Just when investors thought the Greece situation might be stabilizing, it grew direr. After several days of gains, European markets were rattled on Thursday and Friday as worries over Greece's ability to pay its bills intensified. Stock and bond markets turned down, while the euro lost more ground to the dollar. Postcards From the Edge Other European nations face debt challenges, too—so many that a debate has begun to rage over the future of the once-sacred euro itself. The fiscal woes are weighing heavily on the region's economic growth, which is expected to trail even lowly Japan in 2010. With so many problems to contend with, it is little wonder that Citigroup Global Markets recently called Europe the "sick man of the world." The most successful investors, of course, spot opportunity where others see only danger—and possess the courage to rush in as everyone else flees. Most famously, in March 2009, with the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index plunging through 800 toward a devilish 666, a few hardy souls placed buy orders among the stampede of sells—and were rewarded with the short-term rally of a lifetime.[Read more...]