Greek Fears Send Stocks Tumbling

Fears of default by the Greek government–and increasingly violent anarchist protests against the European Union-imposed austerity regime in Athens–have sent global markets into turmoil, erasing the gains of the last week and threatening to further delay America’s economic recovery:

Greek fears intensified after euro-zone officials failed to make progress on discussions about Greek aid and protests against austerity measures turned violent in Athens. Greek bonds were pummeled, sending yields to their highest levels since the inception of the euro.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, meanwhile, was trying to form a national unity government with opposition parties in an effort to build a consensus for austerity measures and other economic reforms. [Wall Street Journal]