Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Europe WANTS a Lower Euro

Currencies / Euro May 09, 2010 - 07:14 AM GMT

By: Bryan_Rich

Currencies

Best Financial Markets Analysis ArticleThe euro is in devaluation mode … in a sharp 17 percent decline against the dollar over the past five months. And I’ve written extensively on why, and why it still has further to go.

Now I believe a covert policy decision has been made by the European Central Bank (ECB) to use currency devaluation as a tool for the European monetary union (Emu) to survive.


Of course, each individual country within the Emu doesn’t have the luxury of devaluing their currency when times are tough. They’re locked into a monetary union of sixteen countries. And monetary and currency policy decisions are made by the ECB.

That puts countries like Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain (the PIIGS) at a competitive disadvantage when trying to salvage themselves from debt burdens and feeble economic activity.

The Emu will do whatever is necessary to save the floundering euro.
The Emu will do whatever is necessary to save the floundering euro.

But now, it’s becoming evident that the Emu as a whole is prepared to take such drastic measures to keep the euro intact!

I think we’ll find that the ECB will aggressively reverse course on exiting from the emergency monetary policies they put in place to deal with the financial crisis of 2008 … returning to emergency mode, and in a big way. They’ll likely be forced to openly buy up the government debt of the weak economies to keep them breathing — i.e. print money, and a lot of it.

The plan requires that Germany, the core of the euro, participate in serving the interests of the lowest common denominator in Europe: The PIIGS. Of course, they’ve already done so by agreeing to provide bailout funds to Greece. But the next moves in the playbook will likely drag Germany headlong into it.

Germany: Swimming with the Fishes

Germany is the biggest, most robust country in the euro zone. It was among the first major economies to emerge from recession. Its economy is expected to grow by 1.5 percent this year, and 1.8 percent next year. So things are going relatively well for the Germans following the harsh recession.

Why, then, would Germany agree to be dragged down by the weak and expose themselves to potential inflation problems in the process? Why not just hit the eject button and remove themselves from the euro?

Here in a nutshell lies the problem: Germany has a lot to lose if other euro countries end up in shambles. It’s exposed on two fronts …

First, Germany is on the hook for $668 billion in PIIGS sovereign debt. Not to mention the fresh $30 billion they’ve agreed to give Greece.

A default, or worse, a string of defaults would be disastrous for German banks and European banks in general. European banks bought about half of the general government bond market last year.

And second, if these countries continue their downward spiral, Germany’s intra-Europe exports (10 percent of total exports) promise to dwindle with it.

So what does Germany gain from sacrificing for the weak?

For one, it averts the problems mentioned above. And two, it will enjoy a much weaker euro in the near future, thus providing a nice kicker for its exports outside of continental Europe.

ECB Already Taking the Plunge

ECB President Trichet would not discuss the euro's value in his recent press conference.
ECB President Trichet would not discuss the euro’s value in his recent press conference.

Europe, the IMF and the ECB demonstrated this week that it’s ready to go all out to keep monetary union intact. They announced a massive multi-year bailout for Greece. And perhaps in a bigger move, the ECB is now accepting Greek junk bonds for collateral — jeopardizing the credibility and independence of the central bank.

As I was watching the ECB press conference following its monetary policy meeting this week, central bank President Jean-Claude Trichet looked flustered and measured his words very carefully. And two things gave me a sense that they had a plan, which included a much weaker currency:

  1. He adamantly said a Greek default is “out of the question.”
  2. And a biggie … he ignored all questions about the value of the euro, despite its slippery slide!

The Swiss National Bank must have sensed something, too. This week it chose to back away from buying euros as an intervention tactic to curtail the strength of the Swiss franc. Perhaps, the SNB knows that gobbling up euros at current prices is a recipe for losing money.

In sum, financial crises and sovereign debt crises typically go hand in hand. As do sovereign debt crises and currency devaluations. So be prepared to see a continued decline in the euro and other global currencies … and more capital flowing into the U.S. dollar in search of a safe haven.

Regards,

Bryan

This investment news is brought to you by Money and Markets. Money and Markets is a free daily investment newsletter from Martin D. Weiss and Weiss Research analysts offering the latest investing news and financial insights for the stock market, including tips and advice on investing in gold, energy and oil. Dr. Weiss is a leader in the fields of investing, interest rates, financial safety and economic forecasting. To view archives or subscribe, visit http://www.moneyandmarkets.com.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Comments

Oliver P. Dunne
10 May 10, 04:28
Euro against British Pound Sterling

What is your openion in relation to how the value of the Euro will go in relation to British Pound Sterling in the near future.

Will I get good value for the euro now.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in