BRUSSELS, Belgium - December 8, 2011 - The European Central Bank spooked financial markets on Thursday by dousing hopes of dramatic crisis-fighting action in the euro area shortly before European leaders began what the French president billed as a last chance summit.

ATHENS, Greece - December 6, 2011 - Many Greeks are draining their savings accounts because they are out of work, face rising taxes or are afraid the country will be forced to leave the euro zone. By withdrawing money, they are forcing banks to scale back their lending - and are inadvertently making the Depression even worse.

Georgios Provopoulos, the governor of the central bank of Greece, is a man of statistics, and they speak a clear language. "In September and October, savings and time deposits fell by a further 13 to 14 billion euros. In the first 10 days of November the decline continued on a large scale," he recently told the economic affairs committee of the Greek Parliament.

OTTAWA, Canada (PNN) - December 5, 2011 - Canada's dollar is turning into a haven for foreign-exchange investors shunning European turmoil and seeking the safety of the U.S. without the budget deficits or political gridlock.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (PNN) - December 3, 2011 - A Utah man who wants to pay his taxes with silver coins has been rebuffed by outlaw state and county officials who claim it's impractical to accept the precious metals, even though state law says silver is legal tender.

Earlier this year, Utah became the first state in the country to legalize gold and silver coins as currency. But because the law doesn't require businesses to accept the metals, most government agencies and private merchants have not embraced the alternative method.

RIVERSIDE, Kalifornia - December 1, 2011 - A metal theft at a Riverside County mountaintop antenna site has knocked San Bernardino-based KVCR-TV off the air until repairs are completed.

This is the second incident of this type since last weekend. Both thefts hit the station’s remote-controlled transmitter on Box Springs Mountain that overlooks Moreno Valley to the south and the San Bernardino Valley to the north.

MELBOURNE, Australia - December 2, 2011 - Investment bank Macquarie Group was hit with a two-notch cut to its credit rating in a surprise move last night, as the big four were also downgraded.

WASHINGTON (PNN) - December 1, 2011 - New claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, popping above 400,000 for the first time in just over a month and reinforcing the view that the Depression continues.