Each postponement of financial disaster in the euro zone seems likely to last for a shorter time, and the U.S. won’t be able to escape the fallout indefinitely
Europe
Spain on Edge as Focus Shifts from Banks to State’s Finances
As Spanish antiausterity protesters take to the streets, financial markets switch focus from the nation’s messed-up banks to the wobbly state of its finances
LIBOR Rigging: What the Regulators Saw (but Didn’t Shut Down)
Why weren’t the first signs taken more seriously? Has there been a serious failure of regulation, or are there strong mitigating circumstances that could explain and justify the lack of resolute action?
Libor Manipulation: The Markets’ Worst-Kept Secret?
As fresh details continue to emerge about the Libor fixing scandal that has already claimed the head of Bob Diamond, the American chief executive of British bank Barclays, everybody, it seems, is shocked – shocked! – to …
U.S. Economy Adds Just 80,000 Jobs in June
The Labor Department released its monthly Employment Situation Report this morning, announcing that the economy added 80,000 new jobs in June – slightly less than what economists were predicting, and far too small a number to …
Has the European Slowdown Finally Hit the U.S.?
Many Americans are using the July 4 holiday as an opportunity to get away for the week, and there’s no better time to hide from dour headlines blanketing the financial press. Unemployment has hit a new record high in Europe, …
European Stock Markets and the Flight from Reality
The economic news is going from bad to worse, so obviously this is a good time to stage a stock-market rally. That’s the contorted message coming out of Europe this week, on the heels of an E.U. crisis summit that was declared …
Why Thursday’s Euro Summit Really Is a Make-or-Break Moment. Really.
Once again, leaders of the 27 European Union nations are holding a crisis summit meeting to tackle a spreading economic crisis and shore up the floundering euro. Once again there are ambitious proposals on the agenda of the …
The Euro Crisis: Why Greece’s Election Doesn’t Matter
Despite all the attention focused on Greece’s latest election, the results won’t alter the course of Europe’s widening debt crisis
Why Spain’s Big Bank Bailout Is Really a Big Bust
Spain’s banks received a pledge for a huge rescue package from the European Union over the weekend. But some experts believe the bailout may end up causing more pain for the Spanish government in the long run
You Say Tomato, I Say Bailout: How Spain Agreed to Be Rescued
Knowing how bailouts doomed the governments of other countries, Spain insists it has accepted a massive “loan” to recapitalize its banks. Others, however, are calling it as they see it.
Europe Crisis: “Bad Romance” on a Global Scale
If there were an official anthem for the European debt crisis, it would be Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” and not just because the pop star croons a few lines in French and chants the name of a continental European capital. The …