On Thursday, George Soros penned an op-ed in the FT arguing that Germany needs to engage in a thought experiment, one involving withdrawing from the European single currency:
The restored Deutschemark would soar, the euro would plummet. The rest of Europe would become competitive and could grow its way out of its difficulties but Germany would find out how painful it can be to have an overvalued currency. Its trade balance would turn negative, and there would be widespread unemployment. Banks would suffer severe losses on exchange rates and require large injections of public funds. But the government would find it politically more acceptable to rescue German banks than Greece or Spain. And there would be other compensations; German pensioners could retire to Spain and live like kings, helping Spanish real estate to recover.
Some time later on Thursday, Bloombergâs Erik Schatzker interviewed Hugh Hendry of Eclectica in London at the newswireâs sovereign debt summit.
Schatzer asked Hendry whether he agreed with Soros that the future of the eurozone depended on Germany. The question triggered a series of non-sequiturs, including a unique definition of socialism:
Socialism is when you build a moat around the castle
Erm.
Click the image below to see the video. Comments on Soros, socialism, moats and tax avoidance start just after the 1-minute mark. Worth staying tuned for his comments on shorting and Asian currencies).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUq2ZBioGKU
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/06/24/270531/hugh-hendry-soros-has-embraced-socialism/
ROFL....

The restored Deutschemark would soar, the euro would plummet. The rest of Europe would become competitive and could grow its way out of its difficulties but Germany would find out how painful it can be to have an overvalued currency. Its trade balance would turn negative, and there would be widespread unemployment. Banks would suffer severe losses on exchange rates and require large injections of public funds. But the government would find it politically more acceptable to rescue German banks than Greece or Spain. And there would be other compensations; German pensioners could retire to Spain and live like kings, helping Spanish real estate to recover.
Some time later on Thursday, Bloombergâs Erik Schatzker interviewed Hugh Hendry of Eclectica in London at the newswireâs sovereign debt summit.
Schatzer asked Hendry whether he agreed with Soros that the future of the eurozone depended on Germany. The question triggered a series of non-sequiturs, including a unique definition of socialism:
Socialism is when you build a moat around the castle
Erm.
Click the image below to see the video. Comments on Soros, socialism, moats and tax avoidance start just after the 1-minute mark. Worth staying tuned for his comments on shorting and Asian currencies).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUq2ZBioGKU
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/06/24/270531/hugh-hendry-soros-has-embraced-socialism/
ROFL....

