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To: rails99 who wrote (91675)	6/22/2001 2:37:46 AM
From: energyplay	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

More Euro madness - Money Talks, and Euro Watchers Snicker By David Gilmore Special to TheStreet.com 6/21/01 6:17 PM ET Not since Bill Clinton occupied the White House have government officials so regularly provided material to tickle the market's funny bone as European officials have while stumping for the euro. Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders generated much talk among traders earlier this week when he said he would unveil a new "Mister Euro" in a press conference Thursday. European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg already had anointed himself Mr. Euro, so Reynders' teaser left many scratching their heads. Some expected a power grab by finance ministers for control over foreign-exchange policy. But a few sharp tacks concluded that the new Mister Euro was more likely a mascot for the introduction of notes and coins, like the caricatures developed for the Olympics and the World Cup. And this, of course, led to a flurry of market participants suggesting just what Mister Euro might be. One analyst said a dachshund (presumably low to the ground and not going anywhere fast). I suggested a great dane (even if Denmark voted no on the euro) because they are fierce-looking, docile and do not live long because of their size. Well, the suspense ended when Reynders unveiled the real Mister Euro ... a talking euro coin he hopes will win the hearts and minds of European citizens. What ad agency thought up this one? For obvious reasons, Mister Euro has not made an appearance on the European Central Bank Web site and it's doubtful it will. The last thing the ECB needs is more humiliation. Reynders did not have time to pause before Duisenberg told reporters in a post-ECB-council press conference that the euro is not a source of preoccupation for the bank. So the real Mr. Euro spoke and the real euro quickly went south. It may well have been a better day for the euro if only Mister Euro had done the talking. Perhaps most bizarre was today's news from Vienna that a group of dermatologists had determined that the one and two euro coins contain levels of nickel that can cause severe skin irritation. The doctors said the euro coins contain 500 times the admissible levels of nickel and could cause eczema or rashes for as many as 800,000 Austrians. One can read the warnings. The euro is hazardous to your health. The coins are already minted and ready to go for January 2002.