Word: france
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Faster than a speeding dollar. More powerful than a Krugerrand. Able to leap national boundaries with a single telex message. Look! In all the banks! It's a mark. It's a franc. No, it's supermoney...
Financial experts praise Barre for having stabilized the once wobbly franc and eliminated France's trade deficit. But the man in the street is more aware that unemployment has risen to 1.4 million, a record 6.4%* compared with 4.4% when Barre moved into the Premier's official residence, the Hôtel Matignon. Inflation, which he vowed to bring under control, has been running at an annual rate of 11.3%, vs. 9.7% in 1976. Barre has warned that the French face more, not less, belt tightening. Said he: "Next year will be very difficult. The choice...
...dumping Barre will not be easy. Many foreign officials and businessmen view Barre as a symbol of the rigor and discipline France needs. Bankers fear that Barre's departure would diminish confidence in the French economy, frighten capital investors and cause the franc (which has held steady against the West German mark for more than a year) to tumble. In a last-ditch defense of his policies, Barre sounded an emphatic warning against false expectations. "You can replace me, but don't have any illusions," he told a meeting of Giscard's supporters among the members...
...international exchange markets. The Federal Reserve Board also poured some $2 billion into the foreign exchanges to buy dollars, and at week's end the slide was stemmed. Still, in the past month the dollar has lost roughly 5% of its value against the West German mark, Swiss franc, French franc and British pound...
...buying enthusiastically because the Continent has been hit by energy-induced inflation. During the first quarter, prices rose at an annual rate of 9% in Switzerland and 9.6% in West Germany, weakening their strong currencies. So far this year, gold has risen even more sharply against the Swiss franc and the German mark than against the dollar...