I keep reading that the lesson of the past few years is to throw out the old rules of investing. I don’t buy it. My reaction is the exact opposite. The old rules of investing were hammered out over previous bear markets, such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Stagnation of the 1970s. They still work.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today called for a new legally binding set of rules to control spending in all eurozone countries, with harsh fines for any rule-breakers.

Last week marked more bad news for economies across Europe, including Germany. If more countries follow suit this week, the crisis could reach its threshold

In yet another bad development in the eurozone debt crisis, Italy saw its borrowing costs skyrocket. And now a British regulator has called on U.K. banks to prepare for the possible disintegration of the euro.