• Economy
  • Investing
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Stock
Keep Over Tradings
Economy

But Lagarde, Europe Is a Museum!

by July 1, 2025
by July 1, 2025

“Europe is a museum, Japan is a nursing home, China is a jail, and bitcoin is an experiment.” These were former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers’ now classic words to investors at a 2023 Morningstar Investment Conference. 

Summers was talking about global monetary conditions and the necessity to hold your investments and money in some currency, somewhere. “I would rather be playing America’s hand than any other country in the world… you have to put your money somewhere, and the dollar is a good place to put it.”

The US dollar is the least-dirty shirt.

I can’t verify whether Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, or any member of her staff was in the audience, but they certainly didn’t get the memo. European policymakers have a long history of gaslighting their population. With straight faces, they tell untruths and just assume that their subjects will follow along — and to our massive discredit, we mostly do. 

In June, Lagarde was out swinging in the Financial Times. Somehow she, or her advisors, are under the impression that this is Europe’s moment. With President Trump holding the US on the ropes and the dollar in retreat, the excellently planned and flawlessly governed supranational creation, the euro, is the go-to replacement. 

Or not. 

There are some obvious things to invoke here: snake oil salesmen and that Upton Sinclair quote about not understanding something when one’s salary (in the $500,000 range) depends on it… but I digress. 

The op-ed in the Financial Times goes on to explore how “economic strength is the backbone of any international currency.” A dispassionate observer would soon disqualify the eurozone, having flirted with recession and growth around zero percent for years, the world’s worst fertility prospects, record-high electricity prices, no energy sovereignty — and just over a decade ago was on the precipice of falling apart under the heavy weight of government profligacy. Most people don’t realize that the American and euro area economies were roughly about the same size in the 1990s, and again around the global financial crisis, but that the US economy is now some 77 percent larger. By most accounts, economic life — “strength” — is better in America, no matter what strange ideas come over orange men in white houses. 

Even by the old-world standards of low and stable inflation, and deep and reliable capital markets, the eurozone vastly underperforms America. America’s bond market is at least twice the size of Europe’s fragmented and disjointed one, its equity markets some 6-7x larger. David Hebert on these pages asks the correct question: “Why Are There No Trillion-Dollar Companies in Europe?” Financing, entrepreneurship, and regulatory hurdles are some obvious answers, but also that “the US remains a top place for workers and businesses to locate. Our system promotes businesses and the creation of job opportunities in a way that is the envy of the rest of the world.”

For start-ups, too, the grass is much greener in the US: fewer regulatory burdens and much better access to capital. Some of the most successful European tech companies, from Klarna and Spotify to (British!) Wise opted for New York over Stockholm, Frankfurt, or London. One astonishing statistic speaks volumes about Museum Europa’s dynamism, money, and capital markets: “No EU company founded in the past 50 years has a market capitalization exceeding €100 billion, while all six US companies valued above $1 trillion were created during this period.” (We could quibble about the Dutch ASML or Denmark’s Novo Nordisk, but the point stands…)

In a quiet dig at the US, Lagarde tells us that Europe has much better independence for its monetary authority (kind of a low bar…), inclusive decision-making and “checks and balances.” The very next paragraph undermines that commitment: “A single veto must no longer be allowed to stand in the way of the collective interests of the other 26 member states,” and fewer vetoes “would enable Europe to speak with one voice” — i.e., overrule rowdy states. 

The worst bit is when she’s pointing to “strategic industries” like green technology, which are neither strategic nor even “industries” — rather, implementations of dying, subsidized ideological dreams. 

All Europe has to offer the world is professional soccer and nursing homes; centuries-old architecture and over-regulated, tourist-infested beaches. 

To believe that the euro will play a larger role in international monetary affairs is laughable. To the very small extent that asset managers and foreign currency reserves are shifted away from dollars, they’re replaced not by euros (or pounds) but by smaller, non-traditional currencies. Financial institutions skeptical of global monetary hegemony are stocking up on gold (and bitcoin) — not the regional money upstart that Lagarde oversees. 

While the dollar’s dominance has fallen steadily in the aftermath of political turmoil, the runaway fiscal train, and the freezing of Russia’s reserves, it’s still miles ahead of the euro. Some 58 percent of foreign currency reserves are in dollars while the second-best “alternative” sits, unmoving, at below 20 percent — far, far from Lagarde’s ambitions.

What’s worse is that the kind of states, institutions, and individuals in need of de-dollarization would achieve nothing by euro-izing. States and money managers in China, Russia, or India would gain zero political diversification by holding euros instead of dollars; in fact, Russia did, as most of its frozen reserves were custodied at Euroclear and European banks. All a shift from dollars to euros would do is replace governance, inflation, and confiscation risks associated with fickle American leadership with the exact same risks in a European format. Hooray. 

“No matter its other virtues, by aggressively weaponizing the global currency you issue, you make it worse,” I wrote about the dollar last year. Such matters certainly count against Uncle Sam and the dollar as global money…but the Europeans are even worse. 

While Lagarde’s war on cash has been a little overblown, there are invasively constrictive rules capping cash usage at €1,000 ($1,160) in Spain and France, with a €10,000 ($11,160) cash limit applying across the European Union by 2027. 

Cries for the dollar’s imminent collapse are always overblown, but the euro as a reasonable replacement is an even more hyperbolically deluded idea.

Lagarde should have been reading the other noteworthy British newspaper, The Economist. The headline from February this year? “Europe Has No Escape From Stagnation.”

Sorry, Christine.

0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Athena Gold Closes Private Placement
next post
David Erfle: Silver Staging “Powerful” Breakout; Plus Gold Stocks and Copper Squeeze

Related Posts

The Merchant Republic: America at 249

July 4, 2025

Why Do Women’s Razors Cost More? Putting the...

July 4, 2025

The Merchant Republic: America at 249

July 4, 2025

Why Do Women’s Razors Cost More? Putting the...

July 4, 2025

Chairman Powell’s Curious Case for Abundant Reserves

July 4, 2025

How Should Fed Officials Think About the Dual...

July 4, 2025

Can Russia Outlaw Childlessness?

July 3, 2025

Chairman Powell’s Curious Case for Abundant Reserves

July 3, 2025

Can Russia Outlaw Childlessness?

July 3, 2025

How Should Fed Officials Think About the Dual...

July 3, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Why Do Women’s Razors Cost More? Putting the “Pink Tax” in Perspective
  • The Merchant Republic: America at 249
  • Crypto Market Recap: Crypto Rallies As “Big, beautiful bill” Passes Congress
  • C-Level Survey: IoT Dominates Tech Roadmaps in Key Industrial Sectors
  • CoTec Holdings Corp. Announces Second Closing of Life Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

    Master Your Money – Sign Up for Our Financial Education Newsletter!


    Ready to take your financial knowledge to the next level? Our newsletter delivers easy-to-understand guides, expert advice, and actionable tips straight to your inbox. Whether you're saving for a dream vacation or planning for retirement, we’ve got you covered. Sign up today and start your journey to financial freedom!

    Recent Posts

    • Why Do Women’s Razors Cost More? Putting the “Pink Tax” in Perspective

      July 4, 2025
    • The Merchant Republic: America at 249

      July 4, 2025
    • Crypto Market Recap: Crypto Rallies As “Big, beautiful bill” Passes Congress

      July 4, 2025
    • C-Level Survey: IoT Dominates Tech Roadmaps in Key Industrial Sectors

      July 4, 2025
    • CoTec Holdings Corp. Announces Second Closing of Life Offering and Concurrent Private Placement

      July 4, 2025
    • Hempalta Secures 90-Day FCC Forbearance Extension as Company Completes Certification of 2024 Carbon Credits

      July 4, 2025

    Editors’ Picks

    • 1

      South Harz Potash: A Globally Significant European Potash and Critical Minerals Opportunity

      July 1, 2025
    • 2

      Questcorp Mining Engages Marketing Consulting Firm Spark Newswire

      July 2, 2025
    • 3

      There’s a New Sheriff at the Fed

      June 30, 2025
    • 4

      There’s a New Sheriff at the Fed

      June 30, 2025
    • 5

      What the End of the Chevron Doctrine Means

      June 30, 2025
    • 6

      SAGA Metals Appoints Accomplished Mining Executive Peter Hogendoorn to Board of Advisors and Engages Xander Capital Partners

      June 30, 2025
    • 7

      DFS Presentation

      June 30, 2025

    Categories

    • Economy (25)
    • Editor’s Pick (8)
    • Investing (64)
    • About us
    • Contacts
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Email Whitelisting

    Disclaimer: keepovertrading.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 keepovertrading.com | All Rights Reserved

    Keep Over Tradings
    • Economy
    • Investing
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Stock
    Keep Over Tradings
    • Economy
    • Investing
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Stock
    Disclaimer: keepovertrading.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 keepovertrading.com | All Rights Reserved

    Read alsox

    Can Russia Outlaw Childlessness?

    July 3, 2025

    But Lagarde, Europe Is a Museum!

    July 1, 2025

    Rediscovering Frédéric Bastiat in an Age of...

    June 30, 2025