This final note today, which you heard about in Heidi’s story on Europe’s latest plans. Rumors that S&P would put France, Germany and 13 other eurozone countries on watch for a credit downgrade. It was finally confirmed after the bell in New York.

Now — and stay with me here — but this could actually be a good thing. Remember when our credit rating was downgraded this past summer? It’s actually cheaper for the United States to borrow now than it was then. So who knows?