Greece

Looking like it was another 'buy the rumor sell the news' near term.

After you do the maths it still doesn't add up.

It can't add up. more »

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This week was a sharp reminder that the ancient ideal of democracy is just as threatened - and to some, just as threatening - as it's ever been. In government offices in Athens, G20 meeting rooms in Cannes, and "Super Committee" chambers in Washington, we learned that there are still places where the will of the people can be overruled by the whims of the powerful.

From the Parthenon to the Potomac, it was the same story: Elites still hold veto power over the democratic process, and they're not afraid to use it.

Democracy: 'Radical,' 'Irrational,' 'Dangerous'

Ironically, this week's ferment began in the country that's usually credited with creating democracy. In many ways the Greek economy couldn't be more different from our own. The government's fiscal problems there are due in large part to widespread corruption and massive tax evasion - not tax breaks, tax evasion - which are very different from our own problems. The government's finances dramatically worse than our own - almost like night and day - and a default could create the next major financial crisis.

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While Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was on the talk shows reassuring America that the economy is healing, developments in Europe threatened to cut the legs out from under a U.S. recovery. more »

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