Europe's markets have taken a dive after news that Greece's fragile coalition government is again hanging by a thread.

 

A junior party decided to pull its two ministers from cabinet after falling-out over the unpopular closure of state broadcaster ERT.The move has left the governing coalition with a slim majority of three, raising fears of further political instability The setback hammered shares on the Athens Stock Exchange. Greece's turbulence comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel for bilateral talks. The leaders hosted a plenary session of the Saint-Petersburg Economic Forum in Russia. They discussed political and economic issues, including world economic growth and the conflict in Syria.

 

And back home. Farmers says a lot is riding on an inquiry into whether emergency measures are needed to save Australia's canned fruit and tomato industries. The fruit intake at the SPC Ardmona Cannery in Victoria has been slashed as it struggles to compete against cheaper imported products. The Productivity Commission has been charged with investigating whether emergency measures are justified before introducing them. The commission will report back within three months.and the Federal Government says it could recommend tariffs or quotas.

 

And check the markets and how they finished the week and as we can see, ah, Europe was all down.The FTSE down 43 points. A very savage day on German markets as the Dax  down significantly.  And across the Atlantic, ah, it was mixed. The Dow finishing up 41 points. The Nadaq down marginally. 

 

And with currencies. The Aussie dollar, as trading around 92 US cents. It has bounced back a bit on its lows earlier in the week.