Harold Meyerson confuses them today in an otherwise useful column on how democratic governments are being forced aside due to economic pressures.

Until now, German bonds have been seen as the safe Euro debt that investors could still hold, but investors threatened to blow right by that safety valve today when they bought less than two thirds of the German bonds up for auction.

The Greek Parliament passed a property tax levy, the latest austerity measure imposed by Greece’s creditors as a condition for receiving the next installment of funding from the Euro bailout mechanism. It’s looking like a morality play, in which creditors feel morally justified in punishing debtors.

At this point it could be Angela Merkel and the European Central Bank that determine Obama’s electoral fate. For people in the White House, that shouldn’t be a reassuring thought.

Stocks have fallen 2% in early trading, but recovered off session lows and are basically even with the lower opening. The Standard and Poor’s political gambit is certainly part of the story, but the crisis in Europe has driven stock prices over the past week or so. A discussion between the world’s leading finance ministers focused more on Europe than S&P. The debt crisis there led to a Sunday night bailout (Sunday is the new Monday again, as Calculated Risk tells us) from the European Central Bank, which intervened to purchase Italian and Spanish debt to lower their yields.

A pox on every central bank, bank, insurance company, hedge fund and every individual player who is betting on Greece’s financial problems. I hope they all get burned.

The Financial Times and New York Times are reporting large selloffs today in Asian and European markets, and they’re expecting the tidal wave to hit the US markets this morning. Pre-market futures are in negative double digits, so it looks nasty. But pay attention: this is about your social security.

After dithering for several hours, European leaders held a late-night press conference to announce a large deal that they hope will stabilize the economies of the euro zone.