Comment on Europe debt crisis shadows Fed meeting on economy

share: digg facebook twitter WASHINGTON (AP) — If the U.S. economic slowdown weren't enough to deal with, the Federal Reserve this week must consider a new threat: a resurgent European debt crisis that could imperil the global economy. The slowdown is sure to seize much of the Fed's attention this week. Since Fed policymakers last met in late April, the economy has weakened. The Fed could also pursue stepped-up lending to financial firms through its emergency loan program, called the discount window. Another is backing for "commercial paper" — the short-term loans that many U.S.