Cyprus and Malta Adopt the Euro

It is interesting to see how the European Monetary Union continues to grow. I don't know that much about Cyprus or Malta, but I do know that the EMU has just added another 1.2 million participants (CIA). Which should bring it in the neighborhood of 316 million people total (World Bank). More on the Cyprus and Malta conversion here.

Europe and the Euro are continuing to strengthen. 2008 may not look like a year for strong growth and Euro Market returns, but there's no generally accepted decline in their future economic strength --seemingly opposite of the US. Despite the price of the Euro in dollar terms, Europe still exports a considerable amount more products than the US. They also make up about 30% of the world economy, but most American portfolios don't have near that exposure. It seems like their years of slow growth while investing in infrastructure paired with low inflation might make for a stable environment, who ever would think that?...