European stocks and euro dive on Greece fears

European stocks slumped and the euro hit lows last seen in January on Monday after Greece said it would not meet deficit reduction targets this year and next, putting even more pressure on the eurozone.European markets were down more than 2.0 percent as banks tumbled on the first trading day of the fourth quarter after Greece said the 2011 budget deficit would come in at 8.5 percent of GDP, well short of its 7.4 percent target.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan shocked markets on Thursday with a radical overhaul of its policymaking, adopting a new balance sheet target and pledging to double its government bond holdings in two years as it seeks to end nearly two decades of deflation.

(LONDON) — European stocks slumped at the open Monday as investors gave their initial verdict to a weekend plan to tax depositors in Cypriot banks as part of a bailout of the Mediterranean island nation. Though Cyprus only accounts for around 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, the tax on depositors has stoked fears of bank runs in other troubled European economies. Since the European debt crisis began in late 2009, savers have been spared.

(LONDON) — European stocks slumped at the open Monday as investors gave their initial verdict to a weekend plan to tax depositors in Cypriot banks as part of a bailout of the Mediterranean island nation. Though Cyprus only accounts for around 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, the tax on depositors has stoked fears of bank runs in other troubled European economies. Since the European debt crisis began in late 2009, savers have been spared.

(LONDON) — European stocks slumped at the open Monday as investors gave their initial verdict to a weekend plan to tax depositors in Cypriot banks as part of a bailout of the Mediterranean island nation. Though Cyprus only accounts for around 0.2 percent of the combined output of the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, the tax on depositors has stoked fears of bank runs in other troubled European economies. Since the European debt crisis began in late 2009, savers have been spared.

It's a sea of red in the US and European equity markets following the victory of president Obama and statements made by ECB president Mario Draghi. US equities are now down well over 2% and most of Europe was down between 1 and 2 %. Things would not be any different if Romney had won. Regardless of who won, the global headwinds would have been the same, and the global economy is in a recession already (it's not widely recognized yet, but it soon will be).

LONDON — The schism dividing the eurozone’s strong and weak economies deepened to include its core pairing in February as French firms suffered their worst month in four years in stark contrast to prospering Germany. The gap between the two biggest economies in the eurozone is now at its widest since purchasing manager surveys (PMIs) started in 1998, the latest sounding showed. It dealt a blow to hopes the eurozone might emerge from recession soon, showing the downturn across the region’s businesses worsened unexpectedly this month.

Following a relatively tiny two-day rally in the Euro the ECB blows its horn with a statement Credit Crunch AvertedThe euro rose, extending its first weekly gain versus the dollar in six weeks, as Italian bonds advanced and after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers have averted a credit shortage.