The Rafael del Pino Foundation hosted the special conference "The Future of Europe and the Euro" with the participation of Jim Rogers, Luis de Guindos, Alberto Recarte and Fernando del Pino, on 16 June 2010. This conference aimed to answer the questions generated by the recent upheavals in the markets and the latest decisions of legislators in Spain and Europe.
In it, Jim Rogers, George Soros' first partner, co-founder of the Quantum investment fund and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index, stated that "Almost every country is ignoring the Maastricht treaty and thereby undermining the strength of the Euro. We cannot have a strong, lasting currency if we continue to undermine it by spending money we don't have. Hopefully the Euro will survive; the world needs the Euro, which was a very good currency in principle and in theory. But all the countries, including Germany and, with it, all the other nations that had sensible policies, are spending money they don't have. And they have just agreed to prepare bailouts for countries that are in deficit. This is not the right basis for a currency to exist. I really would like the Euro to work, but no monetary union in history has survived for long, and I fear this one won't either. I have Euros in my portfolio right now; I hope it works, but... I'm not optimistic.
Regarding doubts about Chinese growth, Jim Rogers did not know "whether the rate of growth is really what the Chinese authorities say it is; I don't believe any government's figures, but I do know that they are growing, and it's an incredible success story. But I do know that they are growing, and it's an incredible success story. Will they continue to grow? I think so. Will there be bumps in the road? I'm also sure there will be, and I'm sure they will be terrible. But the United States suffered in the 19th century fifteen depressions, a terrible civil war, no Civil Rights, no Rule of Law, massacres in the streets... Not so long ago, in 1907, the United States declared bankruptcy. But in the 20th century we rose again and became one of the most powerful nations. And the same thing will happen to China. There will be many bumps in the road, I don't know when or how deep, but there will be. But they will become one of the key players of the 21st century. Of course the yuan is not correctly valued; its value is set by the bureaucrats in Beijing! If they let the market decide, we would all know. Whether it should appreciate or depreciate when this happens... Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes down in the short term just because everyone expects it to go up (me, who holds yuan in my portfolio, included). But in the medium term, I am sure it will go up, and a lot, once it floats freely in the market, which is much smarter than me or the bureaucrats in Beijing".
