Grombles

It would seem Euroland can be divided into two regions. Those with relatively weak economies and lax tax regimes who need the Euro to be strong so they can afford to buy imports and keep borrowing, and those with strong economies who need the Euro to be weak so they can export more. Unfortunately the stronger the economy, the stronger the currency. So Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and eastern European countries are all suffering because the Euro has been been strengthened by the relative economic successes of Germany, France, Holland and others. These countries are relying on the failing economies to keep the Euro weak to help them export. Clearly this arrangement isn't working for Greece who can see Germany in particular is benefiting, and it isn't working for the UK, the US and others outside the Euro who are competing unfairly with Germany who quote for products and services in devalued Euros. Why don't they split the Euro into North and South? A N-euro would enable...

Politicians would universally fail as businessmen. They'd be more worried that I haven't included business women in my opening sentence than worry about what business means. Politicians' customers are their electorate. What they sell is popularity. Their currency is votes and their mission is to promise Nirvana within a world of mirrors. What they can't do is build and sustain a growing economy (a business) because they are measured on short-term deliverables by people who all want as much as they can get, for the least personal cost and risk, but who nonetheless believe they have a right to wealth and welfare. Promise the people 'change and prosperity' (assuming your hairstyle is appealing), and you'll get into power - until you inevitably fail to deliver it and then the next bloke has a go. That is why successful businesses aren't democracies and turkeys don't vote for Christmas - although if they realised their species' survival depended on i...

Greece and Portugal need to market themselves differently. Appeal to our sympathy, not to our hedonism (like everyone else). Our news channels are increasingly showing examples of the very real suffering happening in bankrupt countries - whatever the reasons for their demise. Of course they have to tighten their belts, fix their leaky tax-collection and get real about the future, but these two nations in particular are too small and technologically disadvantaged to find clever ways of growing their economies. It's impossible these days for a small nation to find a niche that can't instantly be copied and offered more cheaply by the likes of China and India - let alone by the UK, Japan and Germany. Every industry they might claim as a niche is either too small to make a difference to their nation's debt or being replaced by something cheaper and probably better (like corks have been replaced by screw tops). All Portugal and Greece realistically have to export is sun and th...