Your European Vacation Just Got A Lot Cheaper

Jillian Bandes | May 11, 2010 10:23 AM

It seems that money can’t buy confidence. The euro dropped .5% against the dollar this morning and stock markets were in a tizzy after news of Europe’s $1 billion bailout package buttressed and then busted the confidence of worldwide investors.

Investors were skeptical of the planned rescue of Europe’s faltering economies – perhaps they, more than the governments that regulate them, are conscious of the fact that money doesn’t grow on trees.

The drama reached an apex yesterday, when the U.S. market shot upwards after it received news of the European bailout. But it quickly dropped back down this morning after confidence in that bailout lagged. All told, the Dow went up 3.9 percent yesterday, and declined .6% today. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index suffered more, rising 7.2% yesterday, and then falling 1.7% percent this morning.

Marek Belka, the director of the International Monetary Fund’s European department, told Bloomberg that the “unprecedented” European bailout package isn’t going to work as a long-term solution. Combine that with inflation in China and faltering commodities, and the investing outlook for any of the world markets isn’t looking particularly rosy.