Europe Debt, Europe Debt Crisis | featured news

U.S. stock futures are back up near Wednesday's opening price this morning as investors continue to focus firmly on Italy. Yesterday the Dow dropped almost 400 points as Italian bond yields surged past the 7% mark that is seen as the point of no return. At a time when the country has a lot of debt to refinance, borrowing costs are seen as unsustainable.

Economist Lucas Papademos will be Greece’s next prime minister, the Greek president’s office announced Thursday, giving to a non-politician the job of passing an unpopular bailout plan before elections are held next year.

The shock waves of Europe's debt crisis will take a toll on corporate America, particularly sellers of cars, consumer products and basic materials that generate significant revenue on the continent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 200 points just before midday Wednesday after Italy's borrowing costs soared, a sign that Europe's debt crisis had spilled into the third-largest economy in the euro bloc.

Greek PM George Papandreou says an agreement has been reached on the creation of an interim government that will secure the new debt deal.

Italian borrowing costs reached breaking point on Wednesday after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's insistence on elections instead of an interim government opened the way to prolonged instability and delays to long-promised economic reforms.

Greece’s two main political parties reached an agreement Sunday to form a unity government, giving Europe a steadier partner as it works to avert a larger financial crisis on the continent. Prime Minister George Papandreou will resign after the new government is formed, officials said, although the timing, and his successor, remained unclear.

Greece's embattled prime minister and main opposition leader agreed Sunday to form an interim government to ensure the country's new European debt deal and oversee early elections, capping a week of political turmoil that saw Greece facing a catastrophic default and threatening its euro membership.

President Obama and the G-20 could not agree on how to add resources to the International Monetary Fund so that it can help with the European debt crisis. G-20 members did say that the IMF should have more tools and money, but decisions on exactly how to do that were put off until next year.

The next tranche of rescue loans for Greece will be withheld until after a bailout referendum, expected in early December, European leaders warn.