CHART OF THE DAY: A Fresh Reminder That The Euro Area Still Has Gigantic Problems

In the U.S., job creation is accelerating, the stocks markets are at all-time highs, and the budget deficit is shrinking.

Unfortunately, such is not the case across the pond.

The Euro area continues to wrestle with its crushing debt loads as the economy struggles to find growth.

Borrowing costs exploded higher today in Portugal as political forces push to renegotiate the country's bailout terms. This comes a week after the surprise resignation of finance minister Vitor Gaspar.

"Portugal is, if not presenting a crisis per se, reminding the world that there are issues in the Euro area," said UBS's Paul Donovan. "The Portuguese finance ministry has apparently asked if the next review of their bail out could be postponed a bit s they can sort themselves out. The review was due to start in 72 hours time."

Spain, another one of the debt-laden economies in southern Europe, echoed the worries in Portugal via its stock market. Spain's IBEX 35 plunged by 2.5% today.

Here's the chart from Bloomberg.com.