I think I must agree with Migeru here. The rating agencies and Wall Street banks might carry huge culpability in creating the US crisis (as predicted by Jerome here on the ET), but the Euro crisis is entirely homegrown.

Remember; it's not like investors always even care about the rating agencies. Japan was downgraded years and years ago, and their sovereign rates have been falling ever since. When S&P downrated the US, US bonds soared, while it was the stock market which went into the toilet.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.