EurozoneEconomy

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged for a 20th straight month. Officials at the ECB in Frankfurt left the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 1%, Bloomberg News reported. The move was widely forecast by analyst and economists. Attention now shifts to a scheduled news...

Economic performance among EU nations is getting more divergent. While Germany and France continue to modestly expand, debt-plagued countries like Greece are shrinking. That makes it tough for the European Central Bank to set its monetary policy.

The Swiss franc has been a top currency over the past six months, outpacing the dollar by 8.9% and the euro by 7.8%, thanks to shaky conditions in Europe. But some signs suggest the Swiss currency is due for a correction.

Beyond Europe's debt crisis and difficulties with the euro, the region's underlying economy -- which has been much less involved with financial gimmicks than its American counterpart -- tends to be more stable than it's generally given credit for.

Author and money manager Zachary Karabell thinks Lehman Brothers' collapse in 2008 has made investors overly cautious. And he sees bonds as riskier than stocks right now. (With video.)