Posted on 11/09/2011 1:20:59 PM PST by Signalman
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Investors ran for the hills Wednesday, shaken to the core by fears that Italy, Europe's fourth-largest economy, was headed deeper into crisis mode.
U.S. stocks sold off sharply right from the open after Italy's 10-year bond yield spiked above 7% -- its highest since the euro was launched in 1999.
The 7% figure is a psychological trigger for investors since it was the level that heightened worries about Greece, Ireland and Portugal. All three eventually needed some type of bailout.
The selling intensified in the afternoon amid reports that European Union officials said they have no plans to rescue Italy.
The fear factor wasn't confined to U.S. stocks. European markets also sold off and the euro slumped more than 2% against the U.S. dollar. The market's fear gauge, the VIX (VIX), spiked 32% to 36.15. Any reading above 30 signals investor worry.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Strange. It seems like all these failing countries are the ones who give EVERY THING you can imagine away for FREE !!
What did they think would happen.
Paging Maggie Thatcher.... what happens when you run out of other people’s money ???
I am sure US fears had something to do with it as well.
It’s their own fault. It’s time to pay the piper. I hope America doesn’t get involved in bailing them out.
Why the hell are we so tied into the rest of the world. Past time to cut them all loose. We have enough problems without adding the problems of other countries.
The bill for socialism has come due.
We are already involved in bailing them out through the IMF.
Big 30 year treasury auction coming up. Obummer needs another flight to safety to get them sold at low interest rates. Things will look a bit better soon....until the next auction. Think I’m totally nuts? Compare the auction dates and the markets over the last year or so. Of course, it is all a coincidence.
The magic word is “derivatives”. We are all tied together—worldwide.
The only way to unwind the derivatives is to close all the “too big to fail” banks and investment banks in an orderly fashion.
I haven’t heard any candidate say those magic words.
Any candidate that proposed such would be branded a “kook”, would be lucky to get a 1% vote in any primary (and the media would probably have 999 women ready to claim they were harassed or worse).
(Hint: many of those financial institutions control the Federal Reserve and the European equivalents—and many of their shareholders are shareholders of major media outlets.)
So hang on—it is going to be a rough ride—and every time Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain or France have a problem we will pay the price in the form of a weak economy and lower standard of living.
Just thought while you go broke you would like to know who to thank. :-)
Anyone know what was the driver for that crazy spike in the graph around 3:00 p.m. ?
I sold about 20 shares of Microsoft around then.
Nope. Anyone who wants to interfere with the free will of the banks is a big-state socialist and a traitor to America. I mean I like a small and efficent government but I still want a government.Letting these guys bet with leverages of 20-1, 30-1, and even 40-1 and then bailout them out because you want to avoid riots is one thing but setting yourself up to do it a few years later is another.
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