The European Union consists of 15 member countries that include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Only 12 common currency countries out of these above 15 countries constitute the European Monetary Union (EMU). These 12 countries share a single monetary policy dictated by the European Central Bank (ECB). All these above countries share the common currency Euro except Denmark, Sweden and United Kingdom.
The EMU is the worlds second largest economic powerhouse after the United States. EMU has a highly developed and efficient fixed income, equity and the futures market. This makes EMU the second most attractive investment market for domestic and international investors.
Historically US assets have had solid returns. As a result, United States absorbs something like 70% of the total foreign savings. In the past, EMU had difficulty in attracting foreign direct investment or large capital inflows. The primary reason was the United States.
However, with the introduction of the Euro and the EMU beginning to incorporate even more members in Eastern Europe, the Euros importance is expected to increase. The capital flows to Europe is expected to increase.
With foreign central banks expected to diversify their Euro reserve holdings even further, demand for Euro is expected to continue rising. EMU is in fact a trade driven and a capital flow driven economy. Trade is very important to the national economies within EMU.
EMU has significant power in the international trade arena because of the size of the EMUs trade with the rest of the world. EU exports comprise almost 20% of the world trade. While EU accounts for only 17% of the world imports! Unlike United States, EMU does not have large trade deficit or surplus.
The formation of EU allows individual member countries to group as one entity and negotiates on an equal playing field with the United States. United States is the largest trading partner of EU. International clout is one of the primary reasons in the formation of EU.
Leading import sources for EU are United States, Japan, China, Switzerland and Russia. Leading export markets for EU are the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Poland and China.
Large numbers of EU based companies concentrate their research, design, innovation and marketing part of the activity in EU while outsourcing most of their manufacturing to Asia. EU is primarily a service oriented economy. Services account for more than 70% of the EU economy while manufacturing, mining and utilities account for around 20% of the EU economy.
Most international trade transactions involve the British Pound, the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar. It is important for most of the countries to hold large amounts of reserve currencies to reduce exchange rate risk and transaction costs. - 29866
Only 12 common currency countries out of these above 15 countries constitute the European Monetary Union (EMU). These 12 countries share a single monetary policy dictated by the European Central Bank (ECB). All these above countries share the common currency Euro except Denmark, Sweden and United Kingdom.
The EMU is the worlds second largest economic powerhouse after the United States. EMU has a highly developed and efficient fixed income, equity and the futures market. This makes EMU the second most attractive investment market for domestic and international investors.
Historically US assets have had solid returns. As a result, United States absorbs something like 70% of the total foreign savings. In the past, EMU had difficulty in attracting foreign direct investment or large capital inflows. The primary reason was the United States.
However, with the introduction of the Euro and the EMU beginning to incorporate even more members in Eastern Europe, the Euros importance is expected to increase. The capital flows to Europe is expected to increase.
With foreign central banks expected to diversify their Euro reserve holdings even further, demand for Euro is expected to continue rising. EMU is in fact a trade driven and a capital flow driven economy. Trade is very important to the national economies within EMU.
EMU has significant power in the international trade arena because of the size of the EMUs trade with the rest of the world. EU exports comprise almost 20% of the world trade. While EU accounts for only 17% of the world imports! Unlike United States, EMU does not have large trade deficit or surplus.
The formation of EU allows individual member countries to group as one entity and negotiates on an equal playing field with the United States. United States is the largest trading partner of EU. International clout is one of the primary reasons in the formation of EU.
Leading import sources for EU are United States, Japan, China, Switzerland and Russia. Leading export markets for EU are the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Poland and China.
Large numbers of EU based companies concentrate their research, design, innovation and marketing part of the activity in EU while outsourcing most of their manufacturing to Asia. EU is primarily a service oriented economy. Services account for more than 70% of the EU economy while manufacturing, mining and utilities account for around 20% of the EU economy.
Most international trade transactions involve the British Pound, the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar. It is important for most of the countries to hold large amounts of reserve currencies to reduce exchange rate risk and transaction costs. - 29866
About the Author:
Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Try Strignano's Forex Signals free. Discover a revolutionary Forex Robot Trading System!
