Political divisions continue to hamper a comprehensive solution to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis. EU leaders are caught between market forces urging greater European fiscal integration and strong nationalist sentiments warning against a loss of political sovereignty.

Donna Smith discusses the implications that will arise if the U.S. "supercommittee" fails to produce a deficit-cutting plan.

Volatile global economic conditions have prompted hundreds of thousands of people around the world to demonstrate in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. But the movement's potential for lasting impact stirs strong debate.

G20 finance ministers are pressing their EU counterparts to provide a comprehensive plan for stabilizing the eurozone and easing fears of contagion. They have signaled that, for now, the onus is on Europe to fix its debt problems.

In the wake of financial regulatory overhaul, experts continue to differ on the role of the Federal Reserve and its powers.

Benn Steil's column in the October 10th edition of Dow Jones' Financial News takes a critical look at popular European calls for a new "Marshall Plan."

As Greece inches closer to defaulting on its pile of sovereign debt, European leaders must move quickly to recapitalize the continent's exposed banking sector, says EU economics expert Jacob Funk Kirkegaard.

Peter Orszag recommends tax incentives for investors who buy empty housing properties and rent them out.

Douglas W. Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), estimates that one-third of the federal deficit is due to the current underutilization of capital and labor resources in the economy.

Despite a German parliamentary vote to boost the eurozone's bailout mechanism, Greek sovereign debt levels appear unsustainable and a default may be inevitable. Most economists think the question now is how to make the process orderly.

President Obama sent this economic plan to Congress on dated September 19, 2011. The plan is summarized in the fact sheet presented here; for the full plan click on the link below.

Investors and financial markets are growing convinced that Greece will default on its debt, heightening fears of a eurozone banking crisis that would have significant ramifications for an already fragile global economy.

Sharp new fears of an escalation in eurozone debt troubles have intensified debate over whether to spur fiscal integration or risk a wider crisis with serious consequences for U.S. financial markets, experts say.

The thirteenth Geneva Report on the World Economy addresses fiscal consolidation policy.

Benn Steil and Paul Swartz look at the dangers of the European Central Bank's ever-deeper forays into fiscal policy and credit allocation.

Amid fears of another global recession, investors are focused on U.S. policymakers. Restoring confidence in the world's largest economy will require both national sacrifice and innovation--not more Fed intervention, says CFR's A. Michael Spence.

As Germany and France look to contain a mushrooming sovereign debt crisis, the eurozone will have to consider greater political integration or face a crumbling of the common currency zone, says EU expert Daniela Schwarzer.

International financial market upheaval continues in response to eurozone worries and the U.S. Fed's decision to keep its benchmark rate near zero until mid-2013. Analysts are divided on whether the Fed's move will curb volatility.

Global markets' reaction to eurozone turbulence and S&P's downgrade of U.S. debt add uncertainty to U.S. foreign policy, raising questions about which goals the country has the means to pursue, says CFR's James M. Lindsay.

With markets rattled by the downgrade of U.S. debt, some experts fear running out of policy tools to prevent another global recession, while others are calling on government and central banks to improve fiscal and monetary policy coordination.