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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (104418)	2/10/2014 2:52:25 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 218031

French Minister Calls For Battle to Weaken Overvalued Euro-Report 10-Feb-2014 By David Pearson PARIS--French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg wants euro-zone politicians to engage in a "battle" to weaken an overvalued euro that is holding back France's economic activity and trade, according to an interview in Monday's edition of Les Echos. The outspoken French official said in the interview that the euro appreciated by 10% against the dollar between 2012 and 2013, and by more than 40% against the yen. At the same time, he said, the euro-zone economies contracted by 0.2% between the fourth quarters of 2012 and 2013, while the U.S. economy expanded by 3.4% and Japan by 2.3%. "We have the most depressed zone in the world, with the currency that appreciated the most. This is a crazy situation," he is quoted as saying. "We must start a battle to get the euro down." Mr. Montebourg added that the goal isn't to "devalue" the currency but to bring it back to a level that is "reasonable and sustainable." He said the French Treasury has estimated that a 10% depreciation of the euro would boost France's growth rate by 1.2% and create 120,000 jobs, while reining in the country's trade deficit and reducing the state budget deficit by EUR12 billion. Mr. Montebourg acknowledges that the European Central Bank's hands are tied because it has very little room to maneuver to reduce further interest rates that are close to zero, and said politicians should imagine other, less conventional policies, such as some that have been proposed by the International Monetary Fund.