Europe’s cloud over the sunny U.S. jobs report
The jobs numbers are significantly better than expected, spawning hopeful predictions about the U.S. economy in 2012. But as the good news came out this morning, stocks went down across the board. Why? Confidence has plummeted once more in Europe, dragging down global markets--including ours. 
(SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES)
Italy and Spain have been unable to convince enough investors to buy their debt at low yields, forcing the European Central Bank to intervene once again and buy up their government bonds, as the Wall Street Journal reports. Such developments make it increasingly clear that the ECB’s attempt to inject more funds last month hasn’t been enough to restore countries like Italy and Spain to health.
Obviously, the market isn’t everything, and it’s heartening to finally see some improvement in the real US. economy. But the disconnect is a reminder that the euro crisis is still positioned to slow the U.S. recovery -- if it doesn’t prevent it altogether.
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