September 12, 2011
The dreaded D-word for those struggling with Europe's economic crisis is no longer just "debt."
Try "default."
European politicians, who denied for months that bankruptcy was an option as Greece struggled to bring down an enormous budget deficit, are now beginning to acknowledge the possibility.
Nervous investors appear to increasingly believe default is just around the corner. They have withdrawn billions of dollars from Europe's stock markets over the last few weeks. Beyond cold-shouldering Greece, investors are punishing European banks that hold huge piles of government debt and pulling back on lending money to traditionally safe countries such as Italy.
On Monday, fears that Athens is heading inexorably toward default and deepening doubts over whether Europe's leaders have the political will or skill to keep the debt crisis from spiraling out of control sent the region's stocks tumbling.
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