economic impacts of the 2008 meltdown -- the downright seizure of credit markets -- things could hardly be more different now than during the height of the crisis.

Millions of Americans are seeing their credit scores plunge. According to FICO, 25.5% of consumers -- roughly 43.4 million people -- have a credit score below 600, making them a poor risk for lenders, and making it hard for those consumers to get credit cards, auto loans and mortgages.

The U.S. economy hit an unexpected pothole on the road to recovery last month, as the Institute for Supply Management's Non-Manufacturing Index fell to 48.7 in November from 50.6 in October, the ISM announced Thursday. Readings above 50 indicate an expansion; below 50, a contraction. It was the...

Dear Lloyd: I read about your kind offer to spend $500 million to help 10,0000 U.S. small businesses by underwriting continuing education courses for them at local colleges and giving money to community-lending institutions for loans. I'm certain this offer is sincere. However, as someone who has...

As the stock market powers ahead again, many nervous investors are asking themselves if shares are now overvalued. The Dow Jones and the broader S&P 500, after all, are now up more than 50% off their recent lows and picked up again this week. For many bears caught off-guard by the sharp...

When you're building a relationship, building joint credit feels like a natural rung on the ladder. But if the romance happens to sour, that same joint credit can become the backbone of financial devastation. Scores of the newly divorced, separated or uncoupled who have co-signed for cars and...

It's not easy being a small-business owner these days. Lenders' crack down on all-too-easy money has not only resulted in fewer home loans to those with risky credit, but also fewer loans to entrepreneurs either looking to start or further expand their businesses. That's problematic given the...