The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Four milestones on the way to a euro collapse:
1. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is adamant that the euro will survive the current crisis, despite intractable and worsening debt outlooks from a host of European countries, including, now, Belgium. (And Italy is getting worse. Much much worse.)
2. Last week's Eurobond failure suggests that the international bond market doesn't believe there's a debt-financed way out of the European economic mess.
3. The Greeks, who brought most of their current misery upon themselves, have played the "Nazi card." In Greek newspapers this week, they -- as the kids say -- went there. From the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, via BusinessInsider:
...Germany behaves as if it has no knowledge of its past, or as if it does not care, as if it were suffering from selective amnesia. It appears to have forgotten the 65 years of peace and growth following the devastating Second World War. It is constantly evoking the demons of the interwar years, the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles, the inflated Deutsche mark, Nazism.
Germany appears to be drifting into malevolent territory, asking every one of its allies, partners and neighbors, everyone who is now suffering from this ongoing crisis of the eurozone, to repent and become more like, well, Germany. Or they shall be punished, condemned to hell -- even if the hell of others also becomes its own.
Germany insists that redemption can only come through punishment for one’s sins. However, behind the German calls there is self-interest and hypocrisy.
4. Banks are starting to prepare for, and anticipate, the end of the european currency.
So what will replace the euro? (And it'll have to be fast, too -- an orderly exit from that troubled currency doesn't seem to be possible.)
Introducing the "neuro." From BusinessInsider:
In an interview, former Dutch politician Frits Bolkestein predicted the "inevitable" breakdown of the Euro. He says Eurobonds would be a disastrous idea, saying:
"That means that the Netherlands must pay more interest. I have calculated that thing up to seven billion euros per year. Each year.
And he says he would not "shed a tear" if Italy left.
Ultimately he sees the emergence of a "Neuro" compromise of Germany and other Northern European economies.
Long live the neuro.
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Comments :
Mar '11
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Rob if you had managed to throw a few charts and graphs in there I could retire from Ricochet in good conscience with the knowledge that at least my Hollywood doppelgänger was doing his duty to alert our representaive fellow conservatives to the upcoming debt default.
Keep beating the drum. I, in the meanwhile, shall continue considering negative leveraged S&P ETFs until like minded conservative thinkers deign to finally do away with their cognitive dissonance.
Aug '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
So what will replace the euro? (And it'll have to be fast, too -- an orderly exit from that troubled currency doesn't seem to be possible.)
Introducing the "neuro."
So, is the process of transitioning to the neuro called neurosis?
Dec '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Who wants to bet that all of the borrowed US dollars being quietly funneled into propping up the Euro "somehow" manage to wind up supporting the black hole of the Seuro?
Don't bet; we already have.
Dec '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
The Neuro, faster than light! Wait... no...that was a neutrino. Never mind.
Jul '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
The Neuro, fidgetting while the Euro burns....
Apr '11
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfl6Lu3xQW0
Dec '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Rob, I have a great deal of respect for Merkel. Her candor in remarking that multi-culturalism was a failure allowed Cameron and Sarkozy to follow on and agree. This is the sign of a real leader. Surely she is as charismatic as a living room sofa so I am certainly not seduced by her delivery. She has every right to be concerned about Germany's interests. The Greeks and Italians have no right to insult her in this manner. They like Obama and the democrat controlled super-committee were unwilling to do the minimum that the bond people needed to sell the deal. This is not a conspiracy it is credit reality. Greece and Italy need to suck it up and fly right or the gravey train is going to leave the station without them.
May '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Can you imagine the liquidity that would be generated if the northern countries split off and pegged the new Neuro to some % of gold, say 40%. The economic downturn would be smoothed out by the safe haven tsunami of money flowing into the only non fiat currency on the planet. The banks need to be overhauled regardless so........
To much to hope for. What will be interesting is seeing what the next domino will be:
A. Japan
B. China
C. USA
D. BANG
May '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
How many neurons will be lost over trying to save the Euro/Neuro/Seuro?
Mar '11
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
I think they should go back to individual currencies -- then each country could adjust their own currencies, to suite their situation (those in debt, like the US, can type more zeros in their computers). Kinda revolutionary, I know.
But then Germany couldn't dictate to other countries... oh, wait, didn't we go through all this a couple of times before?
Edited on Nov 26, 2011 at 7:36pmMar '11
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
I wouldn't be shocked if the Euro died and was replaced with a number of regional/cultural currencies. Kind of like mini-Euros, only for countries that actually have something in common with each other, language and culture-wise. For instance, I could see Germany, Austria, and perhaps the Netherlands adopting some kind of Deutschemark-like currency and trade bloc. Similarly, I could see the Scandinavian countries banding together in a kind of common currency. Ditto Spain and Portugal.
Nov '10
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
The five stages of European Monetary Union:
Democracy -> Bureaucracy -> Eurocracy -> Hypocrisy -> Oops-a-daisy
Mar '11
Re: The Euro is Dead. Long Live the Neuro.
Apparently after deep thought Eurocrats in Brussels have uncovered the problem with the Euro, too much democracy. Luckily they have the solution: