The euro never fell below $1 until a year ago,
Uhhh Robert, the Euro in its current form, did not exist until January, 1999, and been going nowhere but downward ever since then:
futures.tradingcharts.com
That means that Europe has to reduce the value of their currency by 30% before they were able to spur economic growth in Europe. That suggests, if not dictates, that it was export led revenues that generated that additional GDP.
Now everyone is betting that a higher Euro means a golden age for Europe, when there has apparently been little regulatory change, or tax cuts in Europe that would promote higher growth. They have discussed it, talked about personal retirement accounts (that provide investment capital), reducing the fuel tax, reducing social entitlements, reducing trade barriers,... etc... But they only talked as far as I have seen. Yapping their flaps, but never casting the votes necessary to incentivize capital flows into the continent.
And please don't get me wrong here.. I'll be happy is Europe finally shows us they can pull their own weight without having to devalue their currency, or erecting protectionist barriers.
Regards,
Ron |
