Europeans are withdrawing extra money from their bank accounts in case the continent's financial crisis deepens and the single currency system falls apart.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is sending the message that she is committed to keeping Greece in the eurozone. In an interview with CNBC, Merkel says that she is open to stimulus programs. Now, that could be seen as a shift at at a time Greeks are blaming austerity imposed by Europe for their woes.
With a new general election on the way in Greece and the country's membership in the European Single Currency in the balance, people in Greece are trying to keep their bank accounts from losing value if ever the euro is dropped. Greece's central bank chief says depositors pulled about $900 million about of bank accounts Monday alone.
If, as expected, socialist Francois Hollande is elected the next president of France this weekend, to what extent will budget realities crimp his ability to ease off the austerity that he believes is hurting the economy?
It's International Workers' Day — organized by unions and left-leaning political parties across the world. Thousands of protesters are out on the streets in Greece, France and even Russia.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, is in Washington today for meetings with President Obama. There are tensions over the U.S. military in Japan, but moves toward closer cooperation on energy and trade.
Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy came in second yesterday to Socialist Francois Hollande in the first round of voting. The two candidates will face a run-off on May 6th, and the ultimate outcome could have big consequences for Europe's debt crisis.
