Why are the markets so schizophrenic? Bond spreads are rising, signaling rich country solvency fears. Yet stocks are up (except when political ineptitude like the failure of the super committee to reach a debt deal knocks them temporarily down). The mixed signals aren’t as strange as you might think — they reflect the large and growing divide between the fortunes of companies, and the fates of countries. To understand why these two are now separate, and what it means for your portfolio, check out Rana Foroohar’s new Curious Capitalist column, here.
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WASHINGTON — A privately built space capsule that’s zipping its way to the International Space Station has also launched something else: A new for-profit space race.
The capsule called Dragon was due to arrive near the space station for tests early Thursday and dock on Friday with its load of supplies. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — run by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk — was hired by NASA to deliver cargo and eventually astronauts to the orbital outpost.
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Spain Calls for Help to Lower Borrowing Rates
BRUSSELS — Worries about Greece’s electoral turmoil and Spain’s spiraling borrowing costs are piling the pressure on European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Wednesday amid renewed market pressure to keep the region’s debt problems from getting worse.
Spain’s prime minister warned that his country can’t continue much longer with its current high borrowing rates and urged a joint European response to help.
