The third-quarter earnings season kicked off today with an ominous warning about global growth from the IMF. A weak consolation for Americans is that we are the only major economy where the IMF expects decent growth in the next year.

The International Monetary Fund says economic growth in the world economy is slowing down sharply and that even the U.S. recovery is at risk.

In an exclusive broadcast interview, the International Monetary Fund chief urged U.S. leaders to take swift action on the so-called fiscal cliff, and called for European leaders to continue vetting the region's debt crisis.

The European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the IMF began meetings in Greece today — they'd like to know what structural reform progress has been made in return for billions in bailout money.

New fears of a Spanish recession despite bailout measures are shaking global markets today as the threat of Greece's economic crisis still looms large in the region.

But experts say the yuan is still substantially undervalued against the U.S. dollar. And the change won't mean much improvement in the persistent U.S.-China trade imbalance.

Euro leaders say they are committed to Greece staying with the euro, but talk of an exit is growing louder. Finance ministers have advised euro zone members to draw up contingency plans for what's being called an "amiable divorce" from Greece.

After months of wrangling and a marathon meeting yesterday, European finance ministers have agreed on a $170 billion plus bailout for Greece. That'll save the country from a messy default, but stability can be hard to get too excited about, for Greeks and banks that owned Greek bonds — especially with the harsh terms of the agreement.

Greeks rioted over the weekend, burning dozens of buildings in protest against budget cuts that are the latest condition for a $170 billion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.