Chapter 998 The Birth of the Euro
Happy times are always short.
The five-day New Year's Day holiday passed in a flash.
Liu Zhenbang and Chen Fang flew back to Beijing, Liu Jingming went to Hong Kong again, and Liu Yingqing went to Hong Kong to prepare for the 4th Short Course Swimming World Championships in 1999.
As a professional athlete, you always have to participate in various domestic and international competitions, not only to compete for honors, but also to maintain your form, constantly make breakthroughs, and make yourself stronger and faster!
For example, this year, Liu Yingqing will participate in the National Swimming Championships in April, the National City Games Swimming Competition in September, and the National Swimming Championships in October in China. In January, he will participate in the 4th Short Course Swimming World Championships, the World University Swimming Competition, and the Pan Pacific Swimming Competition.
Liu Qing'an and Liu Manhua, who are already 16 years old, must also participate in some tennis competitions. They must participate in both men's and women's singles tennis competitions, as well as men's and women's tennis competitions.
The two youngest, who are just 6 years old, are the most carefree and are still in kindergarten.
Moreover, unlike his older brothers and sisters who chose sports, the two youngest children were not interested in sports.
The first thing Liu Tao did when he got to work was to hold a meeting and start to arrange the Panshan Group's year-end party group meeting.
This is one of the most important meetings of the entire Panshan Group throughout the year, and it is not too important to attach too much importance to it.
This involves the topics, procedures, list of participants, etc. of the year-end party group meeting, and it is also necessary to ask other party group members whether they want to add topics.
After the meeting, Liu Tao browsed domestic and foreign news, and the secretary had already sorted out the news.
There is not much news in China, and the biggest thing in the world is the birth of the euro.
According to the Maastricht Treaty, the European single currency, the euro, was officially launched on January 1, 1999, and officially traded on January 4. On the New York and London foreign exchange markets that day, the closing prices of the euro against the US dollar reached 1:1.1806 and 1:1.183 respectively.
For the birth of the euro, China sent a telegram of congratulations, believing that the euro will become an important international trade settlement currency and will play an important role in international trade.
Liu Tao began to deploy and short the euro.
The Balkan Peninsula, the "European powder keg", is becoming more and more explosive, and it is almost ready to explode. The US CIA is stirring up trouble in the Balkan Peninsula.
If there is anyone in the world who is most reluctant to see the birth of the euro, it is the United States, because this is a great harm to the US dollar.
Before the birth of the euro, the US dollar was the foreign exchange reserve currency of European countries and the settlement currency for international trade in Europe.
The United States harvested a wave from Europe from time to time through the US dollar, and there was always a harvest every time, big or small.
But the birth of the euro is different. It will become the unified currency of Europe. The entire euro zone uses the euro, and the dependence on the US dollar is greatly reduced.
Moreover, in international trade, the euro is bound to compete with the US dollar.
For example, Africa and Europe trade, and they must choose to use the euro as the settlement currency.
At the same time, the euro will also become a foreign exchange reserve option for many countries, which will further reduce the dependence of various countries on the US dollar.
It can be said that the United States regards the euro as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh.
Liu Tao shook his head. If the United States does not take action against the euro, it is not the United States.
After World War II, the European powers were seriously injured, and the US dollar replaced the British pound as the world's number one currency.
However, European countries have always wanted to establish their own country.
After all, the United States was a British colony in the past. The United States was able to become independent with the support of France. The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France as a symbol of friendship between the United States and France when the United States became independent. The United States used to be a place of exile for criminals. From the bottom of their hearts, European countries looked down on the United States.
Europe's geographical characteristics and religious background provide favorable conditions for European integration.
From the European Community to the European Union, this is an extremely important step in European integration.
With the establishment of the European Union, the next step must be to unify the currency. This is the general trend, and everyone can see it.
Even if the euro zone does not include the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden and other countries, the total economic volume is comparable to that of the United States, and it can integrate a huge market of 400 million people. The threat to the status of the US dollar is obvious.
Why did the United States not invest a lot of power in the turmoil in Southeast Asia? It is because military expenditures are limited and the United States' main focus is on Europe.
The most important interests of the United States overseas are not in Africa, Southeast Asia, or even the Middle East, but in Europe!
When the European Union was about to launch the unified currency Euro, the United States was preparing to deal with the Euro and had no time to care about other things.
Whether it was a war of words with the polar bear, taking advantage of the Asian financial crisis, international hot money suffered a disastrous defeat at the polar bear, the United States accused the polar bear of undemocratic and unfree stock and foreign exchange markets, or a US Navy nuclear submarine entered the Black Sea region, provoking the polar bear's sensitive nerves, causing the polar bear's Tu-160 strategic bomber to patrol over Europe, the fundamental purpose was to target the Euro.
The Balkan Peninsula is a strategic location connecting Asia and Europe. Controlling this place is equivalent to controlling the throat between Europe and West Asia. It can directly connect to West Asia by land, and control the Mediterranean and the Black Sea by water. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. For this reason, the ethnic groups here are often ruled by different countries and have different beliefs and cultural traditions.
After World War II, because of Tito, the man sent from heaven, Yugoslavia was strong enough, and Europe and the United States naturally had no chance. At the same time, they had to win over Yugoslavia to prevent Yugoslavia from turning to the Soviet Union.
After Tito's death, no one in Yugoslavia could gain the trust of all ethnic groups at the same time. In just over ten years, the various republics of Yugoslavia became independent sovereign states, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was much weaker than the previous Yugoslavia.
But there were obvious contradictions within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
This gave the Americans an opportunity, and the CIA was making waves in this area.
Before this, in fact, European integration was in full swing. The EU did not think about pulling out the nail of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as soon as possible, and repeatedly asked the United States to send troops, but the United States was able to vent its anger and repeatedly rejected NATO's combat plans.
What is the purpose?
It is nothing more than waiting for the birth of the euro, using this as an opportunity to strike the euro!
Capital will always flow to safer places, this is a law!
No capital is willing to stay in turbulent places, because it is too unsafe!
As long as the war in the Balkans breaks out, European capital will inevitably flow to the United States. This is an obvious truth.
Liu Tao had to admire the American talent in this regard. The United States and the United Kingdom are indeed of the same lineage. They both have the talent to be a troublemaker. In terms of being a troublemaker, the United States is almost catching up with the United Kingdom.
Although Liu Tao thinks that the Americans are actually far worse than the British in governing the world, the system left behind during the British Empire is actually still OK in many countries, but the Americans are not. If the American system is adopted, nine out of ten countries will be in chaos and wars will break out frequently.
However, Liu Tao still admires the American talent to be a troublemaker.