In the last few days a Tumblr called simply Sad Guys On Trading Floors has had yet another jolt in internet popularity. This snarky view of those connected to the stock market is pervasive throughout the American citizenry. Their lack of sympathy of course is not unearned. This week the dollar took a hit by being downgraded from a triple A economy (AAA) to an AA+ economy by the firm Standard’s & Poor. Interestingly this same firm once gave AAA ratings to banks and toxic assets that caused our first crash back in 2008. Now as they have denigrated the dollar they have once again launched a sell off on the stock market sure to hit middle America and the middle class at large hard.

It would seem there is a few things the markets could(but most likely will not) do to save face and maybe save some people a lot of hardship. For one thing they could hold on to stocks rather than making moves on short term fears. The only way for the economy to begin to grow and for business development to flourish again is for money to still be circulating throughout it. With the government officially on cut-back mode that leaves the private sector and Wall Street to bravely take on investing in America once again. Of course I won’t hold my breath.

Greek skies are dark.

Greece is still in a sticky situation. When the IMF members meet this week, they will decide on the fate of this Mediterranean country, and how to deal with its onerous debt.

If Greece defaults on its debt and drops out of the Euro zone, the complications for business around the world could be catastrophic. Default could become contagious and spread to Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and even Italy.

Greece is deeply entrenched in its uncompetitive, profligate ways. Even if it doesn’t default, which it hopefully will not, it faces years of debt restructuring ahead. The Economist argues that its $159 billion bailout package will not be enough. The prime minister, George Papandreou, hopes that the IMF and EU voters will be able to rustle up another $100 billion or so to prop the country until the middle of this decade, when the EU will have a better plan for what to do with the fiscally insolvent. But the rest of Europe (ahem, Germany) will be irate if this happens.

The best option for Greece is an entire debt restructuring. That would mean big losses for Greek banks and other Europeans as well as more influence from Brussels and the IMF, which could be a good thing for European fiscal policy. Here’s hoping.

President Obama will address the nation tonight regarding American intervention in the Middle East.  Republicans have been quick to paint him as a ditherer, but Obama’s pretext is that it is better to mitigate the “reflexive suspicion” of America as world police, than to soil our hands with another Arab war. David Cameron and Nicholas Sarkozy issued a join statement urging Gadhafi loyalists to side with NATO. The protection of civilians has been the main reason for the West to join in the wartime proceedings. But the real issues are just beginning.

Libya is a relatively unimportant country in terms of global power. Egypt, Iran and Syria are perhaps the three most important. The developments in Libya matter insofar as how they affect the momentum of the uprisings. How developments in the Big Three turn out could determine the fate of the 21st century.

Americans have low inflation and the central bank can easily ignore the sudden rise in oil prices. But around the world, rising food prices will be felt even more severely as inflation rises. That means that more unrest could be imminent as the countries who feel this the most are the emerging economies like China, Brazil and India and the Mideast. Food subsidies are prevalent in these developing countries, which is bad, potentially bankrupting news as more money goes to oil and food.

And if political uncertainty continues, the prices will only rise faster. Food prices rose 2.2% last month to a record high. Staples like wheat, rice and corn are most in danger of becoming unaffordable for many.

In other news, the Euro rose against the dollar as ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said that inflation will remain where it is; borrowing costs will stay at 1%. This overwhelmed unexpected business job filings in the U.S.  The Dow Jones is up 170 points at midday.

High oil business prices are poised to dramatically affect global economic growth this year. As The Economist notes, an 85% hike in oil prices is almost always followed by a recession. While other developed nations have a petrol tax, above 1%, ours is about a quarter of a percent. This leads to increased spending on highways, perpetuating the problem instead of spending on transit alternatives.

The Arab countries in revolt (Egypt, Yemen, Iran, Algeria, Libya, and Bahrain) supply about a fifth of the world’s oil, and since prices reflect future expectations, the more trouble, the more expensive oil is.

Chances are there will be many more repercussions of the revolution. Even if the Saudis can make up for the lack, it won’t be for long. Americans should begin to think about oil business alternatives and absorbing revenue from rising oil prices with a petrol tax is the best way to force them to do so.

This is an important time in American history. Depending on how we recover from the Great Recession, which we have already begun to do (but still have a long way to go), the next ten to twenty years will be dramatically affected.

Unemployment is still absurdly high. The budget deficit is another large issue. Together, the slight business tax cuts that were mentioned in President Obama’s State of the Union speech will not do much to rectify these issues. On Tuesday night, there was a vague promise to make America competitive again. But to bring high-speed rail and broadband internet to most of the country is not a cheap endeavor. It’s going to be hard to cut the budget, but it is dramatically important to do so beginning next year.

Without showing any spine about cutting pensions and Social Security, and with Republicans ready to start slashing, the collision between Democrats and Republicans looks to be ugly. International business to business competition should improve, but it will take time. In March when the fiscal debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion is reached there will be a vote on how to spend. Don’t expect there to be any grand compromises.

Ireland made headlines as the government took control of Allied Irish Banks, which was once the country’s largest. It will have a $4.85 billion injection of cash taken from pension reserves to prevent further loan losses. It will also be delisted on major stock exchanges.

This comes as Spain and Portugal’s credit ratings are downgraded and the Irish government prepares for when bankers resize the global economy in the  new year. They badly want to move away from the PIIGS denomination. Now taxpayers own about 93 percent of Ireland’s banking system.

Hungary is also making headlines, but less for business matters and more for their bizarrely conservative media laws. In January, they will hold the rotating seat of the EU presidency. And ever since last April, Fidesz, the political party that won with almost two thirds of the vote, has been making independent organizations subject to governmental control. A media committee will be able to impose large fines on broadcasting, online and print media that offends “human dignity.” They’re taking a lot of heat from the rest of Europe in the meanwhile.

For a pretty good general roundup of European business and business to business relationships, The Economist made this cool video that explains the rest of the European power relations emerging in the 21st century. Here it is.

Tax breaks, especially mortgage-interest deductions will be changed, and a cap on loans less than $500,000 will be employed. Plus a 12% nonrefundable tax credit will be offered, as well as lower income-tax rates to offset the new expenditures.

Regarding Social Security, the new retirement age will be 68 by 2050 and 69 by 2075. A hardship exemption for low-income earners and those who can’t work beyond 62 is also in the works. Sweeping changes to Medicare and Medicaid will also be necessary, and especially contentious.

A vote on the proposal will occur Friday. Under President Obama’s plan, formed in February, 14 of 18 committee members must agree for the plan to pass. With six Democrats, six Republicans, and six unelected officials, consensus could be a tall order.

The extension of the Bush tax cuts is the most important domestic issue currently on the table. A compromise will likely involve a general extension of the cuts, and a concession of the estate tax and unemployment compensation, also due to expire at the end of this month.

President Obama has urged for $50 billion in stimulus monies to be directed towards infrastructure renovation, but it is likely that he will meet some hurdles. Boehner, head of a large freshman class of traditional, conservative slah-spending Republicans, may be put at odds to move ahead with bipartisan cooperation. And in the meanwhile, Republicans vaunt Sarah Palin’s new book, which shows her looking as powerful as ever.

But Boehner’s temperance and modest beginnings (the second of twelve from a Cincinnati bar owner) seem to be a good fit with an anti-Ivy League House. As Congress works to alleviate government debt, and determine what to do about the Bush tax cuts, it is likely that Boehner will  become a vaunted leader of a diverse House of Tea Party fundamentalists and old school Republicans. But he would never say that.

The notion of state communism buying out capitalistic markets may be frightening to many free marketers, but it is exactly this that will lead the world economy into the 21st century. Tensions about rigging economies for the sake of politics will only undermine global capitalism. China couldn’t possibly own all of the energy resources in the world; and as a result buyers will always have another choice. Competition remains the driving force in this market, and global investment is the right avenue. Moreover, investment abroad will bring China into a more diplomatic arena, one they desperately need to enter.

In the meanwhile, Barack Obama finished his tour of Asia, but couldn’t seal the deal on a trade pact with South Korea that would have represented the largest of its kind since Nafta. The free trade agreements may meet with discontent on Capitol Hill, something which the president seemed wary of. The fact that he was unable to deliver at deadline, his advisors noted, is “very troubling.”