Troubles In Euroland

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, today conveyed a blunt message to the European Parliament: “The configuration we had for 10 years, which was considered sustainable, has been shown now to be unsustainable unless further steps are undertaken.”

Draghi has taken steps to ease the crisis, but his message seems to be that these measures are not sufficient. Leaving no room for misunderstanding, he criticized Europe's political leaders for taking half-measures that have made the crisis in Europe worse. “The next step is for our leaders to clarify what is the vision for a certain number of years from now,” he said. “The sooner this has been specified, the better. Dispel this fog.”

One consequence of the continuing uncertainty in Europe is that the dollar has been strengthening against the Euro and now stands at a value of about .81 Euro per dollar. "Stengthening" sounds good, doesn't it. It is good news for Americans interested in traveling to Europe of buying products from Europe. But it is bad news for US tourism  (visiting the US has become more expensive for Europeans) and bad news for American companies selling goods and services to Europe.