American household incomes have fallen more since the recession ended than they fell during it, a new study reveals; EU leaders say they have a plan to solve the sovereign debt crisis; and Netflix has declared its big Qwikster plan dead on arrival.
As the eurozone sovereign debt crisis continues, focus is shifting to Italy as the next potential victim. But for worries closer to home, consider this: $37 billion in U.S. government benefits designed to help people through the downturn will expire by the end of 2011, leaving a hole twice that size in the economy.
Portugal's economic health is at risk of collapse after Moody's cut its rating of the country's debt to junk status. Also at risk of collapse: The case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn after The New York Post reported that his accuser was working two jobs -- as a maid and a prostitute.
Is the American recovery fast or slow? Depends on who you ask. The Wall Street Journal sees corporate America merrily rolling along while Main Street suffers. The New York Times warns that Wall Street is about to feel the pinch too. But nobody is all that optimistic about Greece today.
Even before the International Energy Agency and the White House announced they were releasing billions of gallons or oil from fuel reserves, gas prices were falling. In the past two weeks, a gallon is down more than 11 cents. Also falling -- hopes for the euro, and the outlook for U.S. Treasury bonds.
It's a good day to be a drugmaker after two pro-business Supreme Court rulings favored the industry. And it's an even better day for those who are counting on the EU bailing out Greece. But the folks at Google may want to search for "defense lawyers" -- they may be seeing subpoenas shortly.
Politicians in both Greece and the U.S. are struggling to find the common ground necessary to keep their governments from defaulting on their debts; QE2 hasn't ended yet, and already the Fed is considering QE3; and the SEC finally starts to regulate Wall Street's hedge funds.
The news across the financial world is good for unions, which will find organizing a bit easier; adequate for Greece, which will find getting bailed out a bit easier, and bitter for JPMorgan which had to accept a $153.6 million SEC fine for misleading investors about a mortgage securities transaction.
Concerns about the European financial crisis are still dragging down the price of oil. Benchmark crude for July delivery fell 32 cents to $92.69 per barrel in Monday midday trading. All eyes remain on Greece, which is trying to implement tough new austerity measures necessary to keep international aid coming.
At the start of a new week, all eyes are on Greece. E.U. finance ministers postponed agreement on a bailout until they see proof that its government will follow through on austerity measures. Meanwhile, some big U.S. firms are pushing for a generous tax holiday.
The European debt crisis is back: Portugal is in political turmoil, and may need a major bailout, and Spain may too. But the E.U.'s strong healthy are rebelling against propping up their weaker neighbors. The real issue, though, is that the E.U. hasn't yet addressed the fundamental flaw built into it at the euro's creation.
The dollar is looking mighty attractive, thanks to a reviving U.S. economy and eurozone woes, and it will only get stronger as traders who gambled that it would fall buy dollars to unwind their bad bets. Add in China's desperate need to get its overheated economy in check, and commodities prices look like they have nowhere to go but down.
The big winners of 2010 scored returns far above those of U.S. markets by piggybacking on China's ferocious growth. But rebounding American equities look mighty impressive next to the year's real losers: the victims of the eurozone debt crisis.
While most of the world's central banks are still fighting the last war, Sweden's Riksbank has moved on to the next one. Rather than looking at conventional inflation gauges, the world's oldest central bank is basing its actions on asset-price growth in an effort to prevent the next bubble.
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Ireland three notches from A to BBB , citing the costs of restructuring the Irish banking system, the country's weak growth prospects, and uncertainty about its economy due to the deepening financial crisis, despite the international economic assistance it received last month.
The notion that the EU could issue a eurozone-wide bond is probably the most sweeping proposal yet to relieve country debt problems. But the ad hoc measures Europe has been taking to put out fires are likely to remain the status quo. One big reason: Germany.
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.
As if the Irish debt crisis weren't enough, investors are worried once again about rising inflation in China. But officials in Beijing are quietly building an impressive record of economic management, and some analysts are convinced they can meet the challenge.
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 capital markets have begun to believe the deficit and debt problems in Ireland and Greece may overwhelm political efforts to balance national budgets.
The euro has posted its biggest quarterly gain in eight years, but billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett is worried about Europe's common currency. Despite the E.U.'s trillion-dollar bailout fund, he's not sure the Continent will be able to avert a sovereign debt meltdown.
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.
After spiking in May on dismay over Eurozone debt anxiety, the VIX has been trending generally downward, with any jumps being only short-lived. Another spike just occurred. The thing to watch now is if the VIX follows this recent pattern -- or not.
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.
Portugal, one of the countries at the heart of the European debt crisis, had its bonds downgraded by Moody's Tuesday. The ratings agency warned that the Lisbon government's financial strength will continue to weaken because of heavy debt.
It may be because of the slowing European economy, the drive for austerity by the continent's national governments, or planned tax increases. But whatever the reasons, the European Central Bank said Thursday it would hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 1%.
After the U.S. spent trillions to prop up reckless banks and spark a recovery, growth and employment are anemic. Germany's recovery, meanwhile, seems stronger and more durable. And even Greece is in a better situation than the U.S.
Ahead of the G-20 summit in Toronto this weekend, billionaire investor George Soros warns that Germany's policy of fiscal austerity could put Europe in danger. Could the budget cuts ultimately destroy the euro and fracture the European Union?