Greece, which joined the euro two years after its inception, has concealed the dodgy state of its finances. Now it is under attack from speculators. A default could spread panic to other deficit-plagued economies, including those of Spain and Portugal, with scary consequences for Europe’s already shaky banking system. But if Greece’s partners bail it out, defying the euro’s founding treaty, the currency will suffer. Either way, the euro is in trouble, The Economist reported. This dilemma is felt especially keenly in Germany.

The Spanish government got a much-needed boost Wednesday when the nation's new €5 billion ($6.9 billion) bond issue was well received by investors, in spite of recent jitters over some euro-zone countries' public finances, The Wall Street Journal reported. The offering drew about €14 billion of interest from investors, a sign that—despite some recent doubts—Spain still has the confidence of bond markets. The deal followed bond sales by Portugal and Ireland, other nations that have been the source of some investor concern in the wake of Greece's woes.

The frenzy has left euro zone governments surprised and bruised, and wondering whether there is anything they can do to stop this kind of assault from the financial markets. The answer is probably no, but that doesn't mean they won't try, The Wall Street Journal reported. From the point of view of derivatives traders in Europe, the timing hasn't been good. Just as the decision by Goldman Sachs and one or two other investment banks to pay out billions of dollars in compensation reignited a U.S.

As Europe edges toward emergency guarantees to stem market panic over one of the most profligate members of the euro bloc, the country that the region turns to for leadership, Germany, is suffering from growing doubts about the European experiment it long championed, The New York Times reported. Reluctant German leaders now find themselves forced to help Greece remain solvent, or risk watching markets attack one weak member after the next, from Portugal to Spain to Italy, threatening the stability of the euro, the European currency Germany fought so hard to create.

A messy Greek default would harm almost everybody, The Economist reported in an editorial. As markets and governments know only too well, behind Greece stand others: Portugal, Ireland, Spain and even Italy, the world’s third-biggest sovereign debtor. Hence the selfish case for other euro-area countries to help. There is plenty of money around. The EU can advance structural-fund aid that is due to be paid in future years. The European Investment Bank can lend more.

The Australian sharemarket fell to a five-month low today, taking the market's loss this week to $30.83 billion, The Australian reported. The surprise 268 point plunge on the Dow Jones Index on Wall Street overnight created an instant negative lead for equities markets across the Asia Pacific region. In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 dropped 107.3 points to 4514.3 while the All Ordinaries was down 111.4 points to 4532.7.

Gordon Brown received a twin blow today when a leading ratings agency warned Britain to get a tighter grip on its record budget deficit and figures revealed that the slump of the past 18 months was now officially the deepest since the second world war, The Guardian reported. Fitch said that the UK – along with France and Spain – needed to "articulate more credible and stronger fiscal consolidation during the course of 2010 to underpin confidence in the sustainability of public finances".

A senior General Motors Co. executive said Tuesday that the final restructuring plan for GM's Opel/Vauxhall unit still could hinge on aid commitments from European governments, Dow Jones reported. The company aims to advance a new €3.3 billion turnaround plan for the European operation in two to three weeks and wants aid to supplement further investment of its own. Nick Reilly, president of GM's international operations, said there was no "bidding war" among European countries looking to preserve local auto jobs with financial support.

The Bank of Spain said on Tuesday that it has approved the takeover of the only Spanish bank to be bailed out during the financial crisis, Caja Castilla La Mancha (CCM), Reuters reported. A savings bank from the region of Asturias, Cajastur, will take control of CCM if the general assemblies of both regional banks approve the terms of the deal, the Bank of Spain said in a statement.

At this time last year Jim Flynn and Nathan Berkley seemed to have it made. Their publishing house, Derwent Howard Media, looked to be thriving, with a string of successful specialist magazines led by flagship titles Official PlayStation Magazine, Ultimate Nintendo and Australian 360, The Australian reported. Just a year later it has all fallen apart. As of last week the company is in administration and faces being wound up. Berkley has moved to Spain and seemingly cut off all contact and a lot of people are concerned for their jobs, potentially out of pocket, and very confused.