Business expects euro to take place of dollar

Most British businesses believe the euro will eventually displace the dollar as the main international reserve currency, according to a survey out yesterday.
It provides a more optimistic view than that of many countries which have adopted the new European notes and coins.
The UPS Europe Business Monitor, which interviewed 1,261 business executives in seven European Union nations, found that 58 per cent of the 250 British respondents believed the euro would take the lead.
Most of the UK executives said any change would be a long time coming, with 21 per cent of them saying the changeover was at least 20 years away.
This year's bullishness about the euro was in marked contrast to last year
when the survey asked which currency respondents would benchmark against their own and only 12 per cent in the UK said the euro.
Most respondents in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands said Europe's currency would never replace its US rival.
Only the Spanish were more optimistic than the UK about the euro's chances, with 59 per cent saying that the currency would take the top slot and 14 per cent believing this would happen in three to five years. The majority was less pronounced in France and Belgium, the other two nations covered by the survey.
On the broader economy, a majority of respondents in every country except France believed the next 12 months would produce a better economic position than the previous year.
UK business executives were the most optimistic, with 68 per cent believing 2004 would see an improvement for their companies against 4 per cent who thought the situation would get worse. This was also the most buoyant outlook from British companies on the UPS survey since 1996.
However, all the countries -approached except Spain said job cuts would be more likely than recruitment during the next 12 months.
Mike Keily, northern European finance director for UPS, the US-based delivery business that runs the survey, said the British responses in part reflected the relative strength of the UK economy.
"This survey highlights the potential growth for the European Union as a single market, and the belief that the UK can benefit from this as the financial capital of Europe," Mr Keily said.