Euro Zone On Verge Of Breaking Apart

The possible departure of Greece from the euro zone combined with the worsening economic conditions in Spain and record high unemployment in the euro zone are threatening to cause a disintegration of the continent wide currency.

Olli Rehn, Brussels’ most senior economic official, says unless the nations that use the Euro are bound closer together the euro zone could collapse.

Italy’s leaders called for using euro bonds to create a path to “common debt” for Europe. Spain’s government is proposing a common fiscal authority for Europe to sync budgets of the member nations and manage overall debts. Continue reading

Tokyo Stock Market Hits 28 Year Low

Fears of a euro-zone collapse, an economic relapse in the United States and a slowdown in China combined to drive the Tokyo Stock Market to it’s lowest level in 28 years.

The FTSE CNBC Asia 100 Index fell over 111 points, a drop of 2.1 percent. The index measures markets across Asia. The individual Topix index hit a 28 year low as investors rushed to sell after U.S. jobs data disappointed analysts.  Continue reading

Bad Economic News For US and Eurozone

The US economy’s unemployment rate increased slightly in April while the Eurozone’s held steady at a record high level.

The news sent all the US stock markets plunging lower in morning trading. The jobless rate in the US increased to 8.2%, up .1%, according to the Labor Department report. The number of jobs added in March and April was revised down by 49,000 and there are now five million fewer jobs in the US than at the start of the recession. Continue reading

Spain’s Manufacturing Rate Worse Than Greece

The contraction rate of manufacturing in Spain ranked higher than Greece’s rate in the month of May. Spain’s rate declined at the highest rate since May 2009.

Spain’s figure of 42.0 was the worst in the eurozone below Greece’s level of 43.1.

The manufacturing decline in many of the endangered eurozone nations is beginning to impact the stronger nations like France and Germany. Continue reading

Clinton Says Russia Contributing To Potential Civil War in Syria

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is accusing Russia of contributing to the start of a civil war in Syria. Clinton’s comments come in response to Russia and China taking actions to stop the UN from intervention in the Syrian crisis after the mass murder of women and children by government troops.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has repeated his warnings that a catastrophic civil war is looming in Syria. Continue reading

Baghdad Bomb Attacks Kill 12

Police in Baghdad are reporting that 12 people were killed and 29 wounded in a series of bomb attacks.

The biggest blast was a car bomb that exploded outside a busy restaurant in the northern part of the city. Four other bombings struck the city yesterday including one that exploded outside the home of an advisor to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.  Continue reading

European Commission Proposing Direct Bank Bailouts

Amid concerns about looming bank failures in Spain, the European Commission is proposing providing bailout funds to banks directly rather than going through individual governments.

Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso cited the need for flexibility and speed in sending the funds directlyto banks. Also being placed on the table is a debate about creating a “banking union” similar to the Euro Zone.

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