As for the Euro, I can’t believe it has lasted this long. To be a sovereign nation and yet have someone outside tell you what your monetary policy is seems to be very tenuous at best. I still think that it will be a bone of contention before long and the UK was wise to bow out and not participate. However, it makes it easier for many to do business, mostly them with each other.
Spin exists in finance
Inaccuracy is in the eye of the beholder. We see this in politics every night on TV. Watch the same story on CNN and on Fox and you will see slight differences that some would call inaccuracies.
One of the main reasons for posting this is to make very clear that spin exists in finance. We used to use different charts in the financial reports depending on which one looked the best. Not different numbers, but the selection of income over cash flow was based on which one looked better. Sure all the numbers were there but the chart of steadily increases looks better than scattered volatility. That’s spin. I did it. Everyone does it. As investors, managers and business owners, we need to be aware of it and consider it when making decisions.
Foreign exchange
Foreign exchange is a great topic. The most important aspect is to understand how companies use the market to hedge their exposure. They do this in multiple ways including swaps, futures, and options. Almost every international company has a line in their annual report that says they use the markets to hedge forex but not to speculate.
Dr. Douglas Rice 