Tech It Easy: The Euro vs. Dollar double gambetto for high tech corporations - STRONG EURO IS GOOD FOR EUROPE
The Euro vs. Dollar double gambetto for high tech corporations - "STRONG EURO IS GOOD FOR EUROPE"
"In chess, a gambetto - say it with an Italian accent, consists in sacrificing a piece at the beginning of a game to gain a competitive position on the exchequer - for example through the control of the center of the chessboard or one of the long diagonals. Getting back to business (we’ll get back to the gambetto later), it is very common to say that the state of an economy is reflected by the strength of its currency when the Euro currency is weak - and hence that the economy of the EU are in poor shape. However, when the Euro gets stronger, companies and officials claim that corporations are constrained in their efforts to export goods and services and that the situation should be reversed or the EU will soon enter an economic turmoil. I think this is all too easy and bullshit."
"God Dollar used to be the only viable currency in international trade, until the Euro came out of nowhere in January 2000 (2001 for actual pocket coins and bills). The European Union is the world’s largest consumer market, and a gateway to the Middle East and Africa for American companies. Although the Dollar still dominates international transactions of goods (slightly) and financial transactions (easily), the Euro has emerged as a tangible alternative considering the political stability of the region. Consequently, the Euro vs. US Dollar exchange rate has kept growing insanely from 1 EUR = USD 0.85 in mid 2000 (1 EUR = 1.19 USD on January 1st 2000) to 1 EURO = USD 1.47 USD today. Althoug I acknowledge the trickiness of the situation for export businesses, high tech or not, I see very few corporations have implemented hedging strategies or make proper use of forward contracts - which is a shame."
