An economic analyst maintains the weakening financial condition in Europe provides warning signs for the U.S. economy.
European financial officials recently announced that Greece owes twice as much money as originally thought. Meanwhile, Britain has debt problems of its own. Government officials there declared state debts equate to 66.1 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Scott Carter, CEO of Lear Capital, warns that Europe is a harbinger of things to come in the U.S.
"In Europe, you have social programs that have been granted to an aging population, and the proper money hasn't been set aside to pay for those and the bills have come due," he explains. "The United States is just entering that right now. We have our baby boomer generation beginning to retire -- 15,000 people a day are retiring, and Social Security, Medicare ... Medicaid and all the entitlement programs needed to take care of these individuals have not been funded properly."
So, many U.S. investors are diversifying personal financial portfolios to brace for further global economic woes.
"[They] try not to be in all dollar-denominated assets like stocks or just having money in a CD," Carter observes. "They buy hard assets, whether that is real estate, whether it is commodities such as gold or silver. It is just a different investing environment because the future doesn't look as bright, if you will, from a gross standpoint as the past has been."
Many in the Eurozone are looking for a post-World War II, French-German reconciliation to lead other European nations through a season of economic recovery.