...Date: The European sovereign debt crisis Introduction At the beginning of 2010, its emerged that the sovereign debt crisis would drastically spread through the entire European Union since Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Ireland, which are jointly known as the PIIGS were in facing the significant increase in their deficit as well as public debt. The events about the crisis were closely tied to Greece since there were doubts about its ability to offset the huge sovereign debt it owed as well as government deficits. This crisis of confidence in Greece resulted in the significant downgrade of the Greek bonds into a junk status as well as the Greek bond yield spreads notably rose (Brutti and Sauré, 2016). The financial unrest gradually spread to the entire European Union zone and the European stocks tumbled, and the euro currency reached 2-year lows. Nonetheless, Greece was not the only stressed economy in The Euro Zone, in fact, it turned out to be a tip of the iceberg since other nations in the European Union were trailing on the Same road. Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland had accumulated huge budget deficits as well as increased public debt to the Gross Domestic product ratios. Portugal had an economic boom that was being sustained by the significantly lower borrowing rates. Nevertheless, it was hit by expeditious wage inflation which adversely affected the local companies’ competition with other foreign firms (CAI and LI, 2012). The sovereign debt crisis in European region has...
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...The initial idea to form the International Monetary Fund originated in the year 1944, when members of 45 countries gathered for a meeting in the town of Bretton Woods in New Hampshire in the United States. The objective of this meeting was to agree on a structure for economic cooperation between countries after the Second World War in order to avoid the negative impacts caused by the economic policies in the past which resulted in the Great depression of the 1930s.The International Monetary Fund was formally established in December in the year 1945 with 29 countries signing an agreement. Its membership gradually increased during the 1950s and 1960s with most of the African countries joining the International Monetary Fund after gaining independence. Currently, the International Monetary Fund has evolved to become an organization which consists of 188 member countries working with common objectives of promoting worldwide monetary cooperation, providing financial strength to countries, promoting international trade between countries, reducing unemployment and poverty in the world. The new countries who became members of the International Monetary Fund between the years 1945 and 1971 gave their consent to keep their respective exchange rates fixed at rates that can only be changed to revise a significant inequality in the balance of payments, and could only be done so with the consent of the International Monetary Fund. This system was referred to as the par value system or the...
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...Introduction Eurozone debt crisis, which is also known as European Sovereign debt crisis is an on-going financial crisis that the countries within the Eurozone such as Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain varying a certain degree that faces struggles to repay or refinance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. This has caused much worries faced by the European Unions and hence to the above crisis, thus causing a great impact beyond the borders to the world as a whole. We will look into various roles undertaken by the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in helping to solve the euro zone Debt Crisis. European Central Bank (ECB) The ECB is one of the seven institutions of the European Union which was listed in the Treaty on European Union where it administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU members’ states where euro zone is consider one of the largest currency areas in the world. Founded in 1998, the central bank is one of the most important in the world with more than 500 billion euros in its reserves. Currently, the bank is based in Frankfurt, Germany and led by Jean-Claude Trichet. The primary function of ECB is basically to implement monetary policy for Euro zone, responsible for the care of foreign reserves of the European System of Central Banks, and to promote and conduct smooth operating of the financial markets and foreign exchange functions. In addition, ECB also handles...
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...------------------------------------------------- Policy Paper, spring 2012 ------------------------------------------------- Is a Greek exit from the European Union inevitable? 0909512 Table of Contents Pg. List of Illustrations 3 Executive Summary 4 1.0 Introduction 5 2.0 The Economic Cost and Benefit for State Membership of the EMU 5 2.1 Benefits of EMU Membership & Mechanisms 5 2.2 Costs of EMU Membership 7 3.0 Contextual Factors: The Profusion of Dept 10 3.1 The Eurozone Crisis 10 3.3 Greece- The Forefront of the Euro Area Crisis 13 4.0 Alternate Policies and the Effective Consequences 15 4.1 Predicament 15 4.2 Abetting Dependent on Austerity 16 4.3 Creditor-Led Default 17 4.4 Debtor-led Default and Greek Haircuts 19 4.5 Greek Exit 20 5.0 Recommendation 21 Appendices: Appendix 1: Preferential liberalization References List of Illustrations Pg. Illustration 1: The cost of EMU- Diminishing Domestic Flexibility to Asymmetric Macro Shocks 7 Illustration 2: Cost and benefit of Monetary Unions 9 Illustration 3: Evolution of Nominal Unit Labor Costs in the Eurozone Pre to the US Credit Crunch 9 Illustration 4: Current Account Balances in Percentage GDP 10 Illustration 5: Core Bank Exposure to the Weaker Eurozone Member States 12 Illustration 5: Holders of Greek Government Bonds and Dept (in...
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...European Crisis and its effect in the International Market After the Second World War, the world was in search of a new alternative to stop with the horrific wars between nations. In 1950, France, Italy, Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium and Netherlands joined in order to obtain peace, protectionism and economic advantage. It was the foundation of the current European Union. This significant moment in history was followed by a remarkable transformation around the world: the globalisation of the market. Globalization was described by Joseph Stiglitz (2002) as “the removal of barriers to free trade and the closer integration of national economies”. This new reality, from local to a global market, made businesses and countries adapt themselves forcing the implementation of new alternatives to survive against international competition and to get economic strength in this new aggressive world. Market competition was no longer limited to country’s borders but it was also suffering from foreign rivalry. The European Union’s countries members were integrated with the purpose to be a unique market being the world major regional trade cooperation. Since its foundation, the Europe Union have been engaged in this integration and it had demonstrated strength in the implementation of a free trade area, controlling a large part of the international market. Although the history of Europe Union had appeared to be a history of success of integration and cooperation, in the last two decades...
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... | SHANGHAI FINANCE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND TRADE [pic] DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS AND TRADE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM The History of IMS and its Potential Reformulation Introduction to IMS, Evolution of IMS, Beginning of Bretton Woods and Ending, Dirty floats, Current situation and Reformed Monetary system WINNIE PAUL NDOSA (2011178102) 12/24/2013 |The History of IMS and its Potential Reformulation | | | |Introduction to IMS, Evolution of IMS, Beginning of Bretton Woods and Ending, Dirty | |floats, Current situation and Reformed Monetary system | | | |WINNIE PAUL NDOSA (2011178102) | |12/24/2013 | Introduction The year 1252 marked the minting of the very first gold coin in Western Europe since Roman times. Since this landmark, the international monetary system has evolved and transformed itself into the modern system that we use today. The modern system has its roots beginning in the 19th century...
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...in the Eurozone Transatlantic Perspectives This publication is a part of CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) program and has been made possible by the generous support of the Robina Foundation. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a diverse membership, with special programs to promote interest and develop expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; convening meetings at its headquarters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy; sponsoring Independent Task Forces that produce reports...
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...System and the European Exchange Rate Mechanism with a view to analysing their respective advantages and disadvantages; along with the circumstances surrounding their emergence and failure. Through this lens the author intends to draw comparisons between the current EMU and the Gold Standard and any implications these similarities have Introduction A prerequisite to any discussion on this topic is an understanding of certain classical and neo-classical analytical frameworks. Therefore section one will briefly present and explain the logic of Hume’s Mechanism and the ‘Impossible Trinity.’ Section Two outlines a chronological history of various exchange rate mechanisms along with their corresponding successes and failures. Section three draws parallels between the Gold Standard and the European Monetary Union and discusses the consequences of these similarities. Section One: Analytical Frameworks Hume’s Mechanism: This theory combines aspects of the purchasing power parity and interest rate parity conditions. It states that as the monetary base (M) increases domestic prices trend upwards. This induces a nation to import more goods than it exports, creating a current account deficit. This deficit gradually causes gold to leave the system, causing prices to revert back to their original levels- producing a balanced current account. This process in the goods markets is far slower than the complimentary process which occurs in the financial markets. When the money...
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...Bretton Woods System and world trade in post-war period Introduction This reading report is based on two technical papers( The Bretton Woods international monetary system: An historical overview by Michael D. Bordo 148 pages & The post-war rise of world trade: Does the Bretton Woods System deserve credit? By Andrew G. Terborgh 74 pages)on Bretton Wood System as well as the post war international trade system since the U.S has become the most powerful economy after World War II, that US dollar was at that time the dominant currency internationally speaking. The first paper is titled of “The Bretton Woods International Monetary System: An historical overview” by professor Michael D. Bordo who is an economic professor and Director of the center for Monetary and Financial History at Rutger University. His paper has a brief overview of Bretton Woods experience. From its emergence and how it evolved that influence the monetary convertibility and gold dollar standard, until its collapse due to the U.S depression in 1970s. I considered this article to be a very technical one that gives many details on Bretton Wood System in history, but the very interesting part could also be that the author has given the ideas that why Bretton Woods was very stable but lived so short. Meanwhile, the second paper I chose to read is “The Post-War Rise of World Trade: Does the Bretton Wood System Deserve Credit?” . This one is more of an analyzing paper written by Andrew G. Terborgh, economic professor...
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...Accession into a monetary union has implications that reach far below the surface of the requirements outlined by a simple agreement or membership criteria. While there are undeniable benefits to some member states, great sacrifices must be made before, during, and after the integration process which eventually render a nation powerless over its monetary policy. Currently, every European nation is faced with the question of whether to join European Monetary Union; however, the eagerness with which new member states join is paralleled by the resistance of several holdouts to adoption of the common currency. With the unprecedented growth rate of the Euro-zone over the past decade and the number of nations currently making the required policy adjustments, core members need to be aware of the motivating factors fueling the growth in the number of new member states. The European Union is experiencing an adverse selection scenario in which nations seeking increased stability are willing to make the sacrifices that membership entails while the redistributive effect of wealth from existing to new relatively poorer member states is an implicit benefit of the current system. When Paul Henri Spaak of Belgium, Christian Pineau of France, Joseph Luns of the Netherlands, Antonion Segni from Italy, Joseph Bech from Luxemburg, and Konrad Adenauer from the Republic of Germany signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 creating the European Economic Community(EEC), their long-term objective was the...
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...Foundations of the European Union The European Monetary System and Policy By Maarten Solinger International Business Program i. Executive Summary The European Monetary System and Policy dates back to 1959 when the first step towards monetary union was made with the treaty of Rome. Right now, 47 years later, the euro is a fact, with a monetary system that prevails over all the countries of the euro-zone, with a policy that was originally based on satisfying growth, low to no inflation, low unemployment and lower and more stable prices, as well as elimination of conversion fees, deeper financial markets, and lower volatility therein. It has been successful in accomplishing most of those objectives, even though some are openly disputed. Whether the euro as a whole is successful remains to be seen, since the question if the euro-zone in itself is suitable for monetary union is left largely unanswered. Two criteria are met with, and two are not. The key success factor now and in the future will be the policy of the ECB, which is dual; fight of inflation at the expense of economic growth or vice versa. How long the policy of the ECB can count on the trust of its members depends largely on movements in the world economy, the financial markets and the ability of policy makers to shroud the efforts in political correctness. ii. Table of contents i. Executive Summary p. 2 ii. Table of Contents p. 3 iii....
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...The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was originally established in order to encourage international co-operation to cope with recession and protectionism on a world scale and to discourage individual countries from pursuing policies that would beggar their neighbors and eventually themselves. The desire to improve on the international chaos of the 1930s led to the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, and an attempt to devise a financial system which would provide a more permanent and acceptable framework for international transactions. It was intended that the emerging Bretton Woods system would generate benefits for international trade in the form of stable (though not necessarily fixed) exchange rates, while at the same time, avoiding the deflationary rigidities of the gold standard mechanism. The system was designed to ensure a world of full employment and economic growth. This paper will examine a few of the negative and positive aspects the IMF has had since its inception, and how it has evolved over time to answer the question, is the IMF a sinner or saint? If the general purpose of the IMF at its inception was to oversee the operation of the infant Bretton Woods system, its more specific purposes were spelled out in Article 1 of its Articles of Agreement as follows: | (i) To promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent institution which provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems. | | (ii) To facilitate...
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...IWhat is International Marketing? Marketing a product or service across national boundaries in order to satisfy the needs of customers and the objectives of the organization. Different Terms: Multidomestic marketing: adapting product and marketing programs to each foreign market independently. Global marketing: marketing activities in multiple country markets are coordinated and integrated. Foreign marketing: loosely refers to marketing a product in a market outside the home market. International Marketing Environments Global Economic Environment Cultural Environment International Marketing Global Competitive Environment Political/Regulatory Environment Systems Global Systems Global Financial Systems International Monetary Systems and Foreign Exchange Market Global/regional Trading Systems (WTO, EU, NAFTA, ASEAN,...) Importance of International Marketing • • • • World trade has risen from $2 trillion to $18 trillion in last three decades. International trade grows twice as fast as domestic trade. Global marketing is a “must” for firms to achieve sustained growth. Marketing success will be defined on a global scale. Domestic and International Trade Growth Percentage of Growth 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% Year International Trade Domestic Trade Financial Statistics Yearbook Source: International 2011, International Monetary Fund, Washington D. C. Uniqueness...
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...that facilitate international trade, cross border investment and generally the reallocation of capital between nation states. H I S T O R Y O F T H E M O N E TA R Y S Y S T E M Gold Standard 1870 1944 Nixon Shock 1971 1976 Bretton Woods Jamaica Agreement T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D • When International trade was limited in volume, payment for goods purchased from another country was made in gold or silver. • As the volume of international trade expanded in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, a more convenient means of financing international trade was needed. T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D • The solution adopted was to arrange for payment in paper currency and for governments to agree to convert the paper currency into gold on demand at a fixed rate. = T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D • 1880: Most of the world’s trading nations including Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and USA adopted the Gold Standard. • Given the Gold Standard, the value of any currency in units of any other currency was easy to determine. T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D • The Gold Standard acts as an adjustment mechanism, which achieves the Balance-of-Trade Equilibrium. T H E G O L D S TA N D A R D 1870 1914 1925 1934 1939 Introduction of the Gold Standard Britain pegged the pound to gold at the pre-war parity level. This priced British goods out of the foreign markets pushing the country...
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...BUSI 604 Discussion Board 4: European Central Bank Michael Hipsman Liberty University EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK AND WHY I’M INTERESTED IN IT I picked this Key Term due to relevance of the Euro and the European Central Bank in my previous work and current work experiences. I was previously employed with the Federal Reserve Bank, which is the main decision maker for all U.S. currency, and monetary policies. In my current position, the company I work for is headquarter overseas, and has offices located in countries that are members of the European Central Bank. I think researching the European Central Bank, will be very useful to have a more thorough understanding of currency and business practices in within the European Union. In addition, gaining the knowledge of what requirements are needed to join the European Central Bank, and the monetary policies these countries must abide by in order to maintain membership will be insightful towards my GBCA paper, since my country is member of the European Central Bank and European Union. EXPLANATION OF EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK The European Central Bank is the central bank for nineteen European Union members. The central bank is responsible for all monetary policies within the European Union, and sets interest rates across the nineteen participating members. Any nation that chooses to join the European Union much adopt the Euro as their currency except for the member states which have been exempted under the Maastricht Treaty (Great Britain...
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