And Mr Solbes argues persuasively that the fundamental benefits, in particular the widening and deepening of capital markets, have already far outweighed the embarrassment of the exchange rate.

ECONOMIST: Pedro Solbes, commissioner for the euro

Underpinning this development is the integration of half the world's population into the global market economy, and the deepening and broadening of the capital and derivative markets.

FORBES: The Economy's Trillion-Dollar Question

The price fluctuations of 2007-09 suggested that uncertainty in the world of agriculture was deepening under the influence both of oil prices and capital flows.

ECONOMIST: It crept back