The results to last week's Enquête Amusant were as follows:
Êtes-vous Charlie?
Je suis Charlie - 50%
Je ne suis pas Charlie - 33%
Qui est Charlie? - 17%
Très bien.
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So, the Swiss managed to keep the exchange rate for one CHF down to EUR 0.80 for over two years (see article at the time e.g. here, but in the end it was getting too risky/potentially expensive.
Apparently the Swiss national bank ended up with a pile of other currencies equivalent to one year's GDP. Seeing as these currencies can now only be sold for one-fifth less than what they paid for them (in CHF terms), there's going to be some explaining to do.
So that's what we learn time and again, in the long run, currency pegs will be abandoned and exchange rates cannot be manipulated.
The question of everybody's lips now is: How long will it be until the Danish crack and allow their currency to rise relative to the Euro?
(For clarity, Denmark was in the same position as Switzerland, its politicians have decided to depress the value of their currency against the Euro to make it easier for exporters and cheaper for tourists (even though the place is still pretty expensive). They can keep the exchange rate down by printing as much money as the ECB is printing and swapping one for the other.)
So that's this week's Fun Online Poll. Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.
Debate Magazine
