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La clasificación según S&P, Moody's y Fitch.

Germany's cabinet has passed a draft law to provide for its portion of Europe's 750 billion euro package to prop up the ailing currency. But will the fund work? Experts are warning that the side effects may be difficult to stomach.

The International Monetary Fund and the European Union are coming to Greece's aid with a financial commitment worth billions. But is it already too late to rescue the cash-strapped country?

The United States officials began talking to their counterparts about an American concept: overwhelming force. "It's all about psychology," said the senior official. "You have to convince people that the government will get its act together."

Meanwhile, the banks that caused much of this mess are getting all their money back. A more equitable approach would require the banks to pay at least part of the bill - writing down the debts of some European governments or extending their maturities into the future to allow battered European economies time to recover.

O governo espanhol anunciou a redução de 5% dos salários dos funcionários públicos, o congelamento de salários e o corte de investimentos públicos para enfrentar a crise econômica que afeta o país. Na Grécia, sindicatos convocam quinta greve geral contra corte de pensões anunciado pelo governo. Para analista do Financial Times, origem da crise da dívida dos governos é a prodigalidade de amplos segmentos do setor privado, e do setor financeiro, em particular. "Os mercados financeiros financiaram a orgia e, agora, em pânico, estão se recusando a financiar a faxina resultante", diz Martin Wolf.

Nie wieder eine solche Krise: Der europäische Zentralbankpräsident Trichet ruft die Euro-Staaten zur Ordnung. In der "vielleicht schwierigsten Situation seit dem Ersten Weltkrieg" müssten sie endlich ihre Finanzpolitik konsolidieren, sagte er dem SPIEGEL - und bekommt Unterstützung von Kanzlerin Merkel.

¿Por qué hay enormes déficits presupuestarios en todo el planeta? No es porque, de repente, todos los funcionarios del mundo se hayan convertido en apparatchiki de estilo soviético. Es, y por mucho, porque una economía global en declive ha llevado a menores ingresos y a un mayor gasto público en la red de seguridad social. El colmo de la ignorancia económica es proponer la destrucción de esa red de seguridad social a partir de una extrapolación de las equivocadas lecciones proporcionadas por los particularísimos problemas en que se ha metido a sí propia la eurozona.

Could euro devaluation increase the size of the U.S. deficit? Marshall Auerback explores the possibility, and what it means if deficit hysteria continues unchecked.

The Portuguese government Thursday followed Spain's lead in agreeing with the main opposition party on more austerity measures to cut the deficit faster than planned, to 4.6 percent of gross domestic product next year from 9.4 percent last year.

The 750 billion euro package the European Union passed last week to prop up the common currency has been heavily criticized in Germany. Former Bundesbank head Karl Otto Pöhl told SPIEGEL that Greece may ultimately have to opt out, and that the foundation of the euro has been fundamentally weakened.

Before making a commitment to indefinite recession and slow recovery, Greece may want to consider the alternatives

The prominent economist explains why the model of the financial supermarket is a disaster, and why it's so dangerous that Wall Street is back to business as usual.

Europe has put up 750 billion euros in an effort to stop speculation against the European common currency. Still, it remains to be seen if financial markets will learn their lesson. After all, speculators aren't even being punished for the damage they have caused. But they should be.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy warned of damage to Franco-German relationship if Angela Merkel opposed EU plan

The audacious bid to protect the euro with a massive rescue fund seems to be faltering. The euro is still losing value as investors worry about the consequences of tough austerity measures. German papers on Friday dissect the common currency's ongoing problems.

Greece will unlikely be able to pay off its nearly 300 billion euro debt, but the rescue package will enable it to hold out for a few more years, according to Heinemann. "In the end, there will be a restructuring of Greece's debt… but in the meantime before that happens, other countries will make such progress that the danger of a meltdown will no longer exist," he told Deutsche Welle. "This means maybe in 2012 a restructuring of Greece's debt can be undertaken without shock waves being triggered."

Worried about your euros? You're not alone. As the euro plunges, many observers fear a possible collapse of the European single currency.

European financial markets were expected to suffer another week of turmoil after the Spanish government was forced over the weekend to rescue a regional mortgage lender and European leaders revealed deep divisions over how to tackle mounting deficits in the eurozone.