Profiting from Pain
Europe’s Crisis Is Germany’s Blessing

By Stefan Schultz
Compared to other euro-zone countries, the economic outlook is rosy in Germany.Zoom
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Compared to other euro-zone countries, the economic outlook is rosy in Germany.

Its neighbors may be suffering, but the euro crisis has created conditions that actually benefit the German economy. Not only is the government enjoying the windfall of negative interest rates on bonds, but unemployment is down and exports are booming.
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It’s every debtor’s dream. When asked for a loan, the bank not only agrees, but actually pays the borrower for their patronage. It sounds like a fairy tale, as though the laws of the market economy had been suspended. But on Monday it really happened.

The debtor in this case was the German government, which borrowed €3.9 billion ($5 billion) for the next six months at the unbelievable interest rate of -0.01 percent. Even the German Finance Agency was stunned. “This has never happened before,” a spokesperson said.

The Finance Ministry should be pleased. In the last four years, they’ve had to shell out around 1.8 percent in interest for such bonds. But recently even interest rates on German bonds with longer maturities have decreased significantly. The federal government is saving a bundle.

The reason for the windfall? Amid the ongoing euro crisis, Germany is one of the few borrowers that are still regarded as a safe haven. Many investors would rather lend the government money at bargain-basement rates than risk losses.

Half of Europe Suffers While Germany Profits

Other countries can only fantasize about such a bonanza. Italy is currently being forced to pay record interest rates of some 7 percent on 10-year government bonds because investors lack confidence in the government in Rome. Questions remain over whether Prime Minister Mario Monti will succeed in reducing the government’s €1.9 trillion mountain of debt without stifling the economy. Meanwhile bond yields in crisis-stricken countries like Spain and Ireland have also risen sharply.

It has become a rule of the euro crisis: While a number of euro-zone countries suffer, Germany profits. The crisis may slow economic growth in Germany, but there are also a raft of crisis-related mechanisms that help the country profit at the expense of other nations. As long as a big euro-zone crash doesn’t materialize, this cushions the effects of the downturn for Germany.

A recent projection by the Munich-based Ifo Institute for Economic Research found that the economies of France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus would likely shrink in 2012. The German economy, on the other hand, is still expected to grow by 0.4 percent this year.

The imbalance between Germany and many other euro-zone countries is most apparent on the job market, though. Euro-zone unemployment now averages 10.3 percent, but in Germany the figure sank to 7.1 percent for 2011. Last year, just under 3 million unemployed people were registered out of 82 million residents in Germany. By contrast, the number of unemployed in Spain recently reached 4.42 million out of just 45 million residents.

German Firms Profit from Weak Euro

As mass protests form in Spain due to high unemployment among young people, Germany is benefiting from an influx of new skilled professionals. An increasing number of southern Europeans looking for work are heading north to prosperous Germany. The number of Greek immigrants rose by 84 percent in the first half of 2011 to reach some 4,100 people, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The total number of immigrants rose by 19 percent year-on-year for that time period, reaching 435,000.

But that’s not all. Indirectly, Germany also profits from a simple symptom of the crisis — the weak euro, which has fallen to about $1.27, its lowest value since Sept. 2010.

For German companies, the sinking euro acts as a kind of crisis buffer. While it reduces demand for German products within the euro zone, these make up only around 40 percent of the country’s exports. But for the rest of the world, a weak euro means cheaper German products, which means they’re more competitive.

Indeed, German exports grew by 2.5 percent month-on-month in November, reaching €94.9 billion. Compared to a year earlier, exports were up by an impressive 8.3 percent. The crisis notwithstanding, exports for 2011 as a whole surpassed the historic trillion-euro level, a benchmark not even reached during the boom year of 2008.

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A Dutch woman who called a man 65,000 times in the past year – an average of 178 calls a day – is to face charges of stalking.

The man told police he had been bombarded with calls, texts and emails from the woman.

Lawyers say the 42-year-old woman claimed to be in a relationship with the man and denied that her actions were excessive.

The 62-year-old man denies that they were in a relationship.

The police raided the woman’s home in Rotterdam and seized a number of mobile phones and several computers.

The BBC’s Anna Holligan in The Hague says a judge at a preliminary hearing granted the woman bail on the condition that she leave the man alone.

But just a couple of hours after being released, she allegedly called him again, says our correspondent.

She has been kept in custody ever since, and had been due to appear before a judge in The Hague later on Wednesday, before it was decided three judges should hear the case.

A new date for the hearing is yet to be set.

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This is a list of global currencies and the three-character currency codes that we have found are generally used to represent them.

Often, but not always, this code is the same as the ISO 4217 standard. (The ISO — or International Organization for Standardization — is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies.) In most cases, the currency code is composed of the country’s two-character Internet country code plus an extra character to denote the currency unit. For example, the code for Canadian Dollars is simply Canada’s two-character Internet code (“CA”) plus a one-character currency designator (“D”).

We have endeavored to list the codes that, in our experience, are actually in general industry use to represent the currencies. This list no longer contains obsolete or old Euro-zone currencies.

This page is not a list of symbols used in everyday life to denote that a number is a monetary value, such as the dollar sign “$”, the Pound sign “£”, and the Euro sign “€”. For a list of these symbols, refer to our XE.com – World Currency Symbols page.

AED United Arab Emirates Dirham
AFN Afghanistan Afghani
ALL Albania Lek
AMD Armenia Dram
ANG Netherlands Antilles Guilder
AOA Angola Kwanza
ARS Argentina Peso
AUD Australia Dollar
AWG Aruba Guilder
AZN Azerbaijan New Manat
BAM Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Marka
BBD Barbados Dollar
BDT Bangladesh Taka
BGN Bulgaria Lev
BHD Bahrain Dinar
BIF Burundi Franc
BMD Bermuda Dollar
BND Brunei Darussalam Dollar
BOB Bolivia Boliviano
BRL Brazil Real
BSD Bahamas Dollar
BTN Bhutan Ngultrum
BWP Botswana Pula
BYR Belarus Ruble
BZD Belize Dollar
CAD Canada Dollar
CDF Congo/Kinshasa Franc
CHF Switzerland Franc
CLP Chile Peso
CNY China Yuan Renminbi
COP Colombia Peso
CRC Costa Rica Colon
CUC Cuba Convertible Peso
CUP Cuba Peso
CVE Cape Verde Escudo
CZK Czech Republic Koruna
DJF Djibouti Franc
DKK Denmark Krone
DOP Dominican Republic Peso
DZD Algeria Dinar
EGP Egypt Pound
ERN Eritrea Nakfa
ETB Ethiopia Birr
EUR Euro Member Countries
FJD Fiji Dollar
FKP Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Pound
GBP United Kingdom Pound
GEL Georgia Lari
GGP Guernsey Pound
GHS Ghana Cedi
GIP Gibraltar Pound
GMD Gambia Dalasi
GNF Guinea Franc
GTQ Guatemala Quetzal
GYD Guyana Dollar
HKD Hong Kong Dollar
HNL Honduras Lempira
HRK Croatia Kuna
HTG Haiti Gourde
HUF Hungary Forint
IDR Indonesia Rupiah
ILS Israel Shekel
IMP Isle of Man Pound
INR India Rupee
IQD Iraq Dinar
IRR Iran Rial
ISK Iceland Krona
JEP Jersey Pound
JMD Jamaica Dollar
JOD Jordan Dinar
JPY Japan Yen
KES Kenya Shilling
KGS Kyrgyzstan Som
KHR Cambodia Riel
KMF Comoros Franc
KPW Korea (North) Won
KRW Korea (South) Won
KWD Kuwait Dinar
KYD Cayman Islands Dollar
KZT Kazakhstan Tenge
LAK Laos Kip
LBP Lebanon Pound
LKR Sri Lanka Rupee
LRD Liberia Dollar
LSL Lesotho Loti
LTL Lithuania Litas
LVL Latvia Lat
LYD Libya Dinar
MAD Morocco Dirham
MDL Moldova Leu
MGA Madagascar Ariary
MKD Macedonia Denar
MMK Myanmar (Burma) Kyat
MNT Mongolia Tughrik
MOP Macau Pataca
MRO Mauritania Ouguiya
MUR Mauritius Rupee
MVR Maldives (Maldive Islands) Rufiyaa
MWK Malawi Kwacha
MXN Mexico Peso
MYR Malaysia Ringgit
MZN Mozambique Metical
NAD Namibia Dollar
NGN Nigeria Naira
NIO Nicaragua Cordoba
NOK Norway Krone
NPR Nepal Rupee
NZD New Zealand Dollar
OMR Oman Rial
PAB Panama Balboa
PEN Peru Nuevo Sol
PGK Papua New Guinea Kina
PHP Philippines Peso
PKR Pakistan Rupee
PLN Poland Zloty
PYG Paraguay Guarani
QAR Qatar Riyal
RON Romania New Leu
RSD Serbia Dinar
RUB Russia Ruble
RWF Rwanda Franc
SAR Saudi Arabia Riyal
SBD Solomon Islands Dollar
SCR Seychelles Rupee
SDG Sudan Pound
SEK Sweden Krona
SGD Singapore Dollar
SHP Saint Helena Pound
SLL Sierra Leone Leone
SOS Somalia Shilling
SPL Seborga Luigino
SRD Suriname Dollar
STD São Principe and Tome Dobra
SVC El Salvador Colon
SYP Syria Pound
SZL Swaziland Lilangeni
THB Thailand Baht
TJS Tajikistan Somoni
TMT Turkmenistan Manat
TND Tunisia Dinar
TOP Tonga Pa’anga
TRY Turkey Lira
TTD Trinidad and Tobago Dollar
TVD Tuvalu Dollar
TWD Taiwan New Dollar
TZS Tanzania Shilling
UAH Ukraine Hryvna
UGX Uganda Shilling
USD United States Dollar
UYU Uruguay Peso
UZS Uzbekistan Som
VEF Venezuela Bolivar Fuerte
VND Viet Nam Dong
VUV Vanuatu Vatu
WST Samoa Tala
XAF Communauté Financière Africaine (BEAC) CFA Franc BEAC
XAG Silver
XAU Gold
XCD East Caribbean Dollar
XDR International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights
XOF Communauté Financière Africaine (BCEAO) Franc
XPD Palladium
XPF Comptoirs Français du Pacifique (CFP) Franc
XPT Platinum
YER Yemen Rial
ZAR South Africa Rand
ZMK Zambia Kwacha
ZWD Zimbabwe Dollar

Scientists have discovered how cancerous cells can “elbow” their way out of tumours, offering clues for new drugs to prevent cancers spreading.

They say they have identified a protein called JAK which helps cancerous cells generate the force needed to move.

Writing in Cancer Cell, they say the cells contract like muscle to force their way out and around the body.

Cancer Research UK said the study provided fresh understanding of ways to stop cancer spreading.

When cancers spread, a process known as metastasis, they become more difficult to treat, as secondary tumours tend to be more aggressive.

It is thought that 90% of cancer-related deaths occur after metastasis.
JAK attack

Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research, who investigated the chemicals involved in cell migration in melanoma – skin cancer – say cancerous cells can move in two ways.

They can “elbow” their way out of a tumour or the tumour itself can form corridors down which the cells can escape.

Lead researcher Professor Chris Marshall said both processes were being controlled by the same chemical.

“There is a common theme of using force, force generated by the same mechanism – the same molecule, called JAK,” he said.

JAK is not a new culprit in cancer. It has been linked to leukaemia, so some drugs are already being developed which target the protein.

“Our new study suggests that such drugs may also stop the spread of cancer,” Professor Marshall said.

“The test will be when we start to see whether any of these agents will stop the spread. We’re thinking of clinical trials in the next few years.”

Dr Lesley Walker, Cancer Research UK’s director of cancer information, said: “A huge challenge in successfully treating cancer is stopping it from spreading around the body, and keeping cancer that has already spread at bay.

“Discovering how cancer cells can funnel grooves though tissues, to squeeze away from primary tumours and spread to new sites, gives scientists fresh understanding of ways to stop cancer spread – literally in its tracks.”