Posted on 06/26/2005 9:14:48 AM PDT by longtermmemmory
Euro doubts labeled ‘absurd’
The Bank of Greece’s governor, Nicholas Garganas, dismissed doubts about the future of the eurozone yesterday as the euro dipped on continued weakness in the currency to lows not seen in the last 10 months.
Garganas, who is also a European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member, said that he shares the view of others on the governing council that speculation over the future of the euro is “absurd.”
The euro dipped below 1.20 dollars yesterday for the first time since August 2004, under the weight of expectations for an interest rate cut. It later recovered to recapture the support level in late trade in New York.
Confidence in the euro has been dented recently due to a lack of confidence in the eurozone’s economy.
A member of Italy’s coalition government recently called for a referendum on whether the country should go back to the lira. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has ruled out the idea.
Garganas, however, did admit that the ECB’s monetary policy is not enough to boost growth across the single-currency zone.
“Price stability and low interest rates... provide the fabric upon which a more dynamic Europe can be woven,” he said. “Recent events only confirm that a currency union requires greater competition.”
Garganas also acknowledged that there are inflation differentials among eurozone members but said that factors contributing to these differentials include misaligned fiscal policies, wage dynamics not linked to productivity and other structural inefficiencies.
Greece is a country that falls under this category. Structural inefficiencies are among the key factors seen feeding inflationary pressure in the economy.
It seems the euro emperor has no clothes.
You mean my Reich marks might be worth something some day, I would bet on the Dinar before I would bet on the Euro.
$1.20? That's still close to losing a quarter for every dollar traded in on a Euro. I remember the good old days when everyone wanted the U.S. dollar. Even at $1.20 it is still is too costly to travel overseas.
European Union Implosion
various FR links & stories | 06-17-05 | the heavy equipment guy
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1425247/posts
Your Reichmarks are and will ever only be worth collector's value.
It's not really the level of exchange that's important in addressing the question of whether the euro is a failure. The issue is whether it's done what it was supposed to do, which is envigorate the European economy. It did not. In fact, it appears to be holding the European economy back. The reason it did not work is that in order to assure that the money supply grew at a homogenious rate, they established a long list of regulations, covering everything from what a member nation could charge in taxes, to the amount of debt they could incur, etc. Those kinds of regulations are not only impossible to enforce, but even if they were enforceable, they would end up killing local economic initiative, leading to slow or negative economic growth. That's what they've got now.
How much, is the retail cost, of some items in
an European grocery store ?
rice
sugar
cooking oil
Good point. All I know is a room in Lisbon that would have cost be $25.00 around 2000 is going for $75.00 today. I hope things change.
Look at all the propaganda about it made hear in the US.
You mean liberals lied to me again?
It's also hard to get the economy going when everyone is a socialist. Kind of reminds me of the days before UPS when I would go to the post office. There would be a long line with one person working at the window and four people doing absolutely nothing but shooting the bull. The guy doing all the window work was rude and in no rush. If you didn't like it you could drive your letter to wherever it was going. No competition ...no worries. It must be hell living in Paris.
The Euro Bubble has burst.
Free Fall will probably come in a few months.
What! No snails or frog legs for you?!;)
:^)
Their aim was to make it a common market, but they did not understand that the whole reason for a common market was to increase competition. They don't have a competitive system anyway. Their economies are run by politicians.
Still too expensive to travel to Europe, still too expensive for American billionaires to buy yachts, but really convenient for Europeans to buy - oh, let's just number them, shall we:
1. MRI equipment from GE.
2. CAT scan equipment from GE/Phillips.
3. Computers by Hewlett-Packard/Compaq/Apple.
4. Radiology equipment from GE/Xerox.
5. Film from Eastman Kodak.
6. Excimer lasers by AutoSummit.
7. Dialysis machines by Baxter.
8. Breast implants by Dow Corning.
9. Prosthetics by Mentor.
10. Stents by Boston Scientific.
11. Gloves/masks/catheters by US Surgical.
ad infinitum. These are things that the Europeans cannot live without, that they must buy from us, the ones that they so passionately despise. For elevators, yes, there's certainly Seimens, but what good does an elevator do in a hospital that has nothing? If even the lightbulbs are by GE and the wash machines by Whirlpool, is it really such a bad thing that the dollar is so low? Huh! Suddenly the doofus George Bush doesn't look so dumb, does he? Thank goodness we have a dimwit cowboy in office.
actually I have notices the everyday stuff is starting to have the same price as the USA.
Of course if you pay is 450 euros A MONTH this is a bad thing.
The problem is that the eurostat has cooked the financials to deny deny deny deny inflation if the fact of glaring reality.
Inflation if europe may be denied by the eurocrats BUT the man on the streat KNOWS it exists because he lives it every day.
1 kg baking potatoes -- E 1.08
1 kg carrots -- E 2.10
1/2 kg baby peas -- E 2.23
1 liter Ocean Spray cranberry juice -- E 1.30
1 liter Johnny Walker Red -- E 19.34
2 300 ml bottles of Head & Shoulders shampoo, menthol-scented -- E 9.30
The veggies are reasonable compared to prices in my area, even cheap. So -- surprisingly -- is the Ocean Spray. I don't drink **blended** Scots whisky, so I've no idea what JWR sells for here. The shampoo seems awfully high.
Well, have fun shopping in French (g!).
They didn't price sugar, or rice, or cooking oil on the site, but I'm told by my globe-hopping currency-trading partner in crime, Barbara Rockefeller, that such staples are heavily subsidised to the consumer, hence amazingly cheap.
Price stability and low interest rates... provide the...
Japan has had price stability and low interest rates for some time, and has not given them any growth?
to post 18
the reason I ask is, at the price of some stuff in
a US grocery store, if prices were comparable
to those in Europe, Europeans could homebrew their
own fuel alcohol, or use cooking oil in their cars.
My contention is, when insane taxes are applied to fuel,
it distorts the whole economy, as substitutes need to be
controlled,
For example, sugar, I think is {wholesale}
priced in Europe at three times world price,
nice for millionaire farmers, bad for the poor.
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