RECORD LOW APARTMENT LOAN RATES
rates
As rumors of LEFTIST gaining popularity in Greece over REVOLT OVER AUSTERITY
everyone buys US currency and stashes it in their pillow. THE normal suspects go down as dollar gains in value oil, interest rates and stocks go down on fright to safety moves
Stocks fell sharply Wednesday as worries about Europe's debt, specifically the Spanish banking system,again shook confidence.
Investors flooded into U.S. Treasuries, raising prices and pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down to a record low of 1.656%.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was down 150 points, or 1.2%, in early trading. The S&P 500 (SPX) sank 17 points, or 1.2%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) declined 38 points, or 1.3%.
The European Central Bank issued a statement Wednesday saying it had not been consulted on the bailout for Bankia, the No. 4 bank in Spain, and that such a recapitalization could not be provided by the Eurosystem.
In addition, independent ratings agency Egan-Jones downgraded Spain's sovereign debt late Tuesday. The move raised more questions about the country's ability to fund bank bailouts that could reach as much as €100 billion.
Yields on 10-year Spanish debt soared to 6.62% Wednesday.
In addition, the European Commission's economic sentiment index fell for the second month in a row, hitting the lowest level since October 2009.
World markets were sharply lower on European concerns. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) dropped 1.6% in afternoon trading, the DAX (DAX) in Germany lost 1.3% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) plunged 1.7%.
CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index, which measures investor sentiment, remains firmly in "extreme fear" territory.
U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday, as investors welcomed a lack of negative headlines out of Europe and hopes that China would announce a new massive stimulus program
