What happens in Greece will be influenced by the outcome of the current tension between France and Germany.

BBC: Greece election: Temporary relief for eurozone

Mr da Silva could, of course, have avoided all of this tension if he and other candidates had followed the advice of Pedro Malan, the current finance minister, who proposed a pre-campaign agreement on basic economic policies that would be maintained to prevent the type of attack that the real has suffered.

ECONOMIST: UNenforceable

How the current climate of tension will affect the U.S. role globally and, more immediately, its relations with Malaysia at the Vancouver APEC meeting, remains to be seen.

CNN: A Strained Friendship