Given the hysteria that greeted the announcement that Standard & Poor's was taking away France's AAA rating (along with that of Austria leaving Germany the only euro zone country with the top rating) - at least in the press - you might have thought the euro zone crisis was going to explode again. Not so.

That isn't to say some political leaders weren't angry. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was, following Spain's downgrade to A from AA-, according to this headline in El Pais.

Rajoy to Standard & Poor's: we don't need economic lessons:

"My government knows perfectly well what it needs to do to improve Spain's reputation, stimulate growth and create jobs," PM fires back after rating downgrade.

There is probably no riskier form of behavior for a blogging journalist than to claim that a corner has been turned in solving the euro zone's debt crisis but two weeks into the New Year it feels like something has changed - and changed for the better.

It may be a moment akin to something in an episode of ER where the patient is in the emergency room and the crash carts have been deployed and vital signs have stabilized and the family - you and me and everybody in the world who understands that a euro crash will mean Great Depression MkII - are taking a deep breath, sipping tepid coffee, and feeling tentatively hopeful that the patient will make it.

ECB chief Mario Draghi held his monthly news conference today and re-iterated he is not changing anything. Interest rates on ECB lending would remain at 1 percent. The bank plans to make further three year loans available for euro zone retail banks starting next month.

The first tranche of three year loans was made available just before Christmas. Almost half a trillion euros was borrowed by around 500 banks. Since then almost as much money has been deposited every night at the ECB leading critics to say the banks were borrowing the money but not getting it out in to the general economy by lending to businesses or buying euro zone nations' sovereign debt.

Draghi told the press conference that the program was working.

Tax evasion has long been a national sport in Italy but with the country facing major debt problems - 1.9 trillion euros ($2.4 trillion) and counting - the government of recently appointed prime minister, Mario Monti, is letting Italians know everyone has to pay their taxes. He is doing it in dramatic style.