鈥淚t鈥檚 the economy, stupid,鈥� was Bill Clinton鈥檚 mantra in his 1992 election
campaign. It was a phrase that neatly, if crudely, summed up how important
economics are to people. So no surprises, then, that cash is an emotive issue
and that consequently the European Union鈥檚 plan for a pan-continental currency,
the euro, is a source of great division. Invasions by all-conquering armies
aside, few nations have willingly surrendered their currencies for new ones, so
it鈥檚 no surprise that the euro plan is raising hackles. If you want to mug up on
the issues, the Web has plenty of information: catch a dated but balanced primer
on the whole idea at www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/euro/euro.overview, where they
liken today鈥檚 situation in Europe to driving across six US states, changing your
currency at each state line鈥攁nd losing a packet in the process.
For the official side of the euro issue, the site at www.euro.gov.uk
explains what has to happen before the pound is abolished. And the European
Commission鈥檚 site at http://europa. eu.int/euro also has facts and figures on
the new currency. Hard core students of banking could probably head for the
European Central Bank site at www.ecb.int, which carries heavy-weight monetary
information about the currency and its current exchange rate. For a look at how
the coins and bank notes of the proto-currency were designed, head straight to
www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/eurobren.pdf, which has the full story in printable Adobe
Acrobat format files.
Since it was introduced as a means of commercial exchange last year, the
euro has lost value against both the dollar and the pound. Economists need to be
able to predict how currencies will perform over time, but their statistical
models need data鈥攁nd there is none on the euro prior to 1999. At
www.cme.com/eurofx/analyzeuro.html, you can find out how the folks at the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange tried to get round this sticky problem.
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