Of course, like usual people neglect to see the real picture. Placing blame on something that has NOTHING to do with the situation, and sking if bigger government could do more for them, on behalf of their pension. This has nothing to do with the "Greek people need to work more and worry less", or that "Because of a 'market stir' the other day". No one has mentioned what caused "that little stir", nothing about the fact that the entire economy is run on high frequency trades riddled with fraud allocation vehicles. Or the fact that the entire platform of price discovery mechanisms are all either CDO's, Derivatives, or the fact that the entire stock exchange system is run on fraud conducting based algorithms. Of course none of that would ever trigger a "stir" in the stock market (DOW fell 1,000 points in a minutes notice then went back up the "daily average" range in another minutes notice, which has never been seen before.) And this Greek situation, of course it was not caused by the fact that more than half of the lobbyist and "credit agents" that were moved over to work in Greece in 2004 and 2006 were former Goldman Sachs bankers. Also, the fact that last year and the beginning of this year, Gold Man Sachs and mot of the "too big to fail" banks sent US tax payer dollars into Greece to bail them out so they wouldn't default (all based on CDOs, of course). So now, just like any predatory loaning scheme, you owe the person who dealt you the loan something in return (collateral). And how is it that a country who is asking for money and who is drowning in debt going to pay back such a HUGE loan. People of the world, RISE UP!!

WASHINGTON – The stock market's slump this week reflects a widespread concern among many economists that the European debt crisis could slow the U.S. economic recovery.

Few expect the problems in Greece and other European nations such as Portugal and Spain to drag the United States back into recession. But the crisis has increased the uncertainty facing U.S. business leaders.

nice chemtrail, huh.

"The perception of risk has just changed in a major way," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. "Business leaders now think
there is more risk in the world economy than they did 30 days ago."

A weaker European economy could reduce demand for U.S. exports, as European consumers cut back their purchases of autos, appliances and
other goods.

And as the euro declines in value compared to the dollar, U.S. goods become more expensive in the 16 countries that use the European currency.

"There is some negative effect on the U.S. economy, no doubt," said Michael Mussa, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Still, Mussa said the impact in Europe will likely be greater. While Greece's economy isn't that large, many major European banks hold billions of dollars of its debt. Should
Greece default on or restructure its debt, which many economists
expect, those banks — still recovering from the 2008-2009 financial
crisis — may cut back lending to conserve cash.

That's even more likely if other highly indebted nations, such as Ireland, Spain, or Portugal also run into problems financing their deficits. Tighter credit would slow Europe's economy.

And efforts by Greece and the others to reduce their deficits, through tax increases and spending cuts, could also worsen their economies.

The growing European debt crisis has sent stock markets on a wild ride. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 140 points, or 1.3 percent on Friday. That followed the 1,000 point plunge Thursday afternoon, before the markets recovered to close
with a 348-point loss.

Vitner said he worries that Europe's debt crisis could tip the 16 countries that use the euro back into a recession. The euro area comprises the second-largest
economy in the world, after the United States. And as in the United
States, Europe's economy has been slowly recovering from recession.

Economists say the situation is reminiscent of the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008. The resulting chaos caused banks to clamp down on lending. Nervous consumers stopped spending. Companies facing
plummeting sales cut back on production and laid off millions of
workers.

Some economists raise the prospect of a similar cycle in Europe.

"Europe feels like we did after Lehman Brothers," said Barry Eichengreen, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. "No one has seen this kind of thing before ... and they are questioning the
competence of their leaders to deal with it, and rightly so."

European consumers may soon cut back on purchases of new cars or appliances, Eichengreen said, "because they don't know what's next."

President Barack Obama's goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years is unlikely to be reached under these conditions, economists say.

Obama's plan "is completely off the table if the dollar remains strong and one of the leading economic areas enters a deep recession," said Eswar
Prasad, an economics professor at Cornell University.

A $140 billion rescue package agreed to by the International Monetary Fund and European leaders has failed to resolve concerns in the
financial markets that Greece might default on its debts.

The concerns are likely amplified, economists said, because memories of the 2008 crisis are still fresh. Before the recession, many experts, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, said the fallout from the subprime housing bust wouldn't spill over to the broader economy.

"Remember, people thought the subprime mortgage crisis would go away, and it didn't," said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Smith School of Business at California State University.