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History of the euro
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The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999, although it had been a goal of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since the 1960s. After tough negotiations, particularly due to opposition from the United Kingdom, the Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993 with the goal of creating economic and monetary union by 1999 for all EU states except the UK and Denmark (even though Denmark has a fixed exchange rate policy with the euro).
In 1999 the currency was born virtually and in 2002 notes and coins began to circulate. It rapidly took over from the former national currencies and slowly expanded behind the rest of the EU. In 2009 the Lisbon Treaty finalised its political authority, the Eurogroup, alongside the European Central Bank.
Early ideas[edit]
First ideas of an economic and monetary union in Europe were raised well before establishing the European Communities. For example, already in the League of Nations, Gustav Stresemann asked in 1929 for a European currency[1] against the background of an increased economic division due to a number of new nation states in Europe after World War I. At this time memories of the Latin Monetary Union[2] involving principally France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland and which, for practical purposes, had disintegrated following the First World War, will have figured prominently in the minds of policy makers.
A first attempt to create an economic and monetary union between the members of the European Economic Community goes back to an initiative by the European Commission in 1969, which set out the need for "greater co-ordination of economic policies and monetary cooperation."[3] This was followed up at a meeting of the European Council at The Hague in December 1969. The European Council tasked Pierre Werner, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, with finding a way to reduce currency exchange rate volatility. His report was published in October 1970 and recommended centralisation of the national macroeconomic policies entailing "the total and irreversible fixing of parity rates and the complete liberation of movements of capital." But he did not propose a single currency or central bank.[4] An attempt to limit the fluctuations of European currencies, using a snake in the tunnel, failed.
In 1971, US President Richard Nixon removed the gold backing from the US$, causing a collapse in the Bretton Woods system that managed to affect all of the world's major currencies. The widespread currency floats and devaluations set back aspirations for European monetary union.[4] However in March 1979 the European Monetary System (EMS) was created, fixing exchange rates onto the European Currency Unit (ECU), an accounting currency, to stabilise exchange rates and counter inflation. It also created the European Monetary Cooperation Fund (EMCF).[4]
In February 1986 the Single European Act formalised political co-operation within the Community including competency in monetary policy.[4] European Council summit in Hannover on 14 June 1988 began to outline monetary co-operation. France, Italy and European Commission backed a fully monetary union with a central bank, which British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opposed.[5]
The Hannover European Council asked Commission President Jacques Delors to chair an ad hoc committee of central bank governors to propose a new timetable with clear, practical and realistic steps for creating an economic and monetary union.[6] This way of working was derived from the Spaak method.
France and the UK were opposed to German reunification, and attempted to influence the Soviet Union to stop it.[7] However, in late 1989 France extracted German commitment to the Monetary Union in return for support for German reunification.[8]
The Delors report[9] of 1989 set out a plan to introduce the EMU in three stages and it included the creation of institutions such as the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which would become responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy. It laid out monetary union being accomplished in three steps. Beginning the first of these steps, on 1 July 1990, exchange controls were abolished, thus capital movements were completely liberalised in the European Economic Community. Leaders reached agreement on currency union with the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992. It agreed to create a single currency, although without the participation of the United Kingdom, by January 1999.[4]
Gaining approval for the treaty was a challenge. Germany was cautious about giving up its stable currency, i.e. the German Mark,[10] France approved the treaty by a narrow margin[11] and Denmark refused to ratify until they got an opt out from monetary union as the United Kingdom, an opt-out which they maintain as of 2011.[12] On 16 September 1992, known in the UK as Black Wednesday, the British pound sterling was forced to withdraw from the fixed exchange rate system due to a rapid fall in the value of the pound.[13]
Second stage[edit]
Delors' second stage began in 1994 with creation of the European Monetary Institute, succeeding the EMCF, under Maastricht. It was created as the forerunner to the European Central Bank. It met for the first time on 12 January under its first president, Alexandre Lamfalussy.[4] After much disagreement, in December 1995 the name euro was adopted for the new currency (replacing the name Ecu used for the previous accounting currency),[4] on the suggestion of then-German finance minister Theo Waigel. They also agreed on the date 1 January 1999 for its launch.[4]
On 17 June 1997 the European Council decided in Amsterdam to adopt the Stability and Growth Pact, designed to ensure budgetary discipline after creation of the euro, and a new exchange rate mechanism (ERM II) was set up to provide stability above the euro and the national currencies of countries that hadn't yet entered the eurozone. Then, on 3 May 1998, at the European Council in Brussels, the 11 initial countries that would participate in the third stage from 1 January 1999 were selected. To participate in the new currency, member states had to meet strict criteria such as a budget deficit of less than 3% of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than 60% of GDP, low inflation, and interest rates close to the EU average. Greece failed to meet the criteria and was excluded from participating on 1 January 1999.
On 1 June 1998 the European Central Bank succeeded the European Monetary Institute. However it wouldn't take on its full powers until the euro was created on 1 January 1999. The bank's first President was Wim Duisenberg, former head of the EMI and the Dutch central bank.[4] The conversion rates between the 11 participating national currencies and the euro were then established. The rates were determined by the Council of the European Union, based on a recommendation from the European Commission based on the market rates on 31 December 1998, so that one ECU would equal one euro. These rates were set by Council Regulation 2866/98 (EC), of 31 December 1998. They could not be set earlier, because the ECU depended on the closing exchange rate of the non-euro currencies (principally the pound sterling) that day. Due to differences in national conventions for rounding and significant digits, all conversion between the national currencies had to be carried out using the process of triangulation via the euro.
In response to a request by SPIEGEL, the German government published in summer 2011, for the first time, hundreds of pages of documents from 1994 to 1998 on the introduction of the euro and the inclusion of Italy in the euro zone. They include reports from the German embassy in Rome, internal government memos and letters, and minutes of the chancellor's meetings.[14]
The documents prove that Italy should never have been accepted into the common currency zone. The decision to invite Rome to join was based almost exclusively on political considerations. It also created a precedent for Greece's acceptance into the euro zone two years later.[14]
Instead of waiting until the economic requirements for a common currency were met, chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl wanted to demonstrate that Germany, even after its reunification, remained profoundly European in its orientation. He even referred to the new currency as a "bit of a peace guarantee."[14]
The published documents prove that the Kohl administration was extremely well informed about the state of Italy's finances. Many austerity measures were merely window dressing. Kohl then faced the German federal election on 27 September 1998. Gerhard Schröder was the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) for the Chancellery (and was elected). Schröder called the euro a "sickly premature baby." Kohl pushed through the common currency against all resistance; his experts essentially confirmed the assessment of Schröder.[14]
There are also strong hints that François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic 1981 – 1995 forced Kohl into a deal: French approval to the reunification only in return for introduction of the Euro (= abandoning the Deutsche Mark). [15][16] Kohl agreed, even without previously discussing it with Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer.[17]
The currency was introduced in non-physical form (traveller's cheques, electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the Eurozone) ceased to exist independently in that their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other, effectively making them mere non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002 (having been distributed in small amounts in the previous December). Beginning on 1 January 1999, all bonds and other forms of government debt by Eurozone nations were denominated in euros.
On the first day of trading, 5 January, since its launch, the euro climbed to 1.19 US$. It was rapidly taken up and dealers were surprised by the speed at which it replaced the national currencies. Trading in the Deutsche Mark was expected to continue in parallel but vanished as soon as the markets opened.[18] However, by the end of 1999 the euro had dropped to parity with the dollar[4] leading to emergency action from the G7 to support the euro in 2001.[19]
Later in 2000, Denmark held a referendum on whether to abandon their opt-out from the euro. The referendum resulted in a decision to retain the krone, and also set back plans for a referendum in the UK as a result.[20] The procedure used to fix the irrevocable conversion rate of 340.750 between the Greek drachma and the euro was different, since the euro by then was already two years old. While the conversion rates for the initial eleven currencies were determined only hours before the euro was introduced as a virtual currency, the conversion rate for the Greek drachma was fixed several months beforehand, in Council Regulation 1478/2000 (EC),[21] of 19 June 2000.
The designs for the new coins and notes were announced between 1996 and 1998, and production began at the various mints and printers on 11 May 1998. [22] The task was large, and would require the full three years and a half. In all, 7.4 billion notes and 38.2 billion coins would be available for issuance to consumers and businesses on 1 January 2002.[23] In 7 nations, the new coins, struck in the run-up to 1 January 2002, would bear a 2002 date. In Belgium, Finland, France, the Netherlands, and Spain, the new coins would bear the date of striking, so those 5 countries would be the only ones to strike euro coins dated 1999, 2000, and 2001. Small numbers of coins from Monaco, Vatican City, and San Marino were also struck. These immediately became popular collector's items, commanding premiums well above face value. New issues continue to do so to this day.
Meanwhile, a parallel task was to educate the European public about the new coins. Posters were issued showing the designs, which were used on items ranging from playing cards to T shirts. As a final step, on 15 December 2001, banks began exchanging "euro starter kits", plastic pouches with a selection of the new coins in each country (generally, between 10 and 20 euros worth—though Finland's contained one of each coin, totalling €3.88). They would not be usable in commerce until 1 January, when notes would be made available as well. Larger starter kits, containing a roll of each denomination, were available as well in some nations.
Retailers and government agencies had a considerable task as well. For items to be sold to the public, dual pricing was commonly utilised. Postage stamps for governments (as well as stamps issued by the United Nations Postal Administration for the UN offices in Vienna) often bore denominations both in the legacy currency and euros, assuring continued utility beyond 2001. Banks bore a huge task, not only in preparation for the change of the notes and coins, but also in the back office. Beginning in 1999, all deposits and loans were technically in euros, but deposits and withdrawals continued in the legacy currency. Statements would bear balances in both currencies beginning no later than 1 July 2001, and earlier if required by the customer's needs.
Beginning on 1 December 2001, coins and notes were distributed from secure storage, first to large retailers, and then to smaller ones. It was widely expected that there would be massive problems on and after 1 January. Such a changeover, across twelve populous countries, had never been attempted before.
Change of currency[edit]
As midnight struck to usher in 2002, a celebration took place outside European Central Bank offices in Frankfurt. A huge illuminated mock-up of a euro coin was displayed in front of the building.
When the celebration began, the new coins and notes had already been valid for one hour in Greece and Finland. In fact, they had been valid for three hours on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.[24] The first official purchase using euro coins and notes took place there, for one kilogram of lychees.[25] The coming of midnight in Frankfurt at the ECB offices, though, symbolised the transition.
In Finland, the Central Bank had opened for an hour at midnight to allow citizens to exchange currency, while a huge euro pyramid had decorated Syntagma Square in Athens, as the euro was welcomed to continental Europe. Other countries noted the coming of the euro as well—Paris's Pont Neuf was decorated in EU colours, while in the northern German town of Gifhorn a sombre, symbolic funeral for the Deutsche Mark took place.
Except for Germany, the plan for introduction of the new currency was basically the same. Banks would accept the exchange of legacy currencies, begin to dispense euros from ATMs, and only euros would be available as withdrawals were made, beginning on 1 January. Merchants would accept legacy currency, but give change only in euros. In Germany, the Deutsche Mark would no longer be a legal tender on 1 January, but would have to be exchanged at the banks.
Despite the massive amounts of euros available, chaos was feared. In France, these fears were accentuated by a threatened postal workers' strike.[26] The strike, however, was settled. Similarly, workers at the French bank BNP Paribas threatened to disrupt the introduction of euro currency with a strike. That was also settled.[27]
Currency | Code (ISO 4217) |
Rate[28] | Fixed on | Yielded |
Austrian schilling | ATS | 13.7603 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Belgian franc | BEF | 40.3399 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Cypriot pound | CYP | 0.585274 | 2007-07-10 | 2008-01-01 |
German mark | DEM | 1.95583 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Estonian kroon | EEK | 15.6466 | 2010-07-13 | 2011-01-01 |
Spanish peseta | ESP | 166.386 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Finnish markka | FIM | 5.94573 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
French franc | FRF | 6.55957 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Greek drachma | GRD | 340.75 | 2000-06-19 | 2001-01-01 |
Irish pound | IEP | 0.787564 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Italian lira | ITL | 1,936.27 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Luxembourgish franc | LUF | 40.3399 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Latvian lats | LVL | 0.702804 | 2013-07-09 | 2014-01-01 |
Monegasque franc | MCF | 6.55957 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Maltese lira | MTL | 0.4293 | 2007-07-10 | 2008-01-01 |
Dutch guilder | NLG | 2.20371 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Portuguese escudo | PTE | 200.482 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Slovenian tolar | SIT | 239.64 | 2006-07-11 | 2007-01-01 |
Slovak koruna | SKK | 30.126 | 2008-07-08 | 2009-01-01 |
Sammarinese lira | SML | 1,936.27 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
Vatican lira | VAL | 1,936.27 | 1998-12-31 | 1999-01-01 |
In practice, the roll-out was smooth, with few problems. By 2 January, all ATMs in 7 countries and at least 90 percent in 4 others were issuing euros rather than legacy currency, with Italy, the worst offender, having 85% of ATMs dispensing euros.[29] The unexpected tendency of consumers to spend their legacy currency, rather than exchange it at banks, led to temporary shortages of euro small change, with some consumers being given change in legacy currency.[30]
Some businesses did take advantage of the currency exchange to raise prices. According to a study by the Deutsche Bundesbank, there was a price rise, but consumers refused to buy as much. A coffee bar in Italy that took advantage of the transition to raise coffee prices by a third was ordered to pay compensation to customers.[31]
Nations were allowed to keep legacy currency in circulation as legal tender for two months, until 28 February 2002. The official date on which the national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from member state to member state. The earliest date was in Germany; the Mark officially ceased to be legal tender after 31 December 2001. Most member states, though, permitted their legacy currency to remain in circulation the full two months. The legacy currency was exchangeable at commercial banks in the currency's nation for a further period, generally until 30 June 2002.
However, even after the official dates, they continued to be accepted for exchange by national central banks for varying periods—and indefinitely in Austria, Germany, Ireland, and Spain. Coins from those four countries, Italy, and Finland remain exchangeable. The earliest coins to become non-convertible were the Portuguese escudos, which ceased to have monetary value after 31 December 2002, although banknotes remain exchangeable until 2022. All banknotes current on 1 January 2002 will remain valid until at least 2012.[32]
Efforts to secure the return of German coins continue.[citation needed] In 2005, Deutsche Telekom modified 50,000 pay phones to take Deutsche Mark coins, at least on a temporary basis.[33] Callers were allowed to use DM coins, at least initially, with the Mark pegged to equal one euro, almost twice the usual rate.[34]
In France, receipts still indicate the value of products in the legacy currency along with the euro value, as do receipts in Slovenia. In other eurozone countries this has long been considered unnecessary. In June 2008, The New York Times reported that many merchants in the French town of Collobrières, in Provence, choose to accept exchangeable franc notes.[35]
Early growth[edit]
After dropping to an interday low of $0.8296 on 26 October 2001, and a brief crash to $0.8115 on 15 January 2002, the euro soon recovered from its early slump. Its value last closed below $1.00 on 6 November 2002 ($0.9971), and increased rapidly from there. It peaked at $1.35 in 2004, and reached its highest value versus the U.S. dollar at $1.5916 on 14 July 2008.[36] As its values increased against the pound sterling in the late-2000s, peaking at 97.73p on 31 December 2008, its international usage grew rapidly.[37] The euro grew in importance steadily, with its share of foreign exchange reserves rising from nearly 18% in 1999 to 25% in 2003 - while the dollar share fell by an equivalent margin.[38] Alan Greenspan in 2007 said the eurozone had profited from the euro's rise and claimed it was perfectly conceivable that it could trade equally or become more important than the US dollar in the future.[39]
US analysis[edit]
A survey of US economists and their views on the EMU and euro from 1989–2002 found that the euro had gone much better than many expected.[40] Academic economists, overall, were more sceptical than Federal Reserve economists who adopted a more pragmatic approach. The scepticism appears to have resulted from the strong influence of the optimum currency area theory; other reasons include similar scepticism of monetary unification as an evolutionary process as opposed to a political project that ignored fundamental elements of economics and a distrust of pegged currency exchange rates (as opposed to floating exchange rates) as a basis and an alternative to a single European currency.
Fred Bergsten of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC was one of a few American economists optimistic about the euro.[41] His analysis focused on European political economy rather than technical considerations like the theory of optimum currency area seeing its implications as ambiguous enough to permit a basically political decision. In the same vein, Jeffry Frieden, Political Scientist at Harvard, points out that most US economists failed to systematically include political factors in their analysis.[42] By focusing only on the pure economics of the matter, they led themselves to unrealistic predictions. Charles Goodhart of the London School of Economics echoes a similar sentiment.[43]
Some believed that a strong central state, which a sound euro seemingly required, would impede European economic liberalisation.[44] On the other hand, some credit the euro's success to the European Central Bank's (ECB) ability to follow a stability-oriented monetary policy without undue influence from national interests.[45] This would not be possible without a certain amount of centralised power and decent incentives. George Selgin suggests that the ECB had an incentive to keep inflation low out of a desire to secure for the euro a prominent position in the international monetary market.[46]
Late 2000s enlargements[edit]
Between 2007 and 2009, several states from the 2004 enlargement acceded to the eurozone. These were Slovenia in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009 and Estonia in 2011. Most other 2004 countries faced greater difficulties in fulfilling the criteria to join.
Slovenia was the first country to join the eurozone after the launch of the coins and banknotes. Participation in ERM II began on 28 June 2004[47] and on 11 July 2006 the Council of EU adopted a decision allowing Slovenia to join the euro area as from 1 January 2007.[48] The euro replaced the Slovenian tolar on 1 January 2007. The exchange rate between the euro and tolar had been set on 11 July 2006 at 239.640 SIT, but unlike the previous launches, cash and non-cash transactions were introduced simultaneously.
Cyprus replaced the Cypriot pound with the euro on 1 January 2008.[49]
A formal letter of application to join the eurozone was submitted on 13 February 2007.[50] On 16 May 2007 the European Commission, backed by the European Central Bank, gave its go-ahead for the introduction in January 2008.[51][52]
The campaign to inform the citizens of Cyprus about the euro officially began in Cypriot media on 9 March 2007. On 15 March 2007, the Cypriot House of Representatives passed the necessary laws for the introduction of the euro on 1 January 2008. The European Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs Joaquín Almunia, on 16 May 2007, recommended that Cyprus adopt the euro as scheduled and the European Parliament concurred on 21 June 2007, the date was confirmed by the EU leaders. The final decision was taken by the EU finance ministers (Ecofin) on 10 July 2007 and the conversion rate was fixed at 0.585274 CYP.[53] On 23 October 2007, the coin designs were officially published in the Official Journal of the European Union.[54]
On 1 January 2008 the euro replaced the Cypriot pound as the official currency.[55] The euro is only used in the government-controlled areas of the Republic, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (under UK jurisdiction, outside the EU) and in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus.[56] The de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continues to use the new Turkish lira as its primary currency and the euro as its secondary currency.[57]
Malta replaced the Maltese lira with the euro on 1 January 2008.[49] The aims were officially confirmed on 26 February 2007.[58] On 16 May 2007, the Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs of the EU, Joaquín Almunia, recommended that Malta adopt the euro as scheduled, a decision later confirmed by the Council of Finance Ministers of 10 July 2007. On the same day, dual displaying became mandatory and the first Maltese euro coins were struck at Monnaie de Paris. The first Maltese euro coins were available for the public on 1 December 2007, as business starter packs worth €131 each started being available for small businesses to fill up their cash registers with sufficient amount of euro coins before the €-day (Jum €). Mini-kits each worth €11.65 were available for the general public on 10 December 2007.[59] Maltese coins which were current at the time of the euro transition may be exchanged through 1 February 2010.[32]
Maltese citizens could obtain euro information directly from their town or village between December 2007 and January 2008. From the Euro Centres (Ċentru l-ewro) which opened during the day. People trained specifically on matters related to the changeover to the euro were available to provide council at euro centres along with information materials.[60]
In December 2007, as part of the euro changeover celebrations, streets of Valletta were covered with carpets depicting euro coins. Celebrations reached climax on New Year's Eve with a firework display near the Grand Harbour area, several other activities had to be moved indoors because of the stormy weather that struck the island on that night.
Slovakia adopted the euro on 1 January 2009. The koruna was part of ERM II from 28 November 2005, requiring that it trade within 15% of an agreed central rate; this rate was changed on 17 March 2007 and again on 28 May 2008. The rate of 30.126 SKK from May 2008 was finally confirmed on 8 July 2008.[61]
To assist the process of conversion to the euro, on 1 April 2008, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) announced their plan for withdrawal of the Slovak koruna notes and coins.[62] A few days later, on 5 April 2008, Slovakia officially applied to enter the eurozone.[63] On 7 May 2008, the European Commission approved the application and asked member states to endorse the bid during the EU finance ministers' meeting in July 2008.[64][65][66]
Slovakia fulfilled the euro convergence criteria. At 2.2%, Slovakia's twelve-month inflation was well below the 3.2% threshold. However, for March 2008 annual inflation was 3.6%. Fiscal deficit was 2.2% versus the reference value of 3.0%. And finally, the government debt ratio was 29.4% of GDP in 2007, well below the maximum ratio of 60.0%.[67] Public opinion supported the switch, with 58% in favour and 35% opposed, but 65% worried about the inflationary impacts of the adoption.[68] Three months after the adoption of the currency 83 percent of Slovaks consider Slovakia's decision to adopt the euro to have been right.[69]
Publicity for the transition from the koruna to the euro on 1 January 2009 included an "euromobile", with a professional actor driving around the countryside holding impromptu quiz shows about the euro. Winners received euro T shirts, euro conversion calculators, and chocolate euro coins.[70] Euro starter kits, available for 500 koruna, were a popular Christmas gift in 2008. The coins therein, however, were not valid as legal tender in the Eurozone until 1 January 2009, with koruna exchanged through 17 January 2009, though redeemable at the central bank in Bratislava until a date to be determined. Anyone using Slovakian euro coins before 1 January could have been fined. Businesses using the transition to raise prices also were subject to penalty.[70]
Recession era[edit]
As a result of the global financial crisis that began in 2007/2008, the eurozone entered its first official recession in the third quarter of 2008, official figures confirmed in January 2009.[71] The EU was in negative growth for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 before returning to positive growth (for the Eurozone as a whole).[72] Despite the recession, Estonia acceded to the Eurozone and Iceland put in an EU application to join the euro, seeing it at the time as a safe haven.
In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty formalised the Eurogroup, the meeting of euro finance ministers, with an official president. Jean-Claude Juncker served as president before and after formalisation and has been an advocate of strengthening the group, economic co-operation and common representation. Appetite for stronger economic co-operation grew due to the recession and the potential failure of some weaker eurozone members.[73] However Germany had opposed previous moves to strengthen the Eurogroup, such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts at Eurogroup summits, due to fears of undermining the ECB's independence. Jean-Claude Trichet, who succeeded Duisenberg as ECB president in 2003, fended off numerous attacks from Sarkozy at the start of the recession. Before that formalisation of the Eurogroup, Eurozone leaders held an extraordinary summit in reaction to the financial crisis on 11 October 2008 in Paris. Rather than the Eurogroup meeting as finance ministers, they met as head of states or government (similar to the European Council) to define a joint action plan for the eurozone and the European Central Bank to stabilise the European economy. These such meetings would be where many euro governance reforms would be agreed.
The leaders hammered out a plan to confront the financial crisis which will involve hundreds of billions of euros of new initiatives to head off a feared "meltdown".[citation needed] They agreed a bank rescue plan: governments would buy into banks to boost their finances and guarantee interbank lending. Coordination against the crisis is considered vital to prevent the actions of one country harming another and exacerbating the bank solvency and credit shortage problems. In the Great Depression, so-called "beggar-thy-neighbour" measures taken unilaterally by countries are considered to have deepened the economic loss.[74]
Despite initial fears by speculators in early 2009 that the stress of such a large recession could lead to the break-up of the eurozone, the euro's position actually strengthened as the year progressed. Far from the poorer performing economies moving further away and becoming a default risk, bond yield spreads between Germany and the weakest economies decreased easing the strain on these economies. Much of the credit for the turn around in fortunes has been attributed to the ECB, which injected €500bn into the banks in June.[75] Indeed the euro became to be seen as a safe haven, as countries outside it such as Iceland fared worse than those with the euro. Iceland subsequently applied to the EU to get the benefit of using a larger currency with the support of the ECB.[76]
However with the risk of a default in Greece and other members in late 2009–10, eurozone leaders agreed to agree provisions for bailing out member states who could not raise funds (triggered for Greece in April 2010).[77][78] This was a u-turn on the EU treaties which rule out any bail out of a euro member to encourage them to manage their finances better. Yet with Greece struggling to restore its finances, other member states also at risk and the repercussions this would have on the rest of the eurozone economy; a temporary bail out mechanism was agreed and devised in the form of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) named "European Financial Stability Facility" (complemented by the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism and funds form the International Monetary Fund), aiming at preserving financial stability in Europe by providing financial assistance to eurozone states in difficulty. The crisis also spurred consensus for further economic integration and a range of proposals such as a "European Monetary Fund" or federal treasury.[79][80][81]
However, in June 2010, broad agreement was finally reached on a controversial proposal for member states to peer review each other's budgets prior to their presentation to national parliaments. Although showing the entire budget to each other was opposed by Germany, Sweden and the UK, each government would present to their peers and the Commission their estimates for growth, inflation, revenue and expenditure levels six months before they go to national parliaments. If a country was to run a deficit, they would have to justify it to the rest of the EU while countries with a debt more than 60% of GDP would face greater scrutiny.[82] The plans would apply to all EU members, not just the eurozone, and have to be approved by EU leaders along with proposals for states to face sanctions before they reach the 3% limit in the Stability and Growth Pact. Poland has criticised the idea of withholding regional funding for those who break the deficit limits, as that would only impact the poorer states.[82] In June 2010 France agreed to back Germany's plan for suspending the voting rights of members who breach the rules.[83]
In late 2010/early 2011 it was agreed to replace the European Financial Stability Facility and European Financial Stability Mechanism with a larger and permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM). The ESM required a treaty amendment to allow it and a separate treaty to establish it but, if ratified successfully, would be established in time to take over when the old facilities expire in 2013. Meanwhile, to support Italy and prevent it having to ask for a bail-out later, the ECB controversially started buying Italian bonds, as it had done with Greece.
In March 2011 was initiated a new reform of the Stability and Growth Pact aiming at straightening the rules by adopting an automatic procedure for imposing of penalties in case of breaches of either the deficit or the debt rules.[84][85] The Euro Plus Pact sets out a wide range of reforms to take place in the Eurozone to ensure and the French and German governments further agreed to push for a 'true economic government' that would involve twice-yearly eurozone leader summits and a financial transactions tax.[86]
The European Fiscal Union is a proposal for a treaty about fiscal integration described in a decision adopted on 9 December 2011 by the European Council. The participants are the Eurozone member states and all other EU members without the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic. Treaty text is still to be drafted and participation approvals from national parliaments are still to be granted.[87]
Despite speculation that the crisis in Greece could spread and that the euro might fail, newer EU states still continued to press for membership. In 2010 Estonia gained the support of the European Commission, Central Bank and Parliament for accession on 1 January 2011 with Estonia adopting the currency on that date.[88][89]
See also[edit]
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- ^ "Traité (Recueil). 1864–1867] Recueil des traités de la France. Tome neuvième, pp. 453–458" (in (French)). Gallica.bnf.fr. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
- ^ "Barre Report" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j [1], Financial Times
- ^ EC leaders move nearer to monetary study plan, Financial Times
- ^ Verdun A., The role of the Delors Committee in the creation of EMU: an epistemic community?, Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 6, Number 2, 1 June 1999 , pp. 308–328(21)
- ^ "Thatcher told Gorbachev Britain did not want German reunification". Michael Binyon (London: Times). 11 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
- ^ Ben Knight (8 November 2009). "Germany's neighbors try to redeem their 1989 negativity". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
- ^ "Delors report" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-06.
- ^ Germans nervous at loss of D-Mark, Financial Times
- ^ France votes Yes, but only just, Financial Times
- ^ Danes say no to Maastricht Treaty, Financial Times
- ^ 1992: UK crashes out of ERM, BBC
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- ^ spiegel.de 2 March 1998: Weg ohne Wiederkehr. – Hinter der Fassade ihrer deutsch-französischen Freundschaft haben Helmut Kohl und François Mitterrand erbittert um Einheit und Euro gerungen, wie jetzt neue Dokumente aus dem Kanzleramt zeigen. War die Aufgabe der D-Mark der Preis für die Wiedervereinigung?
- ^ Dealers quick to adopt new currency, Financial Times
- ^ G7 nations stand firm on euro, Financial Times
- ^ Danish vote rocks Blair, BBC
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- ^ Euro sweeps up old currencies, BBC News
- ^ Germany puts price on euro switch, BBC News
- ^ a b Exchanging national cash, European Central Bank
- ^ German Phones to Take Old D-Mark Coins, Deutsche Welle, 2 June 2005
- ^ Call of duty for Germany's mark, BBC News
- ^ Collobrières Journal – A French Village Revives the Franc, NYTimes.com
- ^ EUR-USD exchange rate history, ECB
- ^ Euro is becoming the it currency, USA Today
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- ^ Bergsten, C. Fred. " I Was a Euro Enthusiast". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 53–55.
- ^ Frieden, Jeffry. "A Political Scientist's Perspective". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 56–58.
- ^ Goodhart, Charles. "Understanding the Euro Requires Political Economy, Not Just Economics". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 59–60.
- ^ Hanke, Steve H. "Reflections on Currency Reform and the Euro". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 66–52.
- ^ Issing, Otmar. "It Has Happened—And It Will Continue to Succeed". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 66–72.
- ^ Selgin, George. "The Secret of the Euro's Success". Econ Journal Watch 7(1): 78–81.
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- ^ a b Slovakia transitions from koruna to euro, World Coin News, March 2009, p. 18
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- ^ Oakley, David and Ralph Atkins (17 September 2009) Eurozone shows its strength in a crisis, Financial Times
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- ^ EU and IMF agree 750 billion-euro fund for crisis-hit eurozone members, France 24 – Reuters 10 May 2010
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- Einaudi, Luca (2001). European Monetary Unification and the International Gold Standard (1865–1873) (PDF). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-924366-2. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
External links[edit]
- EMU: A Historical Documentation (European Commission)
- The Euro's Rise from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- The euro (European Commission Economic and Financial Affairs)
- What is the European Monetary Union? University of Iowa Center for International Finance and Development
- Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union European Navigator


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Anne Hathaway scored an Oscar for best supporting actress looking radiant in a makeup palette consisting of petal-pink lips and flicked-out eyeliner. Chanel celebrity makeup artist Kate Lee not only made up Anne for the big show but also transformed her look quickly, using only eyeliner, for the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. Learn how to re-create both looks, step by step, in today's Celebrity Secret Weapon and if you're ready to try the full look yourself you can get all the products at Chanel.com. On Kirbie: BCBG Max Azria.
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Forget about Kristen Stewart's personal life. We're more interested in how she always stands out on the red carpet. Enter celebrity makeup artist Beau Nelson, the man behind many of Kristen's looks, from her red lips at Cannes to her casual flair at Comic-Con. Here, he reveals how to cover up blemishes for flawless-looking skin, how to enhance your eyes as Kristen does, and the products he turns to again and again. On Kirbie: H&M; makeup by Beau Nelson.
Get Gwyneth's Elegant Updo on Her 40th Birthday
Gwyneth Paltrow is no stranger to high fashion, and her hairstyles are always a sleek match. We teamed up with her stylist, Giannandrea, who showed us the unbelievably easy bun he created for her Met Gala appearance. It's the epitome of effortless-looking elegance — and a style that's practically synonymous with chic.
How to Create a To-Die-For Braided Updo
Looking for a new take on a classic style? Let birthday-girl Charlize Theron be your inspiration — and let her personal hairstylist, Enzo Angileri, show you how to re-create her elegant braided bun with step-by-step guidance. Equal parts chic sophisticate and bohemian beauty, this updo looks just as good with jeans and a tee as it does on the red carpet. Watch now and see how to get the look!
Get a Brighter, Glowing Complexion With Tricks From Jessica Alba's Makeup Artist
Jessica Alba is known for her enviably luminous skin, and it's in part thanks to the talents of her makeup artist, Lauren Andersen. So get glowing. See Jessica's complexion routine, including some tips on how to contour like a professional, in the video now. On Kirbie: BCBG.

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December 7, 2013 PARKERSBURG — Few braved the cold and wet conditions to witness Parkersburg's annual Christmas Tree lighting first-hand in Bicentennial Park Friday evening, but the ceremony went forward as planned despite the weather. more »»
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Bonobo Paradise
Lola Ya Bonobo, or "Bonobo Paradise" in the Lingala language, is an 86-acre sanctuary set in verdant hills 20 miles south of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- By Paul Raffaele
- Smithsonian.com, November 01, 2006, Subscribe
Lola Ya Bonobo, or "Bonobo Paradise" in the Lingala language, is an 86-acre sanctuary set in verdant hills 20 miles south of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Founded by Claudine André, a Belgian woman raised in the Congo, it's home to 52 bonobos, from infants to adults, most of them orphaned when their mothers were slaughtered for bushmeat.
One of André's favorites is a five-year-old once kept in a basket by a medicine man. He chopped off one of the bonobo's finger joints every so often, and it is missing much of one hand. "Congolese believe that if you put a bonobo bone into a child's first bath, the child will grow up strong," André tells me. "He even chopped off the tip of the bonobo's penis to use in rituals."
The sanctuary allowed me to observe bonobo behavior up close, although I recognize that these are traumatized animals living in an artificial environment.
At one of the enclosures, eight bonobos grip their night-cage bars and stare greedily as attendants pile their breakfast outside—papaya, lettuce, sugar cane, pineapple and other fruits. Let loose from the shelters they stay in overnight, they immediately launch into frenzied sex, with even youngsters joining in, the air shaken by their excited screams. Then they settle in a circle around the food and eat. "Bonobos use sex to deflate tension. Competition for the best food could cause a fight, so they defuse it by having sex first," André says.
I saw another side of bonobo sexuality that sets them apart from the other great apes (gorillas, orangutans and chimps). Tshilomba, a 22-year-old female, had been rescued two years earlier after spending 18 years confined in a cage in a Kinshasa biological laboratory. She allows her favorite, Api, a juvenile male, to mount her and simulate sex. She looks the other way when the alpha male, Makali, clearly indicates that he too wants to mate with her. She lies on her side, swollen bottom pointed provocatively at him, and stares with seemingly studied indifference into space. Makali sits by her side waiting for an invitation and, when it doesn't come, wanders away. "With chimps and gorillas, an alpha male would have had sex with the female whether she wanted to or not," says André.
But at Lola Ya Bonobo I also got my best glimpse of bonobo male aggressiveness. At the open-air nursery, a pair of three-year-old males launched repeated attacks on me through the enclosure fence. I stood close enough that they were able to punch me in the stomach, back and face. When I approached an enclosure holding a burly adult male, he dragged a tree bough noisily along the ground at high speed and slammed it into the fence in front of me in a power display. A Congolese researcher named Mola Ihomi had told me that male bonobos in the wild do the same thing when flaunting their power at males from another troop. "I never let male attendants into the enclosures because the male bonobos would attack them," André says.
André and Dominique Morel, who is in charge of fundraising for the sanctuary, are working with the Ministry of the Environment to reintroduce some bonobos into the Lomako forest, but many of the animals have been living in captivity for so long that they might not survive in the wild. André and Morel hope that the bonobos that remain in the sanctuary will serve an important educational function. "By getting people, especially children, to observe bonobos play, they get to love and respect them," says Morel. "We know these visitors will never again eat ape meat."
Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.
Related topics: Primates Congo (Kinshasa) Preserves
Comments (4) |
I enjoyed visiting the Lola ya sanctuary in December 2012. I also had the experience of visiting a WWF bonobo research station( no research personnel there at the time ). We were with local WWF trackers and SAW a habituated bonobo family in the wild for about 1/2 hour. This required a long hike and a lot of slashing through undergrowth. Well worth the expense of the chartered plane and bringing in our own supplies.Afew days later our friends took us to see the individuals at Lola Ya close up!
Posted by Paige harvey on March 14,2013 | 06:35 PM
I am no scientist. But what I do know of evolution and adaptation, if we don't stop being so rigid in our approach to animals in the wild, we may lose them too extinction. The wild out there some where has become less and less viable. We may all have to learn to learn to co-exist in ways that are new and different than the past.
Posted by sandra Cruze on July 6,2011 | 05:45 PM
These infants through constant human contact are definately altered animals. They are constantly coddled and held by human women they are given medication at the first sniffle, they are fed human infant formula and they are given names. in other words they are totally dependant on humans having no natural ape skills of thier own they can never be released back into the wild. Their immune systems were not allowed to develop via the human medications they are given. All the center has done is turn them into PETS that will be killed or die in the wild because of human interference. The best thing that could happen is that these infants are donated to accredited zoos the center shut down to prevent the further destruction of these animals. As they are "rescued" they are berefit of any skills that they could learn in a established family group in zoos world wide rather than be turned into pets by these so called rescue centers. I have noticed that the majority of these rescue centers are staffed by childless women. I believe the maternal instinct in these women has become the most destructive force these poor animals face. These infants would be better off dead rather than being totally altered by these women.
Posted by franek astinek on June 28,2011 | 04:32 AM
I do wonder at the statement that" they are traumatized animals living in an artificial enviorment". I must admit that is the most honest statement I have ever heard from an ape rescue center. Now that these unfortunate infant bonobos are constantly exposed to humans, being fed held hugged,medicated when needed, has thier true nature as apes been altered in any way by this human influence? I do understand that you are left with an agonizing choice here; save these (THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!) infants from death in the jungle or let them die. I have also read that some groups of bonobos have adopted motherless infants in the wild. Now; granted the methods you use have kept these animals alive, but what is the end result? Can these animals function in the wild? Or are they going live supervised lives in protected area? I watch Orangutan Island and I am shocked to see these extremely solitary animals put into groups and kept together. These animals cannot be released into the wild they have been altered to the point of dependancy on humans. This brings me to my final query, do any of you think these bonobo babies ae altered by your work? If I was in Africa and I saw a baby bonobo alone and in distress my first instinct would be to pick it up and comfort the crying infant animal, but I would have to ask myself am I altering this animals nature by cross species fostering? I know that no rescue center has ever commented on this, and I am not calling anyone down all I am asking is it ethical to alter a species in order to save them. Please I am not dispariging your work I only question wether the apes are altered by this work.
Posted by ken on September 12,2010 | 03:00 PM


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Roku introduced the first streaming video player in 2008, in partnership with Netflix. In the first two years nearly a million units have been sold in the US, and there are now over 1000 channels available in the Roku Channel Store. Roku is the most affordable product for consumers looking to stream video over the Internet to their TV, and the most open for developers and content owners looking to reach new audiences. For content owners or distributors, Roku represents a very cost-effective means to deliver their content to a rapidly increasing number of households. Roku has relationships with leading Online Video Platforms and development partners to further simplify bringing your content to Roku. An open platform, Roku's Streaming Player enables content owners to bypass traditional distribution routes and reach views and consumers directly. Roku's platform allows a wide variety of channels and monetization options. |
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Using the Roku SDK you can create everything from a basic free VOD channel utilizing an RSS feed to a full subscription movie service. Almost anything that is well suited to a TV experience can be created for Roku, including music channels, internet radio, photo sharing, social applications, as well as high-quality casual games.
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No, Roku does not host any content. Your Roku channel connects to your existing service and servers or CDN to locate and stream your content.
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Roku Channels are written in a Roku-specific language called BrightScript. BrightScript is a scripting language similar to VisualBasic and is quickly learned by experienced programmers. Communication with services and servers is done over HTTP using standard XML-based technologies like (M)RSS, RESTful APIs and JSON. For video, we recommend H.264 video with AAC-LC audio wrapped in a MP4 container. Roku also supports the VC-1 video codec, and the WMA and MP3 audio codecs.
- I have live or other linear content to distribute; can I distribute this through my Roku channel?
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Depending on the expectations for your channel and the current state of your content, you may be able to create a channel with little or no programming, though you'll still need to be able to test, package and publish your channel. We recommend you sign up for the developer program and investigate the resources provided. If you have any further questions, please contact us at email@example.com. Additionally, if you lack internal resources for development, we maintain a list of third-party developers that you may find useful.
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Yes. The Roku Billing Services Program provides a number of options for direct monetization of content. Developers can offer a channel for a one-time charge or recurring monthly/annual subscription, offer in-channel purchases, or upgrade a preview version of a channel to a full version. After enrolling in the Roku Developer Program developers can sign up for Roku Billing Services.
- Can Roku integrate with the Online Video Platform that I use?
Roku has relationships with many leading Online Video Platforms (OVPs) that make it easy for you to get up and running quickly on Roku. Our partners include Ooyala, Unicorn Media, Brightcove, Kaltura, Endavo, The Platform, and Castfire.
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Yes. Information on our affiliate program can be found at www.roku.com/about/affiliate.
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If you have questions, please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Yes, Roku is currently available in the US, UK, Republic of Ireland and Canada. Channels may be made available in any or all of those regions at the time of publishing.
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Roku has developed new API's for 2D games as part of the 3.0 SDK. These Brightscript API's are currently available on the new Roku 2, and will soon be released as an upgrade for the previous generation of players (Model 1000 and 2000 series). Games like Angry Birds that make use of the GPU (graphics processor) and OpenGL on the Roku 2 need to be developed using the Roku Native Development Kit (NDK). The Roku NDK allows a game developer to port their existing game to Roku, rather than develop the game in Brightscript. The NDK is not yet public so please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com if you are interested.


text: Having been kidnapped several episodes back, Claire (Emilie de Raven) suddenly re-emerges. The other survivors pump her for information, but she can remember nothing of her ordeal -- nor of anything that occurred since even before the plane crash. Meanwhile, Claire's self-proclaimed abductor, Ethan (William Mapother), threatens to methodically kill the others unless the girl is returned to him, forcing Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) into violent retribution. And more flashbacks reveal just how low Charlie had sunk in his heroin addiction prior to the plane crash. ~ Rovi


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Schedule and cost control are the key elements of successful project management. Yet, over 80% of all projects start with underestimated schedules and costs and are doomed to exceed projections before they begin. This clear and concise book demonstrates how to establish realistic estimates for successful project completion. It illustrates how to control a project's schedule and costs, but more importantly, it shows the reader how to develop the project's plans and processes so that controlling the schedule and costs are achievable goals.
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Shows how to map...
9. | Delivering Exceptional Project Results By: Jamal Moustafaev Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 21-SEP-2010 Insert Date: 23-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Delivering Exceptional Project Results
This unique how-to implementation guide unifies project management, portfolio management, and requirements engineering into one proven, comprehensive best practice framework to help organizations deliver exceptional project results on a consistent basis. Delivering Exceptional Project Results transcends differences in the various "types" of project management, such as traditional or agile, and focuses on economic principles, methodologies, skills, tools, and techniques that can be applied successfully at companies in any industry.
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Defines the three pillars of...
10. | PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, Fourth Edition By: Joseph Phillips Publisher: McGraw-Hill Publication Date: 19-JUL-2013 Insert Date: 23-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, Fourth Edition
The best fully integrated study system available for the PMP examFully updated for the current PMI® Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) and the latest release of the Project Management Professional exam, PMP® Project Management Professional Study Guide, Fourth Edition covers what you need to know—and shows you how to prepare—for this challenging exam.Ebook version does not provide access to the companion files.
11. | ROI of Software Process Improvement By: David Rico Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 13-JAN-2004 Insert Date: 22-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: ROI of Software Process Improvement
An indispensable addition to your project management, software engineering or computer science bookshelf, this book illuminates and simplifies otherwise complex topics in ROI. It presents extremely simple, but powerful metrics, models, and methods for designing professional business cases and providing hard-hitting economic justification. It explores the most popular international methods, models, and standards for software process improvement. The author's practical tutorial on the costs, benefits, and ROI of software process improvement is a soup-to-nuts guide that helps readers...
12. | Program Management Leadership: Creating Successful Team Dynamics By: Mark Bojeun Publisher: Auerbach Publications Publication Date: 19-DEC-2013 Insert Date: 22-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Program Management Leadership: Creating Successful Team Dynamics
Identifying critical success factors specific to program management, this book examines various leadership styles and traits—providing helpful insights on the tough choices leaders are often forced to make. Next, it examines teams and explains how to bring disparate people together to work towards common goals and visions. It describes how to build and maintain a High Performing Team as well as how to instill a competitive spirit and culture of cooperation and mutual respect in your team to make sure your team remains focused on the right things.
13. | Successful Program Management: Complexity Theory, Communication, and Leadership By: Wanda Curlee; Robert Gordon Publisher: Auerbach Publications Publication Date: 11-OCT-2013 Insert Date: 22-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Successful Program Management: Complexity Theory, Communication, and Leadership
Successful Program Management: Complexity Theory, Communication, and Leadership identifies the best leadership types for complex program environments. It goes beyond what is currently available in program management standards to outline powerful solutions to the macro and micro program issues facing program managers. Using language that is easy to understand, it explains what it takes to communicate strategically to all parties involved and addresses the communication issues common to most programs, including stakeholder communication, project team communication, and shareholder...
14. | The Program Management Office: Establishing, Managing, and Growing the Value of a PMO By: Craig Letavec Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 18-OCT-2006 Insert Date: 21-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: The Program Management Office: Establishing, Managing, and Growing the Value of a PMO
The role of project management in the modern organization has grown significantly. The effective management of project portfolios that include numerous short-terms projects, large multi-project programs or both has become a growing challenge for industry, government and other institutions. Many organizations have identified a need to formalize the practice of project management and develop centers of coordination and excellence for project management. The Program Management Office is a guide to satisfying this need for improved coordination, standardization, optimization, and...
15. | By: Mark Perry Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 12-MAY-2009 Insert Date: 21-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Business Driven PMO Setup
Most PMO books are written by academics, trainers and consultants from the PM community and present academic or theoretical approaches and models that too often fail. The more sophisticated books tend to be limited in application to the larger or more advanced project management organizations. This unique reference presents new material not available in other books that is applicable to PMOs of all shapes and sizes. It challenges and calls into question various traditional approaches and strategies for the PMO citing examples and explaining when and why such academic and theoretical...
16. | The Project Management Tool Kit, 3rd Edition By: Tom Kendrick Publisher: AMACOM Publication Date: 19-DEC-2013 Insert Date: 21-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: The Project Management Tool Kit, 3rd Edition Today's projects are more challenging than ever—and project managers need all the help they can get to succeed amid shifting priorities, budget cuts, interruptions, and other obstacles. Now in its third edition, The Project Management Tool Kit is a must-have strategic partner, filled with step-by-step guidance that will enable managers to get complex projects completed on time and on budget. Extensively updated and revised to reflect the latest changes to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), this results-oriented resource offers 100 powerful, practical tips and...
17. | Leading High-Performance Projects By: Ralph Kliem Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 14-APR-2004 Insert Date: 14-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Leading High-Performance Projects
According to studies by major think tanks, few projects finish on time, within budget, or meet customer requirements. The number one problem, cited by these studies, is a failure on the people side of project management, stemming from ineffective or inadequate leadership. While certainly not the only cause of project failures, exhibiting effective leadership throughout the entire life cycle of any project is key to achieving success. Drawing on the principles and research findings of Organizational Engineering (OE), this book explains how project managers can adopt the most appropriate...
18. | Quantitative Methods in Project Management By: John Goodpasture Publisher: J. Ross Publishing Publication Date: 17-DEC-2003 Insert Date: 14-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Quantitative Methods in Project Management
This is a practitioner's book, combining theoretical and practical applications for project professionals. It is a loosely coupled work flow that takes PM's through the most important quantitative methods, integrates them, and shows interrelationships that cannot be obtained by separate readings. These practical methods can be applied easily by project practitioners who are not steeped in theory and need to know how to make everyday use of numerical analysis in projects. This book also covers financial and life cycle risk as well as risk for the project itself and contains unique...
19. | Creative, Efficient, and Effective Project Management By: Ralph Kliem Publisher: Auerbach Publications Publication Date: 23-OCT-2013 Insert Date: 12-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Creative, Efficient, and Effective Project Management
This book provides an in-depth discussion of creativity and its relationship to project management. Examining the five processes executed in a project, it discusses common and not some common tools and techniques for developing project management deliverables. It also provides suggestions for overcoming common challenges that project managers face. Each chapter includes a checklist and a case study on the application of the concepts presented. The book also indicates how the topics of discussion relate to the Project Management Institute's (PMI<SUP>®</SUP>) Project Management Body of...
20. | Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts By: Gail Levitt Publisher: Auerbach Publications Publication Date: 06-SEP-2012 Insert Date: 10-NOV-2013 Slots: 1.0 | Overview: Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts
Filled with time-tested tips and templates for developing teams efficiently and effectively, this book provides the planning materials required to increase team collaboration and productivity in a global workplace. It offers insights and access to critical resources for creating, proposing, executing, and evaluating team development plans. Dr. Levitt's insights will help readers transform their visions, mission statements, goals, and deliverables into actionable plans for their teams. In addition to templates and guidelines, the book offers a variety of practical team development...


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By Mayo Clinic staffZollinger-Ellison syndrome is a complex condition in which one or more tumors form in your pancreas or the upper part of your small intestine (duodenum). These tumors, called gastrinomas, secrete large amounts of the hormone gastrin, which causes your stomach to produce too much acid. The excess acid, in turn, leads to peptic ulcers.
Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) is rare. The disease may occur at any time in life, but people are usually diagnosed between ages 30 and 50. Medications to reduce stomach acid and heal the ulcers is the usual treatment for Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/zollinger. Accessed July 28, 2012.
- How is cancer of the pancreas diagnosed? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/PancreaticCancer/DetailedGuide/pancreatic-cancer-diagnosis. Accessed Aug. 7, 2012.
- Greenberger NJ, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Endoscopy. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=55957153. Accessed Aug. 7, 2012.
- Metz DC, et al. Gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors: Pancreatic endocrine tumors. Gastroenterology. 2008;135:1469.
- Nauramy O, et al. Gastric acid hypersecretory states: Recent insights and advances. Current Gastroenterology Reports. 2009;11:433.
- Longo DL, et al. Harrison's Online. 18th ed. New York, N.Y: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2012. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=4. Accessed Aug.7, 2012.
- FDA Drug Safety Communication: Possible increased risk of fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine with the use of proton pump inhibitors. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm213206.htm. Accessed Aug. 7, 2012.
- Miller LJ (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 10, 2012.


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Partly Cloudy
It seems this outfit was inspired by the sky. This skirt is a new addition from H&M. I love the baby blue, and it just so happens I don't have any baby blue in my closet. Since the temperature is expected to reach the upper 80's this tank makes a perfect pairing on a warm and sunny day. The detail in the back shows some skin and offers a peak at a cute bralette! Top it all off with a gold studded bracelet and lace up oxfords for an on-the-go easy-breezy summer outfit!
Top- H&M
Skirt- H&M
Bracelet- H&M
Oxfords- Gap
Happy Thursday! Enjoy the weather!


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Product Recall: Kraft and Polly-O String Cheese and String Cheese Twists. Click here
MIX wafer crumbs, nuts, butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter. Reserve 1/4 cup; press remaining onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan.
BEAT cream cheese and remaining peanut butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in condensed milk. Stir in COOL WHIP; pour over crust.
DRIZZLE with chocolate syrup; swirl gently with knife. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. Remove dessert from freezer 15 min. before serving; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly.


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The Resource Finder has powerful filtering features — check out the tutorial to learn more.
Stress and God's Built-in Neuro-sabbath
"For a few moments, it felt like our little church community was surrounded by glory. The wisdom of Christ in the hypothalamus was illumining the wisdom of Christ in the prophets and gospels."
Walking the Walk: Thoreau and the art of seeing nature
What can a practicing scientist in the 21st century—even a "bench scientist" like me whose scientific forays are confined to a laboratory—glean from a 19th century wanderer like Thoreau?
Evolution and Faith in Latin America, Part 2
As I read The Voyage, I often thought about Darwin's other famous work, The Origin of Species, and the delight that Darwin clearly took in the natural world. Writing about a tropical forest in Brazil, he found himself at a loss for words, "…it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate the mind."
Francis Collins by the Book
Considering my own stance on the satisfying harmony of science and faith, you might be surprised to find on my shelves nearly everything written by Richard Dawkins (including "The God Delusion") and my late friend Christopher Hitchens (including "God Is Not Great"). One must dig deeply into opposing points of view in order to know whether your own position remains defensible. Iron sharpens iron.
Faith, Science and Metaphors
How do metaphors impact the dialogue between faith and science? We might start by asking: what are the framing metaphors at work in the current debates? Even using the word "dialogue" here suggests an implicit metaphor that frames my approach to the relationship between faith and science. Imagine substituting "dialogue" with "war;" that would conjure a completely different metaphorical framework.
Engaging Science in the Life of Your Congregation
With so many issues to discuss, Christians can easily get the feeling that science is always attacking the faith. It is essential to balance such conversations with positive responses to God's creation. After all, the primary response to the natural world in the Bible is to praise the God who made it.
Multiple Lines of Evidence for an Old Universe
Astronomers have many different methods for measuring the age of various objects in the universe, and they all support ages of billions of years, not thousands. Even if the assumptions of one or two methods were faulty, it is highly unlikely that all of the methods would be affected.
Series: Searching for Motivated Belief (12 entries)
Over the next few months, with permission from Yale University Press, BioLogos will offer edited versions of chapters from John Polkinghorne's best books, Belief in God in an Age of Science and Theology in the Context of Science, in order to help readers delve more deeply into some of his most important ideas.
Where are the Transitional Fossils?
A common argument leveled against the theory of evolution is that scientists have not been able to produce transitional fossils that show the change of one species into another. In this podcast, we address a common misconception about what transitional fossils actually are.
Series: The Human Fossil Record (16 entries)
In this series, James Kidder provides an intriguing study on transitional fossils and the evolutionary history of modern humans. He begins by discussing the fossil record, explaining how new forms are classified. He then explains the physically distinguishing trait of humankind—bipedalism. From the discovery of Ardipithecus, the earliest known hominin, to the australopithecines, the most prolific hominin, Kidder focuses on the discovery, the anatomy, and the interpretation of these ancestral remains.
Psalm for the January Thaw
God shows himself not just in the orderliness of nature, but powerfully, joyously and always surprisingly in its beautiful "non-order" as well.
Surveying George Murphy's Theology of the Cross
If God himself is willing to die, particularly in such a gruesome way, then perhaps we should at least consider the possibility of God allowing the death of other creatures, too. But would this really be compatible with what we know of God through Scripture?
Frenetic Sequence
We tend to think of creativity in terms of flashes of insight and brilliance, of novelty, and especially of unexpected things bursting upon the scene. But creativity is no less creative and no less remarkable when it proceeds step by step, according to discipline, according to rule.
Series: Recent Discoveries in Astronomy (4 entries)
In this excerpt from the book Delight in Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church, astronomer Deborah Haarsma shares her excitement about recent findings about our universe from a Christian perspective.
Stumble On
The song is built around the image of a river flowing through a canyon it has sculpted—an image that can easily be played out as a picture of the way that the Lord has been at work preparing a path for us in the material world, complete with signposts to his former and present activity.
Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology, Part 3
We find no compelling evidence that the earth's geological features can be explained by a global Flood. Here we consider three lines of evidence: global salt deposits, the order of deposition of sediment layers in the Grand Canyon, and the sequence of fossils in geological strata.
Hominids Lived Millions of Years Ago, but How Can We Tell? (Videocast)
This BioLogos videocast addresses the age of recently discovered hominid fossils and how scientists are able to obtain those dates.
Series: Beauty, Science and Theology (3 entries)
It doesn't take a scientist to appreciate the beauty with which God has arrayed his creation. But scientists do have the opportunity (and training) to appreciate different kinds of beauty than do most non-scientists, whether they are ordinarily "hidden" in the extremes of scale, the elegant processes of an experiment, or in the abstraction of mathematics. Indeed the appreciation of various kinds of beauty has always played a critical role in motivating scientists to investigate the world, and in helping them decipher its workings. In the three-part essay, Ruth Bancewicz explores some of the ways beauty, science and theology intertwine.
The Fossil Record
There are two opposite errors which need to be countered about the fossil record: 1) that it is so incomplete as to be of no value in interpreting patterns and trends in the history of life, and 2) that it is so good that we should expect a relatively complete record of the details of evolutionary transitions within all or most lineages.


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Are Evangelicals Doctrinally Weak?
In the book God's Passion for His Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards, Piper writes about the present state of evangelicalism:
I resonate with the lament of Os Guinness and David Wells that evangelicalism today is basking briefly in the sunlight of hollow success. Evangelical industries of television and radio and publishing and music recordings, as well as hundreds of growing mega-churches and some highly visible public figures and political movements, give outward impressions of vitality and strength. But both Wells and Guinness, in their own ways, have called attention to the hollowing out of evangelicalism from within.
In other words, the strong timber of the tree of evangeli…


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15 Gorgeous & Delicious Christmas Desserts
Move over, gingerbread men.
How to Clean Your Boots Without Ruining Them
It's all fixable!
What a Guy's Coat Says About Him
Essential advice for winter dating.
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25 Wacky Questions About Plastic Surgery
25 Wacky Questions About Plastic Surgery
We launched an investigation into everything from boob jobs to Botox...and we mean
. No topic was too weird for us to tackle
By Molly Triffin
Tamara Schlesinger
Special Offer
Page 1 of 5
Cosmetic surgery has reached a fever pitch among young women. Aside from the bevy of gorgeous celebs in their 20s and 30s who have had work done, females outside Hollywood are tweaking their looks more too. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons found that 40 percent of women who had a surgical procedure in 2007 were between ages 20 and 39.
Whats driving the boom? Its gotten cheaper, says Arthur Perry, MD, author of
Straight Talk About Plastic Surgery,
and its also more socially acceptable. And MDs report that females in their 20s are opting for preventative Botox. You probably even know someone whos had plastic surgery and, with all the buzz, have some questions youre dying to ask on the subject. Here, whats true and whats BS.
Q. Can you gain weight again after lipo? Can some people whove had it still not be skinny? And if you get your stomach sucked, will fat accumulate in other body parts?
Yes to all.
If you eat more calories than you burn, youll gain weight, even following lipo. And added poundage will indeed relocate. Your body doesnt produce fat cells after adolescence, so once you remove those cells via lipo, fat wont deposit in the areas worked on. But it has to go somewhere.
Q. After getting lipo, will the excess skin shrink back to size?
It depends on your genes and how elastic your skin is. If you have stretch marks (i.e., because you gained the weight quickly), thats a sign your skin has little elasticity and isnt likely to shrink back completely. The loose flesh will just hang there.
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It has become fashionable in the U.S. to pin the blame for the problems in our patent system exclusively on non-practicing entities, but the larger problem is the poor quality of many patents, not the identity or business model of their owners.
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Bad Patents Do More Harm Than Trolls
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June 10, 2013
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Wild Hair :)
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