François Fillon, the French prime minister, said on Friday (June 4th) that the weakening currency was “good news” because it could boost European exports. His comments accelerated the currency’s slide and prompted selling of French government bonds.
This of course is the cunning ploy formerly used by weak, failing, uncompetitive countries such as Greece, Italy, Portugal and so on before they hitched their waggons on to the euro gravy-train led by the massive German engine. (Anyone remember the story of the over-burdened camel, by the way?)
For France’s Prime Minister, the falling euro is “good”. Well done, François. Thanks for the increased price of oil and everything else we import. How the Swiss must be quietly smirking as they watch this shambles of overspending and reckless financial profligacy.
And the news of Hungary’s tottering economy is helping to push the euro further down towards parity with the dollar. Wonderful. Perhaps we should hope that it falls to half the dollar! Think of how much that would boost exports! This policy is of course about as fatuous as France’s idea that cutting the working week to 35 hours would increase employment.
Of course, the Yanks could copy our example and help to push the dollar down, so that the USA and Europe end up in a deadly game of spiral descendency (“Ha, Ha – our currency is weaker than yours!”) while the Russians, Chinese and Arabs quietly prepare to buy up all our increasingly-worthless assets.
We deserve better leaders.
P.S. Ireland? The Forgotten Basket Case? Don’t worry – it won’t be forgotten for much longer:
Fears for Ireland’s financial stability also re-emerged after the minister of finance said that the country’s banks had to refinance more than €74 billion of debt by October 1. The sum is equivalent to more than half Ireland’s annual economic output.
P.P.S. The USA will save the world as usual? Maybe not!
by Chris Snuggs
Learning from Dogs 
Chris: I do not understand your logic. How can you accuse Fillon to undervalue an overvalued currency?
As long as the euro is not at one dollar, the European Union is subsidizing the USA. So the euro (and its poodle, the pound) have to fall. A lot.
As I have said, all along, politeness having being tried while the USA grossly devalued its currency, for years, after Copenhagen, when the USA and China conspired to dismantle the EU’s sustainable energy strategy, the EU decided to change tactic, and play tough. If the USA has been that strong economically, for years, and even now, why would it need such a weak currency, that it had, for years?
The paradox is that the weakest currency is the strongest, a game China has been playing for years. All this shows, at this point, is that the Eurozone is stronger than China and its client, the USA. This was of course a horrible spectacle for American plutocrats and their obsequious servants. Living in the USA quite a bit, I know how important it is for Americans to put down Europeans in general, and the French in particular. Otherwise they would not feel good about their own state of subjugation. The same sort of jokes visited on Americans, and they will hate you forever, and it takes only one.
And indeed Emirates ordered another 32 A380 super jumbos last week, and Merkel, standing proud in front of giant Franco-American engines was a depiction of European superiority (sorry Emirates did not chose Rolls Royce!). The USA does not have, nor will have an equivalent plane, for at least a generation.
Krugman wanted devaluations in Europe too, country by country. He finally realized his mistake this week. But ECONOMY CAN BE WAR BY OTHER MEANS. All I see is people who just search desperately for reasons to justify their dislikes. I can understand that an American such as Krugman wants Europe to stay weak and divided. Why would Europeans want the same baffles me, though. Of course Vichy had its many partisans. People like to be partisan, because passion is thrilling. But I thought we learned from history. Goebbels hated Jews, greatly because a Jewish girl had rejected his advances, big time.
http://patriceayme.wordpress.com/
LikeLike