Sell Euros Mortimer, SELL, SELL, SELL! Turn those machines back on!
Posted on 06/03/2005 6:04:18 AM PDT by blogblogginaway
ROME (Reuters) - Italy should consider leaving the single currency and reintroducing the lira, Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said in a newspaper interview on Friday.
Maroni, a member of the euro-skeptical Northern League party, told the Repubblica daily Italy should hold a referendum to decide whether to return to the lira, at least temporarily.
He also said European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was one of those chiefly responsible for the "disaster of the euro."
The euro "has proved inadequate in the face of the economic slowdown, the loss of competitiveness and the job crisis," Maroni said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.myway.com ...
I miss getting 100,000 lira for each dollar...
Sell Euros Mortimer, SELL, SELL, SELL! Turn those machines back on!
The people of Europe are not playing the big game. They will have to be lead and forced to drink from the EU well soon.
Ka-CHING!
The French money will be just about worthless.
Toss it in the Euro-trash.
What is the smallest known unit of measurement in the world? The Italian lira.
This union was doomed from the start. Hey! Let's become a USA on the cheap.
I remember telling someone that the Euro will probably be gone in ten years.
Reuters
Euro dives on Italian call to quit EMU
Friday June 3, 3:27 am ET
By Naomi Tajitsu
TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro suddenly spiked lower on Friday after an Italian minister said that Italy should quit the single currency and revert back to the lira.
Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni told the Repubblica newspaper that Italy should hold a referendum to decide whether to return to its old currency.
That sent the euro tumbling to $1.2220 from $1.2285 in a matter of minutes as the report added to concerns about the European Union's outlook -- politically and economically.
By 0647 GMT, the euro had recovered to around $1.2260, little changed from late U.S. levels.
The single currency slid to 132.30 yen from 132.62 yen on the report.
The euro's fall also boosted the U.S. currency against the yen, which hit the day's high at 108.25 yen
Maroni also said that European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was one of the people chiefly responsible for the "disaster of the euro."
Traders said the market had jumped on the interview to further sell the euro, which had hit an eight-month low earlier in the week after the Netherlands followed France in overwhelmingly rejecting the EU constitution.
Many traders said that political uncertainty and sluggish economic growth in the euro zone would continue to loom over the single currency.
"There aren't a lot of reasons to buy the euro, so in time, we should be seeing more selling," said Shigeru Komatsu, a trader at Sumitomo Trust and Banking.
JOBS AND RATES
Traders said the dollar had room to rise against the yen if U.S. non-farm payrolls figures for May, due at 1230 GMT, met or exceeded forecasts, possibly rising above a seven and a half month high of 108.90 yen.
Even if the data is weaker than expected, selling should be limited given the dollar's solid tone this year, they said.
At the same time, a figure in line with or exceeding forecasts could push the euro back down into the $1.21 region, market participants said. Economists expect the payrolls data to show that 185,000 new jobs were created, compared with 274,000 in April.
Solid jobs growth would likely support expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep raising U.S. rates, which stand at 3 percent after eight consecutive rises in the past year.
The ECB kept rates at 2 percent on Thursday, rejecting calls for a cut to help reverse the economic slowdown in Europe.
(Additional reporting by Chikako Mogi)
In 2001, the last time I was in Italy, the Lira was 2200 to 1 US dollar.
It really didn't make much difference though. A can of Coke was 2000, so about 90 cents. Lunch would cost you 10000-15000 like 4.50 to 7 dollars. Everything was just about the same, the numbers were just bigger.
My boss went to Italy in 2003, after the conversion to the Euro. He couldn't believe how much everything cost. Even accounting for the 20% rise in the Euro to the dollar from 2001 to 2003, almost everything was 40-100% more expensive. Lunch was 15-20 Euros PER PERSON. Dinner for 5 was 150-200EUROS. Can of Coke..2 Euros sometimes 3.
LOL
Sounds like a good reason to vacation in the good old USA.
Italians strongly resent the Euro - thay can't even afford to eat out anymore. It's ruined their way of life ...
The lira. Oh great. Menus in Rome will have to have the prices change in real time.
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