Every time it bobbed up, something seemed to drag it down again.One of the proclaimed purposes of the euro was that, by eliminating nearly most of Europe’s currencies from the international markets, it would cut down on transaction costs and deflate the breezy traders who’d been dive- bombing the central banks.President Mitterrand once referred to foreign exchange dealers as “the Aids of society”, and no one objected But the new quietness in the markets feels spooky. So far as the euro is concerned, it has something to do with the fact that no one quite knows where the goalposts are Traders like round numbers, memorable emotional landmarks. Nigel Lawson went to the mattresses to prevent the pound falling below three marks, but the euro, being a new currency, lacks such clear signposts. “I mean, 1.23, what kind of a number is that?” said one trader.”I think most people think we’re headed for parity,” said Jane Foley at Barclays Capital (meaning one euro equals one dollar). “One of the factors is that the euro came straight out of the ecu. And the pound was in the ecu, so taking it out has weakened the euro.” The real problem is that the European Central Bank doesn’t have any credibility yet, not in the way the Bundesbank used to. Investors don’t feel they can rely on it to do the things that’ll make the currency strong, like restructuring European labour markets.

So they’re testing it.These long-range economic considerations are compounded by the fact that traders are, in the short term, nervous. As the American market rages up, foreign exchange dealers are squinting to see where the edge of the cliff is, and where all the dollars will run to when the gas runs out in Wall Street.”Everyone knows we’re running on empty,” said a trader at one European bank “We’re going to break down long before we get to the beach So it’s a scary time to be dealing There’s a lot of fear. As Confucius would have said, he who picks up pennies in front of a steamroller is going to get squashed.”Whether it really matters that the euro is so visibly weakening is another question.”No one’s allowed to say they’re pleased to see the euro fall,” said Jane Foley. “It’s a matter of political pride not to let currencies weaken, and it would be alarming if investors started to shun Europe because of worries about the currency But what we’re seeing in a way is a competitive devaluation.

European exports are getting cheaper, and that could be the road to growth.”One trader said: “The margins have gone, and the pickings have grown thin. A lot of us are saying, ‘Why are we selling these baked beans for 19p when it costs us 19p to buy them?’.”There are more than 1,000 participants in the market, and they’ve all got electronic access to the tightest prices The big players will be all right, Goldmine Sachs and so on. But for the rest it’s a declining industry.”President Mitterrand would have smiled.. THE FACT that a glass-encased cheeseburger holds pride of place in the National Railway Museum in York speaks volumes about food on trains. Railway fare has long endured the same reputation as train fares: over- priced, difficult to swallow and apt to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

But a range of upmarket, fresh dishes launched last week is expected to alter that image. GNER, the Sea Containers subsidiary that runs high- speed trains along the east coast to Scotland, has ditched the traditional fare of pork pies and curly-edged sandwiches in favour of delicatessen sustenance. Now travellers can choose from smartly packaged foods that include Jalapeno pepper and root vegetable flavoured crisps, focaccia bread rolls, Thai-style chicken breast, and sun-dried tomatoes.
Where, typically, the food was expensive and of poor quality, the average passenger will find it is now merely expensive. A family of four’s lay- out for, say, one hot baguette with mozzarella cheese with roasted mixed peppers and salsa (pounds 3.35), one chicken tikka masala with rice (pounds 5.25), one smoked salmon with cream cheese sandwich (pounds 2.95), and one ham and cheese toasted sandwich (pounds 2.50), plus a quarter bottle of red wine (pounds 3.70) and four glasses of orange juice (pounds 1.25 each) could add the price of another train ticket.GNER, driven by market forces – it has doubled the number of vegetarian snacks – can at least rely on a captive audience.

The company sells a million sandwiches – the cheese and pickle is still its bestseller – and five million hot drinks a year. Its onboard catering is worth, in all, pounds 15m a year.Jim Gilbert, GNER’s head of catering, admits food for railway passengers has been thoroughly neglected. “I don’t think any will mourn the passing of the stale sandwich and the microwaved burger.”There is some comfort for the nostalgic – GNER is still laying on the traditional grub, including egg and cress sandwiches and bacon butties.. DROPPING IN from great heights on the end of a piece of rope used to be the preserve of the man who wooed his woman with Milk Tray, but in 1999 even cleaners are doing it. In what is probably the biggest spring clean ever, they are abseiling from the roof of the Millennium Dome to get stuck into some serious dusting and polishing. Asthma and vertigo sufferers need not apply.
Everything in the 150ft high structure, from the once-white interior canopy to the supporting cranes and the huge ventilation tubes, is caked in a thick, well-settled layer of dust.The cleaners, who are currently involved in tests to identify the best dirt zapping techniques, are rapidly becoming the most highly skilled and acrobatic cleaning operatives in town, removing stubborn stains and bringing a sparkle to the metalwork across the roof.The Dome’s grubby state is, according to those overseeing the pounds 758m project, the unavoidable consequence of spending the first seven months of its life as a vast indoor building site.While the outer canopy has a “self-cleaning” coat of Teflon, the inner layer is made of porous fibreglass-weave cloth, designed to alleviate problems of humidity, condensation, acoustics and ventilation.Dirt from the earth floor and concrete drilling, combined with diesel fumes from construction vehicles and minute metal particles from welding activities, has produced a heavy duty dust, which has penetrated the inner lining.According to Robert Torday, spokesman for the Dome’s architects, Richard Rogers Partnership, this was not entirely unexpected, though the idea of providing a protective covering for the lining was ruled out early on the grounds of cost.However the cost of the clean-up operation has been budgeted for within the overall expenditure and Mr Torday is confident it will be completed before the handover to the Millennium Experience on 30 September. Now that most of the large scale construction – on the central arena and the skeletal work for the 14 zones – has been completed, tests are underway to find the cleaning fluid best suited to the job.The plan is to work loose the dirt and suck it up with an industrial vacuum cleaner.