Stock markets in Europe traded in fairly narrow ranges Monday as Germany's leader warned that Greece may not get its next batch of bailout cash. Chinese shares surged after authorities pledged to increase bank lending to entrepreneurs. Europe's stumbling efforts to get a handle on its debt crisis remains the focus of interest in the markets.
By most indications, the U.S. economy is recovering fairly well for the time being. But across the Pond in Europe, another story is unfolding that has the stock market worried -- and it should have your attention, too.
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.
As part of a larger push to bring its classic American design aesthetic to international markets -- and build on its recent Italian successes -- Gap will debut a flagship store in Rome on Via del Corso, a key shopping area, on Saturday.
Value-added taxes are big revenue generators in Europe, but if you're not a local person or business, you're supposed to be able to get them refunded. Tell that to the almost 72% of companies spending money overseas that have had trouble getting their VAT refunds or the 21% that have been unable to reclaim any VAT at all.
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.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said Monday that he could increase Fiat's ownership in Chrysler to more than 50% should America's smallest domestic automaker seek to return to the stock market this year, but that he doesn't plan to merge the companies' operations.
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.
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.
Italian fashion label Prada is considering an IPO with primary listing in Hong Kong, rather than home-base Milan, accroding to reports. Four of its previous attempts at an IPO have been scrapped in the past 10 years, but now the time could be right.
Europe's shakiest economies managed to ride out a sovereign debt crisis this spring with a lot of help from their more stable neighbors and the major central banks. But new data suggests we may soon see a replay of the debt default crisis.
The fallout from the BP disaster has reached as far as Italy, where oil companies are planning to drill in the Adriatic Sea. DailyFinance takes a look at the growing protests there, and the efforts of the "Erin Brokovich of Abruzzo" to keep the oil industry at bay.
