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CNN Live At Daybreak

Introduction of Euro Gets Mixed Reviews

Aired January 02, 2002 - 06:39   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Europeans have been getting a feel for the euro and not all of them are feeling very good about it. CNN's Richard Quest has been shopping in Frankfurt, Germany all in the name of research, of course, and he joins us with a progress report. Richard, you know, you know this is the bread and butter of our lives.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh absolutely. Well bread and butter, what more do you want than this. That really says it all. The euro has arrived. You know -- you know something's important when they start making bread rolls into the shape of it.

This is the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) rather pleasant pastry. It's extremely sticky, and I'm not going to get it on any of the clothes that are here other than my own. Look, this is an important change that's taking place in Europe and where else to find out exactly what's happening other than the January sales.

This store, Amischlager (ph), which is now holding its January sales has got dozens, hundreds if not thousands of people crowding into it and all are having to get to grips with the new European currency. They all know, for example, that one euro is worth 1.9583 in the German mark. But knowing that and getting to grips with it is two different things because what we're seeing is transactions in shops taking longer than they would have been.

Obviously people are fumbling for the new money. They want to make sure they get the right change, and also the cash machines, the life blood of many of us, they are giving out very large denominations of notes -- the 100 euro note. Imagine, Carol, if you went to a cash machine and all it would give you was 50 or $100-bills. You can imagine what the cab driver would say when you tried to pay with it.

Now not only are we having that problem here Carol, but also they've got to give money back (UNINTELLIGIBLE). However, all that said, 300 million people, one new currency, one January sale, an enormous amount of business being done -- Carol.

LIN: So Richard, how do you know if you're overpaying for something then? I mean have you seen any of these prices increase?

QUEST: Oh right, well look -- let's have a look at this over here. Come and join me. These prices are in German marks. These blouses, blousai (ph) as I believe they say it, they're in German marks, and they're 59 marks 90. Now that has to be -- to get that into euros, you divide it by 1.9583, a merry-go-round of prices, and you hope that at the end of the day you get the right euro price.

The problem is often you don't. I'll give you an example. One of our CNN producers managed to go and buy a bottle of water. The price should have been two euros 50. I'm not sure what money she gave, and what change she got, I do know that it turned out to be the most expensive bottle of water in Frankfurt, and finally my breakfast -- 38 German marks it cost me in the old money. In the new money that should have been 19 euros.

When I went to pay this morning, it wasn't 19 euros, it was 22. Not only had they rounded up, they'd also managed to put the prices up as well. It was a big breakfast.

LIN: And Richard, there's a little mystery here in Atlanta, something about the price of the loo.

QUEST: Oh, more rounding up -- you want to go to the toilet. Now Frankfurt radio -- not radio, Frankfurt railway station, there it used to cost 50 fennings. Now that should have been 25 new euro cents. It doesn't; it cost 50 euro cents. They've managed to increase the cost of going and doing that bit of business by doubling it.

LIN: You know what and I bet people are willing to pay the price. Thanks so much, Richard. All right, the price of money.

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