Markets

A lot of new data point to a steady, but unclear future for the economy.

Markets fell yesterday just moments after House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said no substantive progress had been made in the latest fiscal cliff negotiations.

The markets tumbled Friday, but the declines were nothing compared to the Black Monday crash of Oct. 19, 1987. The Dow Jones shed 22 percent -- the equivalent of a 3,000-point drop today.

The credit rating agency Moody's slashed the ratings of 15 of the world's biggest banks, including most of the big guys here in the U.S.

There were several massive earthquakes off the coast of Indonesia today, triggering tsunami warnings across the Indian Ocean. Those warnings have been cancelled and no serious damage has been reported so far.

For a quiet week on the markets, there was still enough going on the global headlines to bring things down.

A surprisingly successful Spanish bond sale and news of an increase in new home construction spurred markets to rally today.

'Germans first and Europeans second' might no longer fly as tensions increase in the European debt crisis.

This final note on the way out, just to get back to that idea that the legacy of September 11th fundamentally isn't about economics or money....