because it would be the MegaMark, and I'm sure the Romands and the Tessens would feel slighted. Plus the Franc isn't struggling at all. It's doing just fine.

I disagree, there are today more factories in Germany than 20 years ago, exporting more to China than ever before. Greece has not deindustrialised because of the Euro, it never was industrialised in the first place. By levelling production costs via the inflationary Euro in poorer countries it was never intended as a production-, but rather as a consumption union, bluntly put.

Oh and re: KeinFranz, I like the sound of MegaMark!

Just a point to make. The Franc used to be 1.25 to the Dollar, and it used to be 1.25 Dollars to the Euro. Now the France has flip-flopped with the Dollar and on a good day it only takes 1.40 to buy a Euro. The Dollar also only buys 78 Yen at the moment and it used to buy 110 Yen. Then there were the good ol' days when a USD bought 1.2 CAD and 1.25AUD and 1.45NZD. That's all gone now too. But yet the Americans still take vacations just like they used.

So tourism really doesn't get bit by decreases in exchange rates, I don't think, even though the goods and services become more expensive for the tourist.

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I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. - Pietro Aretino

There is plenty (or was) beautiful work done in italy that is now done as rubbish in China. Portugal made gorgeous textiles that are now super thin junk make in China.

I understood the Euro to be so that industry would stop losing money to the banks when buy or selling within the union. But I do think a lot of it was those from northern countries getting PO'd that you could buy a coke for 1/2 price in Spain & Portugal without even thinking that those in S/P were making 1/2 the salary.

Anyway, I still think it's time to keep more of it all in the family & shut 'em out. Yes I do.

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Off the record, no one at the Bundesbank wants to be in the Euro. Its a joke....

Yeah. Not now. They were pushing hard for it though, back in the day.

Sorry, but there's profits to be made. And Chinese labour is so much cheaper then Portugese (who put Flemish, German and Swiss textile industries - yes, that used to be big in canton Glarus - to the sword back in the day).

Nowadays Chinese labour is actually becoming "too expensive" in the eyes of some, so Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia are the new places to be.

We're ahead of all you folk in our town; we're back to trading in pig shit. Current rate is 10 Kgs = one sack of acorns, or about CHF 0.025 (at September 06, 2011) rates.

For you foreigners here, that's about as much use as getting 5 green rep points on your EF account. Pointless basically.

First time I came to Switzerland, it was close to 2.50 to the USD!

Tom

Actually it's the super reich that are the problem, not paying enough taxes!

Uh...

Hmmm.. someone did think of that before. Hehe.

Anyway Germany has benefitted from the Euro with the price of its exports being so low - if they still had the DM it would be really high by now and they wouldn't be exporting as much. So now they are experiencing tough times, after the good times, like everyone else.

Sorry, but goods are just too cheap now a days. We have enough cheap and crap quality rubbish in the land fills.

Time close them doors.