European finance ministers are meeting today about how much money banks should have around in case of emergency. Banks argue the more that's set aside the less they have to lend and invest.
Spain has officially slipped back into recession and to make matters worse, Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the credit rating on 11 Spanish banks. That makes it harder for those banks to borrow money.
In a matter of days, two countries at the center of the European debt crisis will hold elections: France is on the verge of electing a socialist as president and Greece may also shake up its leadership. But it's Spain that's causing some heartburn today.
Europe's strategy for dealing with it's debt crisis was called into question over the weekend following two big political developments: One in France, one in the Netherlands.
France will try to borrow a lot more money today. But the low borrowing costs the country has seen every since the European Central Bank handed out a trillion dollars in emergency loans are no longer a sure thing — that money may be running out.
Coming off Tuesday's worst showing for stocks this year — both in the U.S. and Europe — there is a new dawn today. Market players are showing a renewed appetite for risk, including stocks, at least so far on this Wednesday.
