I know most people are tired about hearing of the economic problems in the eurozone . But my readers need to be aware: a new perfect storm is brewing because of that situation. The credit crisis in the eurozone has already created enough troubles in the global economy, but it is threatening to trigger more. Here is what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last week, “…the elevated levels of stress in European economies and uncertainty about how the problems there will be resolved are adding to the risks that U.S. financial institutions, businesses, and households must consider when making lending and investment decisions.” (Source: ‘The Economic Recovery and Economic Policy,” Federal Reserve, November 20, 2012.) Not many in the media picked this up, but it was very important. Bernanke, regardless of what you think of his policies, is the head of the most important central bank in the world…and a very intelligent man. He knows exactly what he and the Fed are doing. It’s unprecedented to have the head of the Fed warning Americans about a crisis in countries so far away. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out now that growth in the global economy has stalled because of the eurozone crisis. (I started writing in January of this year that the eurozone would fall back into recession in 2012 and that it would caused economic problems for the U.S.) The eurozone credit crisis is far from over—one country after another in that area is falling into a recession and this in turn is causing the global economy to deteriorate further. The region is now experiencing an economic slowdown the likes of which was last seen in 2009. Even the strongest nations in the eurozone region are starting to struggle as they face the reality of writing off loans they made to Greece. On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told German newspaper Bild that the eurozone should consider writing off loans they made to Greece—an idea Germany previously venomously opposed. (Source: Bild , December 2, 2012.) France’s debt has been downgraded by Moody’s Investor Services. The credit rating of the second biggest eurozone country was slashed one notch lower to AA1—down to a “high” grade investment rating from a “prime” grade investment rating. The credit rating agency believes France’s growth outlook is worsening. (Source: Moody’s Investor Services web site, last accessed December 3, 2012.) Similarly, Germany has been experiencing hardships, and although there’s no credit rating downgrade yet for this country, it won’t be surprising to see rating agencies soon provide a negative outlook on the biggest eurozone economy. Germany’s output has fallen for seven consecutive months. According to the Markit Flash Germany ... Read More