Global stock markets are sinking lower this morning as a result of more uncertainty in the eurozone.
The market falls follow news that Greek prime minister George Papandreou wants to hold a national referendum before accepting the latest package of aid.
This has led to one person I follow on Twitter questioning whether Papandreou might have taken out an option on the FTSE 100 yesterday!
The markets were buoyed last week with the expectation that the three-pronged rescue package agreed by European leaders would be sufficient to deal with the eurozone sovereign debt problems.
That optimism is quickly disappearing after what can only be described as an unexpected decision by Greece.
It’s not all bad news on the economic front, however.
The provisional third quarter economic growth figures in the UK show that the economy grew by 0.5%. This compares with growth of only 0.1% in the second quarter of the year.
Whilst a reasonable level of growth for the quarter, the economic outlook for the UK remains rather subdued. These latest GDP figures are not being seen as a big economic rebound, rather a modest improvement on a very weak previous quarter.
Perhaps more positive is the news that UK house prices have experienced their first year-on-year rise in six months, according to Nationwide.
The latest figures from Nationwide show house prices up 0.4% in October compared to September, and up 0.8% over the past year.
Whilst these figures look quite positive, and rising house prices make an important contribution to consumer confidence, they are being published against a backdrop of low levels of property transactions, massive regional variations and an uncertain outlook for housing.
As we head into the final part of the year, the outlook for global economies and markets is far from certain.
Whilst it was nice to think for a few days last week that a solution for the eurozone debt crisis had been found, reality is sinking in this week and the actual result will be interesting to watch.
Photo credit: Flickr/runran
