Global Games of Chicken Ruffling Investors' Feathers

U.S. Fiscal Cliff, Greece Bailout Hanging Over Markets

Financial markets have reacted negatively this week to three dangerous "games of chicken" being simultaneously played out across the globe, according to Andrew Busch, Global Currency and Public Policy Strategist with BMO Capital Markets.

China's new leadership team is waiting to see if the country's stock market - currently near four-year lows - and its economy will stabilize before acting aggressively with stimulus. In Europe, Greece's recently-unveiled bailout brought only temporary relief for the euro amid skepticism the deal will do much to solve the beleaguered country's debt crisis.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Congressional Democrats and Republicans continue to wrangle as the January 1 "fiscal cliff" deadline nears.

Combined, these three matters will hang over markets into December, stirring increasing concern of a "collision," Busch, a CME Group featured contributor, wrote on his Global Macro Strategy blog. "Unlike the participants in the "chicken" game, traders and investors won't sit idly by hoping a collision is avoided."

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