Southern countries in Euroland uncompetitive due to strong currency

From the NYT today:

"The World Economic Forum has issued competitiveness ratings for 20 years based on increasingly sophisticated measures, including government, law, ethics, infrastructure, technology, debt and education, said its lead economist, Jennifer Blanke. Germany ranks fifth in the world of 139 countries, just after the United States. The Netherlands is 8th, France 15th, Austria 18th, Belgium 19th. But the southern economies of the euro zone are a different story. Ireland comes in at 29, Spain at 42, Portugal at 46, Italy at 48 and Greece at 83."

In the same article, Roubini says Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece will have to reduce wages by 30% to regain competitiveness.

And the winner is? GERMANY!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/world/europe/03divide.html
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