Asian markets were down last night. The Nikkei was down 1.49% and Shanghai was down 0.51%.

 

In Europe, the DAX and FTSE are both following suit. The DAX is down 1.29% and the FTSE 100 is down 1.75% at 6:39 a.m. CT.

 

The euro continues its plummet against the dollar. It's at 1.2475 against the U.S. dollar, which is down 0.4555%.

 

The Japanese yen is down 0.216% against the dollar at 92.58.

 

Fears over Europe's ailing economy returned this morning and that is driving London's FTSE index sharply lower. Paralleling the FTSE drop is the fall of the euro, which is at its lowest point since March 2009.

 

As divisions mount in Europe over the building economic crisis, there is a growing fear that the euro may break apart. Germany is trying to fix issues created in the 1990s and it is creating political standoffs that could impact the future power of the European Union, and perhaps even its survival.

 

Japan is currently suffering an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. As a result, it has ordered a mass culling of its hog and cattle herd. About 0.7% of the nation's hog herd will be destroyed and about 0.1% of the cattle herd will be culled.

 

Editorial board member Barbara Shelley doesn't like the idea recently proposed by Missouri's legislature: horse slaughter.

 

It's graduation season. The Chicago Sun-Times has compiled a list of the best celebrity graduation speeches. Hear from scholarly giants like Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert and Will Ferrell.