Kai Ryssdal: Wall Street made up some ground today. Got back a bit of what it lost the past couple of sessions. European shares rebounded as well.
I mention that ’cause the eurozone debt crisis? Not only is it back — it never went away.
Marketplace’s Stephen Beard reports from the European Desk in London.
Stephen Beard: The pain was felt mainly in Spain. Foreign investors took fright. They bailed out of Spanish government bonds, making it more expensive for Madrid to borrow. The fear then spread to Italy.
Bob Magee is with the research firm Independent Strategy.
Bob Magee: Markets are worried that it’s going to be very difficult for these governments to fund themselves this year, perhaps pushing them into the crisis that we’ve already seen for other countries in southern Europe.
And all this after the European Central Bank had pumped more than a trillion dollars into the eurozone financial system.
It’s pretty worrying, says Bronwen Curtis of the HSBC Bank.
Bronwen Curtis: I think we should be worried because this is continuing. We haven’t solved the European problem.
And now there’s political uncertainy too, with elections looming in Greece and France. Just a few weeks ago, it all looked so rosy in euroland. The head of the IMF said “economic spring is in the air.” Today, a late frost seems likely.
In London, I’m Stephen Beard for Marketplace.
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