Tag Archive: competitiveness

(2.6) CPI-based Real Effective Exchange Rate Since 1965: Yen Still Most Overvalued Currency

Japa Switzerland Norway New Zealand Germany Australia Singapore Italy Canada Franc UK USA United States
If we calculate Real Effective Exchange rates on the base year 1965, the Japanese yen remains the most overvalued currency. This analysis is based on the real effective exchange rate (REER) provided by the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) and a consumer price-index adjusted exchange rate. The real value of the yen is around 50% higher than 1965, the same applies to the Swiss franc.

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A Little History of Wages, Inflation, Treasuries and the Fed – And What We Learn from it

On this page we show that Inflation expectations and wages drive the behaviour of the Fed and Treasury bond yields. Excessive wage increases lead to recessions, more or less voluntarily caused by central bank tightening Central banks pin down the short end of the yield curve, while financial-market participants price longer-dated yields Some Emerging Markets seem to copy strong wage increases and inflation that we lived in the 1970s Quickly...

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ECB Measures Background: How to Reduce German Competitiveness and Talk down the Euro

2014-06-06

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2014-06-06

euro downtalk
In our view, the ECB measures of June 2014 want to increase German lending, spending, salaries and inflation. Finally they target a reduction of German competitiveness. The ECB wanted to talk down the euro but will not succeed. We explain why the measure are bullish for the euro. We expect EUR/USD of 1.40 in the … Continue...

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Sinn: The Euro Crisis Is Not Solved

2013-01-31

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2013-01-31

Hans Werner Sinn
In 2012, austerity, the commitment of ECB and Fed and the weak euro helped to reduce peripheral yields, current account and partially fiscal deficits. The euro zone has possibly won the war. Now the weak countries need to win the peace, namely generate growth via competitiveness says 

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Who Says No to Austerity and Global Imbalances, Must Say Yes to the Northern Euro

Eventually the euro will be abolished, a Northern Euro introduced: politicians and their economic advisors might just be waiting for a calm moment, especially with upcoming German inflation.

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About the Impossibilities of the Common-Currency-Recession-Austerity Cycle

2012-12-18

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2012-12-18

charles wyplosz
Charles Wyplosz, Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva repeats our arguments in "Who says No to Austerity, Says Yes to the Northern Euro" about the impossibility of getting out of the common currency - recession - austerity - cycle.  Similar as we do, he proposes a public...

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Who is the Biggest Debt Time Bomb: Japan, France, the UK or the United States?

2012-12-16

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2012-12-16

picture 3
Some must reads: According to the Economist the biggest time bomb in the euro zone crisis is France. We wonder why the United States and Britain, that have same weak trade balances, the same weak competitiveness and a debt overhang, shouldn't have a problem? Just because France must do austerity according to the German Fiscal Compact wish, and the US and Britain do not need to do this? Or like Ray Dalio called it, are the US and Britain...

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Euro Morons: Hyperinflation Successfully Avoided, Stagflation Successfully Created

2012-12-01

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2012-12-01

Stagflation
Keeping Greece in euro zone, eurocrats or better “euro morons” have successfully avoided a weak drachma and a following Greek hyperinflation. Instead they successfully created stagflation. Currently European HICP inflation is at 2.5%, far above the max. 2.0% official ECB mandate, but the euro is becoming weaker and weaker. German salaries are rising with 2.6% …

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The Eurozone crisis between euro-morons and zombie-bankers

Meuron Zombie Rybinski


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Falling Unit Labour Costs, but Rising Production Prices in the Periphery. Is this Competitiveness?

2012-11-17

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2012-11-17

Unit Labour Costs Eurozone 2011
Currently European HICP inflation is at 2.5%, far above the 2.0% official ECB mandate, but the euro is becoming weaker and weaker. German salaries are rising with 2.6% per year. At the same time, the ECB cannot hike interest rates, because it wants to provide cheap money to the periphery.   The periphery continues to buy German products, even …

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All roads lead to a euro zone break-up

2012-08-10

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2012-08-10

2 solutions for euro zone will work acceptable for Germany
For us all roads lead to a euro zone break-up and multiple sovereign defaults.   Our reasoning can be summarized as follows: Equities are worthless when associated debt becomes encumbered (risk capital takes the  first loss). Equity is not an asset; it is merely the remainder that is left over once debt is subtracted from …

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Guest Post: Six Reasons Why Italy May Exit the Euro Before Spain; Ultimate Occupy Movement

2012-07-24

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2012-07-24

Beppe Grillo
Six Reasons Why Italy May Exit Before Spain 1) Rise of the Five Star Movement 2) 44% of Italians view the euro negatively, only 30% favorably. That is biggest negative spread in the eurozone. In Spain more view the euro positively than negative, albeit by a small 4 percentage point spread.

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The Northern Euro introduction: A retrospective from the year 2030

2012-05-20

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2012-05-20

Map Neuro Seuro 2028
  A retrospective from the year 2030 on two decades of failed european integration policy and 10 years of successful disintegration policy The following essay shows that currency regimes come and go over the time. Nothing is stable with the time, especially the use of a currency. What has never happened in history is the use …

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