The Euro: It was your excuse

Too soon to claim Euro is over...

dmag2020 - I don't see Europeans rushing to get out of appreciating USD based assets any time soon.

I'd look to China. One reason why the Euro may have gone up so much prior to the crisis was China looking to diversify away from their U.S. dollar holdings.

According to the IMF, central banks around the world keep about 60 per cent of their reserve holdings in dollars, 31 per cent in euros, 5 per cent in sterling and the rest in other currencies, including the yen, Swiss franc and Canadian and Australian dollars.

The euro has two options: 1) kick out the joke countries like greece, portugal and spain or 2) go dinosaur. Either way it's going to get hammered for a while and it's just a question of which of the two scenarios plays out and when (1-2 months or a year+). Who knows how this will impact euro owners / buyers but I doubt you'll have to worry about euros topping your bid if you're buying.

Greece needs to boost trade and economic cooperation with Turkey. Trade between the two countries is too small considering the potential This should also enable Greece to reduce military spending.

Europe and the U.S. are a mess, all have two much debt. The U.S. banks have exposure to European debt and cannot afford a default. The long term answer will probably be countries printing their way out of their debt obligations which can only be bullish for physical assets, chiefly Gold.

How are those diversified holdings working out now for china...takin it right in the fortune cookie

Spinny. Please don't tell me you think all the eurotrash Irish carpentars/gyro sellers paid all cash for their units? It was most definitely an 'investment' which means you get more bang for your buck with leverage. Almost certain dollar denominated debt. So yes their downpayment mag have appreciated in euro terms but it's getting swamped by deflating re bubble, dollar debt multiply by leverage and you gotta sell alot alot alot of gyros to cover monthly nut.

Did some pay Full w all euros?, absofukinglutely, did 100%?, no.

67, I'm not a big fan of locking in losses in the face of improving outlook. If they bought anywhere during the bubble run up, say into about 1Q07, their monthly nut is about the same -or better. So I wouldn't bet on I-carpenters being the catalyst for your el primo $500psf tiki palace ; )

well, spinny, you see improving outlook. and you may be right, actually, although not in terms of actual improving outlook. oddly the europeans think we really are on the road to recovery. i guess they listen to fox news.

my husband is always bemused by his european partners visiting and claiming things are so much better here. but don't we have more empty storefronts, he'll ask. yes, they'll respond, but we've heard they'll be filled any day now. our propoganda machine is simply awesome. whether or not it's self-sufficient, we'll see.

Economic conditions are better than they were a year ago, Rail Traffic is one indicator I like... That said, we're relatively better off than a year ago. On an absolute basis not so good. My concern is that despite the economy improving, we could stall out with all the taxes Congress has put in place in connection with health care or letting Bush tax cuts expire. We do seem to be doing better than Europe, but that's like saying having one hunch back is better than having two.

I have a hunch you are an idiot.... your nyc re will never FALL!!!

You sound like you are three

you sound like you are grasping at economic credibility rs. rail traffic? let's see where we wind up after the inventory adjustment.

"I don't see Europeans rushing to get out of appreciating USD based assets any time soon"

But the asset isn't appreciating - it has fallen 15-20% over the past 2 years. Only the currency has moved favorably lately. Lately. As in, when the panic in europe abates, the Euro won't stay at 1.23. That argues for GETTING OUT NOW. And that's what the smart ones will do.

"The euro has two options: 1) kick out the joke countries like greece, portugal and spain or 2) go dinosaur"

Exactly right. How long do you think Germany and France want to subsidize the rest of the euro region? The UK looks mighty smart right now.

Ordinary Germans are buying gold.

I've always thought the EU was just the first step towards the next big European war. Europeans' hatred for one another is hard-coded on their DNA.

A European has less buying power and more selling power, i.e. they can sell for a lower price and still turn a profit. They also have less ability to subsidize negative carry (speculative price gain) apartments with Euro based income, i.e. they are more expensive to carry for those who took a mortgage in USD but have income in Euros to pay the USD difference between rental income and expenses (mortgage, cc, taxes). As the USD carry at the current prevalent 2% cap rates is always negative, this may become an issue for these types of investors.