Greece Passes New Austerity Measures as Athens Burns

Even as more than 40 buildings across Athens were set ablaze by angry protesters, the Greek Parliament passed a series of strict austerity measures meant to save the country from financial ruin.

Comments | 3,421 Views

Sarkozy Manages the Damage from France's Downgrade

The French president reportedly told associates last month, "If we lose the triple-A, I'm dead." Well, France lost the triple-A bond rating, and Sarkozy is scrambling.

Comments | 1,360 Views

European Union Agrees to a New Financial Treaty, but Britain Stands in the Way

Most of the members of the European Union agreed to a new "intergovernmental agreement," with strict budget rules and financial safeguards, but the United Kingdom has effectively torpedoed the deal as a threat to its national sovereignty.

Comments | 1,064 Views

S&P Adds the European Union to Its Growing List of Potential Downgrades

After putting nearly every Euro Zone nation on "credit watch negative," Standard & Poor's has now added the European Union itself and several large European banks to its list of potential downgrades.

Comments | 56 Views

S&P Might Downgrade All of Europe

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has put all 17 Euro Zone nations on downgrade watch, reports Bloomberg.

Comments | 562 Views

The Euro and Europe: Perfect Matches After All

Cartoonist Lisa Benson is down on the euro zone.

Comments | 304 Views

British Workers Walk Off Their Jobs In Massive Public Sector Strike

Thousands of public workers across the U.K. staged what's being called the biggest general strike in a generation, shutting down schools, transportation, and some health care facilities, as unions fight with the government over pension reforms. 

Comments | 773 Views

IMF Could Be Preparing a $794 Billion Loan for Italy (or Not)

Rumors swirled this morning that the IMF was preparing a monster-sized loan for Italy in case their debt crisis spirals further into chaos, but a closer look reveals this rumor might not have any legs.

Comments | 408 Views

Bye Bye, Bunga Bunga

The Italian Parliament votes for an austerity plan, clearing the way for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, expected Saturday.

Comments | 1,485 Views

Italy's Berlusconi Confirms His Offer to Step Down as Prime Minister

Italy's news media is reporting that its famously scandal-ridden prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has offered to resign after securing passage of an austerity bill in Parliament, The Guardian writes.

Comments | 962 Views

Greece Is History

Cartoonist Tony Auth on the Greek crisis. 

Comments | 4,333 Views

Greek Prime Minister Is Out As A New Government Is Formed

George Papandreou will resign as prime minister, and talks about the makeup of the new coalition government will continue Monday.

Comments | 2,136 Views

The G20 Nations Just Put Italy in Time Out

The G20 meetings in Cannes have yielded plenty of verbal support for the ailing euro zone, but so far, nobody's willing to actually cough up any cash.

Comments | 1,228 Views

The Greek Referendum Resembles a Sixth Grade History Class

Even 2,500 years after Ancient Athenians conceived of democracy, we can't stop talking about it, especially after the news broke that Greece decided to put Europe's rescue package up for a country-wide referendum.

Comments | 715 Views

Stock Markets Really Hope There's No Greek Referendum

Comments | 666 Views

Greece Threatens to Undo the EU Bailout by Putting It to a Vote

Greek Prime Minister George A. Papandreou has upset European leaders (and their financial markets) by calling for a public referendeum on the negotiated bailout package that he had agreed to last week. 

Comments | 1,897 Views

Five Best Friday Columns

Firuz Kazemzadeh on Iran, Robert Morgenthau on immigration, and Paul Krugman on Iceland. 

Comments | 1,952 Views

U.S. Markets Go Crazy for European Debt Deal

The stock markets really do love Europe's debt deal, with the Dow Jones index up 340 points on Thursday, passing 12,000 for the first time since August 1.

Comments | 299 Views

Italian Lawmakers Come to Blows as Europe Reaches a 4 a.m. Debt Deal

Stock markets in Europe and Asia are responding positively this morning to news that European leaders have come to an agreement on how to (painfully) solve the region's ongoing debt crisis.

Comments | 3,117 Views

With No Deal to Report, Merkel Cancels Euro Debt Crisis Speech

Even though French President Nicolas Sarkozy skipped his daughter's birth to save Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has cancelled a speech scheduled for tomorrow because Germany and France still can't agree on a solution to the European debt crisis.

Comments | 30 Views