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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BGR who wrote (69959)	11/2/1999 5:01:00 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, i didn't get to that editorial yet...i have a lot of reading to catch up with. however, i can tell you straight away that i disagree...i believe for the Euro to succeed it has to be perceived as a strong or at least stable currency. right now my impression is that the traditional soft currency members are trying to keep the ECB on hold because they would like the Euro to be soft. i'm very much against that...a strong currency forces companies to restructure to stay competitive, while a weak currency promotes corporate sloth. also Europe's biggest problem is it's structural rigidities which the ECB can do nothing about. by leaving monetary policy too lax, it encourages European politicians to take the easy way out and continue to do nothing. we urgently need a big dose of deregulation in Europe to restore the economy's vigor. the ECB is in danger of losing what little credibility it has at this time...i much preferred the German BuBa with it's single-minded straightforward mandate to keep the currency's value stable. i don't believe a central bank should worry about macro-economic issues beyond that mandate. just imo. regards, hb

To: BGR who wrote (69959)	11/2/1999 5:04:00 PM
From: pater tenebrarum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, re: technology, i agree of course that it's importance will grow, however, i believe the stock market has gotten way ahead of itself in terms of valuations accorded to many hi-tech companies. regards, hb

To: BGR who wrote (69959)	11/2/1999 6:42:00 PM
From: Freedom Fighter	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

BGR, >>That said, if I understand the Economist article correctly, they feel that while presently the developed economy is only some 5-8% technology-based, chances are it will expand more in the future.<< I think there is little question that technology will grow as a percentage of GDP. The problem I have with using that fact to justify today's valuations is that technology changes rapidly. There is less of a likelihood that today's leaders will be tomorrow's leaders than there is in most other industries. That growth in percentage of GDP may also be made up things we have yet to even get a whiff of. Wayne