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Visualizing The Demise Of The Once Mighty Euro

Tyler Durden's picture




 

The European Union has always been primarily a political project. The idea of the union was to take peoples that had long and complicated histories, and to place them in a situation where they must work together and shed their differences in order to achieve success.

From the political angle, it can be argued that this objective has been achieved. War and conflict within Western and Central Europe has mostly been stymied. Considering the continent’s lengthy history in these areas, this is great news.

However, it’s particularly the countries that adopted the euro as common currency that put themselves into a more precarious economic position. The problem is simple: countries maintain certain political and fiscal responsibilities, but do not control the fate of their common currency.

The result is that eurozone politicians have very different fiscal policies, but don’t have the flexibility of monetary policy to help accompany them. Some countries are trying to spend their way out of trouble, while others are maintaining strict austerity. Either way, the European Central Bank (ECB) controls the plight of the currency and can make unilateral decisions that have a big impact on every country. For example, in the beginning of June 2015, the ECB announced the minimum of a $1.14 trillion quantitative easing program that will add new currency units that together are larger than the economies of Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Finland, Luxembourg, and Slovenia combined.

There has been an array of other problems plaguing the eurozone as well. The most notable of these was that Greece was admitted into the monetary union in the first place after fudging numbers on the Greek economy. Even though Greece makes up about 2% of the overall eurozone, the country has been in constant trouble that has threatened to undermine the entire union. (For a primer on this, read The Origin of the Greek Crisis)

The euro itself has dropped precipitously, particularly in terms of USD but also in terms of GBP and CNY. In the beginning of 2008, a US dollar could buy only €0.65 euros. Today, on average through 2015, one US dollar can buy €0.91 euros.

With European demographics getting more challenging by the year, and deflation stalking the eurozone, problems don’t seem to be going away for the euro. The crises in Ukraine and Greece continue on without much resolved, and the ECB is continuing on with its QE program. Meanwhile, the Refugee Crisis has created another political distraction that has its own challenges for the people of Europe.

Will the shrinking euro be able to revert its course, or is Europe doomed to become the next Japan?

Courtesy of: Visual Capitalist
 

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Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:04 | 6673784 JamaicaJim
JamaicaJim's picture

Germany IS the Euro. Without Germany, the Euro is total shit.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:29 | 6673835 COSMOS
COSMOS's picture

These folks have already made their bets against the Euro...

http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=12031

They always seem to know something we dont...  I guess when you have the World Jewish Congress setting fires its easy to know where to buy insurance if you are a MEMBER

 

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 23:07 | 6673918 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

European demographic collapse was predictable as it gets

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 23:10 | 6673922 Stuck on Zero
Stuck on Zero's picture

Me thinks the 'Euro' is destined to become the 'Dinar.'

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 05:56 | 6674258 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

The Euro failed for a single reason -- 

It yoked two, some say three, but definitely two distinct monetary philosophies under one monetary policy, not for economic reasons, but for political ones.   

Everything else in this pictograph are simply byproducts of the above. 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:42 | 6676106 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

They are trying to replace all the non-breeding white native Europeans with Muslims and Africans but that plan will fail epically.  You can't replace a man with an animal.  You can dress an animal in a suit and tie but it's still just an animal.

Furthermore, this is all by design.  They brainwashed whites into not having children via various mechanisms (feminism, environmentalism, individualism, etc.) and now they are replacing whites in their native lands in an atrocious act of genocide that is truly the worst crime in history.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 03:41 | 6674228 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

The whole euro is total ideaology bullshit sold by the retard wasters in Brussel who are good at nothing and only can talk from their arses.

You cannot have a single monetary policy that fits all the countries which some are hard-working, savers and exports, whereas some are lay backs & spend, spend, spend and living in harmony under the same roof. Not to mention, there is VAST difference in culture & believe among all the european countries. 

People whole believe this dream, keep on holding euros. I am happy to eat your lunch. 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 11:10 | 6675139 redd_green
redd_green's picture

Hard working? 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 04:13 | 6674256 Joe A
Joe A's picture

Gemany profited the most from the Euro. 'Their' Euro is undervalued, they got an exchange rate for the D-Mark which gave them a competitive edge. That along with filling their coffers with reunification-tax funded influx of Euro which they lend to whomever wanted to borrow so people could buy their on-lies-based VW. And when it all went bad, their banks got an EU-taxpayer funded bailout.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 04:24 | 6674262 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

This is such bullshit.  

Germany did not profit at all from the EURO.  In fact, if you are familiar with the term "opportunity cost" -- the COST of the EURO for Germany is now in the trillions of USD.  Trillions.  With a T.  

From a tertiary overview -- Germany has been negatively affected the least by the Euro -- no one has benefited save the banks and those worthless sacks of flesh & bones in Brussels.  

VW lying doesn't bother me at all.  Probably buy a diesel VW in the coming year just as a "fuck you environmental hippies."

Germany has been fucked in the ass hard by the Euro -- its people have not benefited from it.   Asserting anything else is complete bullshit.  If you want me to explain, in economic terms why I am correct on this, I can.  A lot of it has to do with consumption of non-essential goods, GDP growth rates before and after, and real wages. 

In Germany, the Euro is called my many the "Teuro" being a word play -- "Teuer" in German means "Expensive," Euro being self-explanatory.   

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 04:50 | 6674269 outlaw.guru
outlaw.guru's picture

Go back to GOT, you have better grasp of their economy. Germany IS the biggest winner in the Euro zone at the moment. We will see how it plays out in the future though as a lot of goods Germany supplied are to be paid off in the next 10-30 years. Maybe these don't get paid.

Of course the actual winners are more so the 10% than the middle and poor class. But overall Germany was able increase exports to EU by a wide margin. Also to the rest of the world due to a weaker currency. German government can borrow money at negative interest rates to fund whatever and make money in the process.

Were it better for middle class german people to have DM. Probably. The wages earned would buy so much more from abroad. Everything foreing would be cheaper.

 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 08:08 | 6674295 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

Go back to GOT?  Nice ad hominim ass, go back to your little manifesto -- the abysmal failure/combic book economic theory that it is. At least to those who believe in it (and thats what it takes -- nothing but faith as the failure rate is 100% of everything coming out of it) -- your nonsense makes sense to the likes of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn.

Germany is the biggest winner in the EZ at the moment by losing the least.  

If you have 5 countries, one country's economy shrinks by 10%, one by 8% one by 6% one by 4% and one by 2% -- the best performing country still shrank, yet it is still the best performing.  

From 1948 to 1999 (last year of free floating DM) the average growth rate was 2,3% -- since the EURO its 0,7% AND FALLING.  Germans on average purcahse 20% fewer non-essential goods than they did in 1999 WHILE savings have shrunk AND wages have stagnated while prices have continued to rise (and a hit to real wages).  Don't let those pesky facts get in the way of your bullshit though.   

If Germany relied on price alone to sell their goods then you'd be right -- a weaker currency is essential for exporting.  However, German exports never compete in the "as cheap as possible" category.  They are premium goods, with the "Made in Germany" brand on them, and luxury good are much more price elastic than non-luxury goods.  

Compare Japan and Germany -- both compete in the luxury goods segment.  One (Japan) has a much "cheaper" currency than the other (Germany) -- yet the cost of say a new 3 Series compared to a new Lexis IS is about the same, with both BMW and Toyota making approximately the same on both.  How can this be given the currency?  

A stronger currency means imports will cost (relativly) less, the same goes for semi-finished goods.  Thus, while the cost of the labor within the country goes up, the cost of production commodities goes down, offsetting the FX gain.  

Borrowing excessivly at unsustainably low interest rates is only advisable if the sovereign can still repay obligations when interest rates normalize.  Its called a sovereign debt trap -- and its something that you Keynesians cannot seem to wrap your head around.  Like Socialism, Keynesian only works with perfect & selfless actors.  As soon as you bring humanity into the mix (politicans figuring out they can get reelected by promising lots of free goodies because interest rates are cheap) -- both systems begin to fail.  

Your last paragraph is why I am a huge fan of free trade zones exclusivly within the same currency zone, and the subsequent split of the EURO into 2 currencies.  Have a Tutonic/Hansiatic Euro with border controls & no free trade zone with non-members, you'd be shocked how well a strong currency can do.   

EDIT -- Also fuck Marx.  He is so wrong on so many different levels (e.g., page 4 of his book -- transactions only occur with goods and services of equal value).  

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:32 | 6676057 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Wait, so cars have been pumping out many times more C02 than advertised?  Shouldn't we all be dead by now due to global warming (or cooling, whatever - fuck you!)?

See, that's why VW must be destroyed.  They unveiled the lie of cilmate change and jeopardized all the plots and schemes of the people pushing carbon credits and carbon taxes and carbon debts (some "tribe" of people that likes to set up systems to enrich themselves without doing any actual work, usually at the expense of others, like parasites).

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 07:27 | 6674400 doctor10
doctor10's picture

a neo-feudal exercise in power for the sake of power, by euro-corporations who simply decided they would no longer deal with the multiple currencies, regulations etc that different localities imposed on their egos/profits

basically the same way neighborhoods in USA cities and suburbs were decomposed to corporate/political ends

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:07 | 6673787 ebworthen
ebworthen's picture

If you bail out banks/corporations/insurers while crushing the middle class as you prop a stock market that has a less than 10% citizen participation rate it won't end well.

Unless of course, that was the plan all along...

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:29 | 6673834 Tallest Skil
Tallest Skil's picture

I've felt for a while that the EU–much less the Eurozone–won't see 2021. How realistic is that thought, I wonder?

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:32 | 6676065 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Eastern Europe leaves the E.U. by 2020.  E.U. is done by 2025.  Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and maybe a couple more stick together to the bitter end (at the hands of Islam).

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:32 | 6673840 Fahque Imuhnutjahb
Fahque Imuhnutjahb's picture

 

 

It'd be interesting to see similar graphics depicting The States.  Illinois and Kansas would be revealing.

Likewise some measure of the State's or Nation's relative importance to the whole would be helpful.

Supposedly, Greece's economy is on par with Maryland's.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:35 | 6673846 coast
coast's picture

Off topic, but honestanna and I got into a minor debate...It was wonderful, and you know why?  Because she is very smart, and I think I am kinda smart.  And when others read our posts it opens their imaginations a bit more...thanks ann.   And thanks to others who open up good debates....I kid you not, I like the posts better than the articles that we post on  :-) 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 00:08 | 6674031 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

Then link to the debate/argument.  Most of us reading the comments appreciate similar spats.

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:43 | 6673847 Sauerkraut-Opinion
Sauerkraut-Opinion's picture

Wow, movie-tickets in Germany soaring from 10,58€ (2007) to 20,00€ (2015). 

Me (...from Germany) never paid 20 Euro for a movie-film (more realistic 7-10€) but (e-)paper doesn't blush....

I wished 20€ were true - this might would save further trouble to accompany my girlfriend once the week to the cinema (...it's an awful bore...).

 

 

 

 

 

Thu, 10/15/2015 - 22:54 | 6673891 arunce
arunce's picture

Two tickets.... anyway, the milk price in Portugal it's around 0.45 euros.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:34 | 6676074 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Must.  Feed.  Children.  Propaganda.

People sure love that electric "tribesman", don't they?  Really must want their daughter to grow up a trashy slut that destroys her genetic lineage via miscegenation and their son to want to cut his dick off and become a woman - cuz that's all Hollywood's pushing these days.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 00:18 | 6673984 onmail1
onmail1's picture

Therefore euroPeons , do what you do best

Pirate

(with the help of USA) Attack & loot other nations, colonize (screw) them and rob their wealth

and become rich with white collars & hats , swanky, sivilized 

then look down upon all as if they are barbarians 

----

All nations - stop trading in Dollar & Euro

& see these pirates cringe , whine , rot & get eaten by worms

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 02:13 | 6674168 tarabel
tarabel's picture

 

 

All of those terrifying price graphics would only have value in comparison to what the costs are in competitive currencies. Everyone is fiat-ing into oblivion at some rate. The questioin is not whether or not this is happening, but whether or not it is happening faster for the Euro than for, say, the dollar or the rupee or whatever.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 02:46 | 6674187 Batman11
Batman11's picture

"With European demographics getting more challenging by the year"

Strangely what we see is mass youth unemployment.


Fri, 10/16/2015 - 04:06 | 6674247 Joe A
Joe A's picture

And mass influx of people that hate everything we stand for.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 03:12 | 6674210 fredquimby
fredquimby's picture

The problem is simple: countries maintain certain political and fiscal responsibilities, but do not control the fate of their common currency.

Thats exactly how they designed it. i.e Cutting the currencies' link to a nation state so no one can fuck it up like everyone was doing printing their own drachma, Lira etc. into oblivion.

The Euro was built to withstand the demise of the dollar. It's doing just fine as far as I can see.

How did that Grexit go by the way?

Carry on.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 03:24 | 6674221 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

Merkel said there is no inflation. She must be right because she is German and they are trusthworthy. I love my VW. 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 03:33 | 6674224 luckylongshot
luckylongshot's picture

Sadly this article is based on the assumption that the Euro should be saved. This assumption is problematic as the Euro was the brain child of the private banks that own the right to create money in Europe and are abusing to strip the EU citizens of their wealth. Why would anyone want to keep such a corrupt and criminal system in place?

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 03:46 | 6674233 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

Cute

So what is the argument, here? As a reminder, there is a context to the EUR, and currently it's a full blown global currency war, with Russia and China in the roles of the challengers to the current system while Japan leads in the QE race

Any cute and simple storytelling entangling the EU (28) to the EUR (19) with the well-established mantra of "political project" misses this context, and obfuscates reality: it's 19 (not 18 as in the infographic) national currencies banded together in a confederational structure which, if they were "alone" would be desperately looking for an anchor...

... which used to be the USD

And so we witness the American Paul Krugman moaning that the EUR is wrong because it is not the currency of a humungous central government like the American one, and a MoneyCorp senior currency trader wishing for something to trade on (read: bet on) like a "stronger northern" and a "weaker southern" euro, together with an American British economist asking for Greece to be thrown out of the eurozone, a British economist asking for "conditional bonds" (or, as in years before, the equivalent of US Treasuries, the fabled EuroBonds that the City of London was asking so loudly for) and the usual "wishlist" from... outside the eurozone

Thanks, but no, thanks. It's working as designed, so far. And imho all those moans of "wrongness" highlight that

Btw, is China moaning about the EUR? for all purposes they are working hard to push their currency to a similar status, albeit while challenging the hegemon USD

Btw, is Russia moaning about the EUR? The Kremlin is still working on a EurAsian common currency. Why does Russia feel that the Rouble is not good enough?

Emulation is the most sincere form of compliment, moaning for changes a less sincere one

At the end of the day, trade is the primary reason for currency, particularly fiat currencies with questionable value-retaining powers, particularly during a global currency war. And the eurozone has a balanced (slighly positive) trade balance, while the euro-19 countries are - gasp! - slowly crawling towards balanced budgets, another reason for Dr. Krugman to moan

Price Stabeeeeleeeeteeee, bitchez

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 08:50 | 6674627 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

Good to see you still around. 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:28 | 6676044 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

There won't be enough white people in Europe, and certainly big enough white native voting blocs to maintain any of this going forward.  The schengen zone was already suspended.  The E.U. will dissolve nearly completely within 10 years.  Eastern Europeans will not accept genocide at the hands of the E.U. via mass ethnic cleansing.  Europe is done.

More likely everything East of Germany is out of the E.U. within 10 years.  You'll be lucky if East Germany doesn't leave with it.  Being genocided wasn't part of the deal.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 06:03 | 6674304 gunzeon
gunzeon's picture

Autodesk ? the penny-ante CAD software package company ? ... if that's all that's gonna get hurt then who gives ...

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 06:44 | 6674344 redd_green
redd_green's picture

Baloney.  The Euro was created by convincing people that the world minus the USA would be  a better place.   You think the Italians and French are all lovey dovey with the Germans? They frickin hate each other. 

 

Somebody is figuring out that the couple of trade surplus countries will basically own all of the trade deficit countries in the wonderful "union".  But they're all too stupid to ditch the thing and create their own currencies again.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:25 | 6676028 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

In 30 years the only "Italians" will be black Africans and the only French will be Muslims.  I don't really think the opinions of extinct peoples should be given serious consideration.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 07:40 | 6674437 FlacoGee
FlacoGee's picture

Strangely, the chart seems to be missing the current value of $1.13 and fails to include the datapoint of the "taper tantrum" and continued "misbelief that the Fed will raise rates".

Strangely, the chart does compare those same food prices to the USA (for a true comparison of pricing and price increases.

The Euro is down (partially) because of the reasons listed...  The main reason it is down is that the fools were believing the Fed was going to raise rates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 08:50 | 6674487 hooligan2009
hooligan2009's picture

The Euro was issued in 1999 at $1.199 - it is at the same level i nthe overall scheme of things, after hitting a low of $0.82 in 2002.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/currency

Here is a long term chart that proxies the Euro and shows its trajectory (click the "max" button to get this

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:24 | 6676025 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Show me a chart of how Western Europe (U.K., France, Germany, and Italy - all the biggest economies in Europe) will have Islamic majorities by 2030.  On what basis do you believe that taking a bunch of demonstrably inferior Africans and Muslims and moving them to Europe will make them as productive as white European natives or MORE productive than Americans (who work like slaves)?  Is it just cold weather that makes people smart and harder working?  Can we just move everyone in Africa to Antarctica then and have flying cars and faster than light travel in a few years?

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 08:46 | 6674618 adonisdemilo
adonisdemilo's picture

The Euro will fail, but not soon enough for my liking.
The sooner the disparate countries can get back to their own currencies the sooner we will find out for sure who's been bathing naked.
The US is all in favour of the Euro because they are able to exert some measure of control on all the countries that use it. Helped by the numpties at the European Commission who think they know what's best for the poor sods who have never even had the chance to vote for them, and certainly can't vote to get rid of them,the US has compltely fucked up.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 09:13 | 6674703 TAfool
TAfool's picture

Never cared for the full-retard doomsday articles. They had to pick the EUR peak? Back up a few years to the trough where it was $0.80. Not so bad now, eh?

Get ready for EUR/USD $2.0 and beyond.

TA

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:21 | 6676005 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

On what basis?  What Muslim nation has such a strong currency?  The only place the E.U. is headed is to Islamic dominance.

30 years from now the Anglo nations are going to have to gang bang mainland Europe again because it will be the United European Islamic Caliphate and will start a world war.

Demographics are destiny.  Europe's future is "dark" indeed.

Get ready to buy a Euro for a quarter.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 09:18 | 6674717 TheBird
TheBird's picture

Yawn.  Go back and look at some long term charts.  At 1.13 and change the Euro is still well within the trading band of the past 25 years.  Put it in Usd-Dem terms... its about 1.72.   usd spent the majority of time between 1.45 and 1.85.  Yes, you can find times outside of that band but for the most part thats been it.. since 1990 the average is around 1.23 euro

 

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 09:20 | 6674722 venturen
venturen's picture

lived in your a number of times....parity has always been right....currency riggers think otherwise

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:18 | 6675992 Thick Willy
Thick Willy's picture

Europe is FUCKED.  They think they can replace native Europeans with Muslims and Africans but they can't.  Not on a 1 for 1 basis; not on a 10 for 1 basis.  If Muslims and Africans were capable of building prosperous, peaceful, successful Western style societies and civilizations then they would already have them.  The only thing stopping them is their low IQs, violent behavior, savage behavior patterns and nature, and total incompatibility with peace and civil society.

Anyone holding Euros is a moron.  Short everything in Europe until Merkel's head is on a pike and millions are being expeled from Europe yearly instead of arriving to go on the life time multi-generational dole.

Fri, 10/16/2015 - 14:21 | 6676004 Teh Finn
Teh Finn's picture

Long 

Anders Behring Breivik
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