_Economy and Finance

AHEAD OF THE TAPE NOVEMBER 10, 2011 Reading Between the Lines on Italy's Woes By KELLY EVANS Going by exports to Europe, the Continent's debt crisis seems to pose about as much threat to the U.S. as the giant asteroid that zoomed by this week.

The Buzz Consumers are scared? Really? By Paul R. La Monica November 2, 2011: 1:17 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- With all the worries about Europe being on the brink of financial disaster again and increased nervousness about the U.S. economy, you'd think consumers would be cowering in a closet in fear and stuffing their money in the mattress.

Big banks under new pressure in Europe crisis 2011.10.22 10:56 PM BRUSSELS (AP) – Big banks found themselves under pressure in Europe's debt crisis Saturday, with finance chiefs pushing them to raise billions of euros in capital and accept huge losses on Greek bonds they hold.

Hedge funds suffer worst quarter since 2008 By Hibah Yousuf October 19, 2011: 2:12 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Feeling blue about the hit your portfolio took last quarter? You're not alone. Hedge funds also had a lousy third quarter, delivering one of the worst performances on record.

Europe's debt crisis: 5 things you need to know http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/08/markets/europe_debt_crisis_/index.htm?iid=HP_River By Ben Rooney September 14, 2011: 12:17 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's been about 18 months since the sovereign debt crisis in Europe began attracting attention in global financial circles.

MARKETS JULY 28, 2011 Warnings Feed Europe Debt Fears Germany's Finance Minister Says Crisis Isn't Over; Credit Ratings on Cyprus and Greece Downgraded By GEOFFREY T. SMITH And TERENCE ROTH LONDON—Sober warnings that the European debt crisis didn't end with last week's summit of European Union leaders reignited concerns of contagion risks on Wednesday, boosting borrowing costs for high-debt governments and pressuring the euro.

MARKETS JULY 22, 2011 Europe Launches a Massive Greek Bailout Plan to Contain Crisis Likely Means First Euro-Zone Default By CHARLES FORELLE, PATRICIA KOWSMANN and COSTAS PARIS BRUSSELS—Euro-zone leaders agreed Thursday on a new €109 billion ($157 billion) bailout for Greece and new steps to prevent its debt crisis from metastasizing across the Continent—in a plan expected to trigger the first debt default by a nation using the common currency.

AHEAD OF THE TAPE |JUNE 21, 2011 WSJ : Housing Troubles Have Deep Foundations By DAVID REILLY Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may be right that recent rises in food and energy prices are transitory . If only the same were true of weakness in the housing market.

TODAY'S MARKETS |MARCH 31, 2011, 8:25 A.M. ET Futures Mixed; Eyes On Economic Data By SIMON KENNEDY U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday ahead of the first quarter's final trading session, as investors also eyed a packed economic schedule over the next two days.

MARKETS |MARCH 30, 2011 Portugal Hints at Deficit Revision By PATRICIA KOWSMANN LISBON—Portugal's statistics agency said it plans to make "accounting changes" in a report to be submitted to the European Union's statistics agency by week's end, a revision that could indicate a wider 2010 budget deficit and which would further undermine the credibility of the country's embattled government.

MARKETS |MARCH 29, 2011, 3:31 P.M. ET S&P Downgrades Portugal, Greece By GEOFFREY T. SMITH LONDON—Rating agency Standard & Poor's on Tuesday delivered a damning verdict of the euro zone's new plans for resolving sovereign debt crises, downgrading two of the euro zone's most troubled member states.

MARKETS |MARCH 15, 2011 Hedge Funds Had Bets Against Japan Even Before the Disaster, Big Investors Were Wagering on Economic Problems By GREGORY ZUCKERMAN And TOM LAURICELLA The catastrophe in Japan has placed renewed focus on the country's already fragile economy—and brought unexpected profits to investors who have long bet that the nation eventually will be dragged down by its debt problems.

MARKETS |MARCH 4, 2011 Food Prices Reach Record High By CAROLINE HENSHAW LONDON—World food prices rose 2.2% in February from the previous month to a record peak, the United Nations' food body said Thursday, as it warned that volatility in oil markets could push prices even higher.

MARCH 2, 2011 Can the Yuan Replace the Dollar? By SHEN HONG SHANGHAI—It's practically a given that China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy, probably within the next two decades.