Here's our summary of the key news overnight in 90 seconds at 9 am, including news that there has been a heightened sense of concern about where Europe is headed overnight.
Italy announced it won't meet its debt reduction targets; Spain has made a similar announcement and its banks are the subject of new concerns. The Greeks are backsliding too.
The IMF warned that EU banks are in the process of a mammoth deleveraging - which involves shifting liabilities to the taxpayer - and the Germans are looking at all this with horror.
The growing sense that the sudden austerity will make things worse is pitting the Germans vs the rest.
Adding to the woes, Fitch has warned The Netherlands that it is at risk of losing its AAA credit rating. And Argentina's nationalising of a major Spanish oil company isn't helping either.
US Treasuries rose, commodity prices fell. The oil price retreated, as did copper and dairy products as we reported yesterday.
There were disappointing earnings reports from some major tech companies in the US and their earnings rally is losing steam. The Dow is down.
Across the Tasman, a retiring bank executive has forecast that the Chinese will seek to take a cornerstone shareholding in one of the big Aussie banks. He didn't know who, but he said these banks are being eyed because of their strength and expertise in navigating the financial crisis well.
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