My conclusion: Germany should leave the Euro at once, to devalue vis-a- vis Ireland and the Netherlands

I realise that this is tongue in cheek, but you cannot quite conclude that.

If the Netherlands and Ireland have a trade deficit against Spain, Austria, Italy, France or Belgium, you would have to net out those transactions before concluding that Ireland and the Netherlands should permit their currencies to appreciate.

You should also look at the balance sheets involved - surpluses are not necessarily destabilising if they go towards paying down foreign debt. The problem is that surpluses rarely end when the country goes from being a net debtor to a net creditor, which is the point where the surpluses start becoming Ponzi-like if not contained.

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.