Forget America's credit rating - Europe is the one to watch

Yesterday was eventful, to say the least. The headline-grabber was the warning shot on US debt from credit ratings agency S&P. S&P switched the outlook for the US's AAA-credit rating to 'negative', and said that politicians would need to come up with a serious plan to sort the nation's finances within the next two years. S&P was only stating the obvious. But the deadline was a little tighter than perhaps expected. And with Democrats and Republicans fighting it out ahead of next year's election, it might be a tall order to find a plan that everyone can agree on. However, while the US news grabbed the front pages, the real culprit behind the market jitters lay much closer to home. The eurozone crisis looks like it's turning nasty again.