Global Economy

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>European Markets </b>

National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets. <b>Germany’s DAX dropped 0.7 percent, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.7 percent. Spain’s IBEX 35 lost 1.1 percent, led by Banco Santander SA</b>.

<b>Spain had its AAA sovereign credit rating removed by Standard & Poor’s in the second downgrade of a euro-region government in five days</b>, as the country’s first recession in 15 years swelled the budget deficit. <b>Greece’s rating was cut one step to A- on Jan. 14</b>.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 1.1 percent, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.4 percent today.
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