Word: francs
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Pompidou, whose presidential term still has three years to run, solemnly pledged to defend France's democratic institutions: "I am obliged to state that the Communist and Socialist proposals will completely overthrow those institutions." If such a possibility seemed remote to French voters, Gaullist Premier Pierre Messmer stressed the presumed economic consequences of a leftist sweep. He predicted a "chain reaction" of increased unemployment, a balance of payments deficit, loss of foreign markets and trouble for the franc...
...currencies are bouncing up and down like acrobats on a trampoline. Since late 1971, for instance, the British pound has risen from $2.49 to $2.64, sunk to an all-time low of $2.32, and last week closed at $2.44. Five important currencies -the pound, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Italian lira-are "floating" with no fixed exchange rate at all. They sell at prices set mostly by supply and demand. That arrangement creates new uncertainty for importers, exporters, investors and tourists, who never know exactly how many dollars will be needed to buy any of these currencies tomorrow...
...fugitive franc is fast becoming a political issue in the election campaigns. The leftist coalition has promised to halt the flow of French capital abroad-a threat that merely sends more money than ever rushing across the border. It has also vowed to crack down on tax evasion, an issue that is not of much help to the Gaullists these days. Last week the wife of a tax inspector who has been charged with fraud insisted that the government look into the income tax returns of three former Cabinet ministers. The politicians promptly sued for libel, but even the cautious...
Pompidou's choice of ombudsman has been greeted with hostility and hilarity. Out of retirement came 81-year-old former Premier Antoine Pinay, a cautious conservative who is remembered chiefly as the "savior of the franc" while serving as De Gaulle's Finance Minister. Critics charge that Pinay's appointment is purely political; he is honorary president of the Républicains Indépendants, the Gaullists' chief allies in government. "We would have taken him more seriously," remarked the satirical magazine Le Canard Enchaine, "if he had been five or six years older." Noting that...
...currency changes occurring at any time from the next few days to eight months from now. He predicts an increase of roughly 10% in the value of the Japanese yen, a 5% to 10% upward revaluation of the mark, other revaluations for the Dutch guilder, Austrian schilling and Belgian franc. Because the dollar then would be worth less against these currencies, the result would be a further devaluation of the dollar averaging about...