by Calculated Risk on 8/10/2011 11:22:00 PM

• From Nelson Schwartz at the NY Times: Financial Turmoil Evokes Comparison to 2008 Crisis

Many Americans are wondering whether they are in for a repeat of the financial crisis of 2008.

The answer is a matter of fierce debate ...

The European financial crisis remains a big unknown now, but I think investors are mostly concerned with lower U.S. and global growth prospects.

• And on Europe, here is a resource for Sovereign Credit-Default Swaps (ht Steve).

• The concern today was that France might lose its AAA rating and that would impact the European bailout fund, the EFSF. From the WSJ: France Considers Further Austerity

French government pledged Wednesday to consider fresh tax rises, spending cuts and other budget measures ... French bank shares were hammered Wednesday also, with some traders citing the triple-A jitters. Shares in Société Générale were down over 18% in afternoon Paris trading and BNP Paribas shares slid over 10%.

• Here is a graph of the 10 year spread (Italy to Germany) from Bloomberg (currently 290). And for Spain to Germany (284).

• The Asian markets are mixed tonight with the Nikkei down 1.3%. The Shanghai is up 1%.

• U.S. Futures from CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P 500 is up about 17 points, and Dow futures are up about 150 points.

• Oil: WTI futures are up to $82 per barrel and Brent is up to $106.