A little snip from today's The Wall Street Urinal: May 8, 1998
International:
Euro Expected to Spell an End to Pricing Distortions
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Common Currency to Put
Firms on Same Footing;
Competition to Sharpen
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By Nicholas Bray
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
RENNINGEN, Germany -- Uwe Distel has a message for Europe's business
community: Thanks to the euro, unfair pricing advantages from currency distortions
could end with the common currency's launch Jan. 1.
"Once we have a market with a single currency and no exchange-rate risks or
conversion costs, all European firms will have the same chances," the German
executive predicts. "If everyone is on the same level, then things will be fair."
As finance director of Rinol AG, one of Europe's biggest makers of synthetic-flooring
materials, Mr. Distel has firsthand experience of the disadvantages of fluctuating
exchange rates. A few years ago, a sharp fall of the Italian lira against the German mark
made Rinol's products more expensive in Italy. More recently, he has watched British
companies struggle with a soaring pound. Once European economic and monetary
union takes effect, he looks forward to competing with rivals in Continental Europe on
a level field where exchange rates no longer affect prices.
"Competition will be sharper because prices will be easier to compare," he says. "But
the rules of the game will be clear. In a currency union, I shall know where I stand."
The euro's arrival will transform Europe's business environment more radically than
anything since the dismantling of trade barriers by the Common Market, the European
Union's precursor. Companies across the continent are preparing for changes -- some
good and some bad.
The euro will cut the cost of cross-border business by eliminating currency-conversion
costs and the need for bank accounts in different currencies. At Hoechst Marion
Roussel AG, the pharmaceuticals unit of Germany's Hoechst AG, Treasurer Larry
Rosen looks forward to saving tens of millions of marks a year on hedging against
European currency shifts. At KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Chief Financial Officer Rob
Abrahamson plans to save on bank charges by closing as many as possible of the
company's bank accounts....
BTW, i asked Jill to change HMR to HOE and add the URL to the company's website to the header. I said that if it was too much trouble i could just start a new thread. It doesn't usually take more than 48 hours to get a reply.
Best wishes |
