There's good news and bad news this week. The good news, according to the latest Global Financial Stability Report from the International Monetary Fund is that the global financial system is far more stable than it was six months ago. The bad news: despite dramatic financial improvements in recent months, there is a persistent and growing wedge in Europe between financial 'haves' and 'have nots.' Because banks in Europe are broken, affordable credit is not getting through to the parts of the economy that need it, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises. Also, large amounts of debt are weighing down many corporations in periphery countries, which they built up during the pre-crisis boom years.