WEST GERMANS REVALUE THE MARK GRAVE NEW CRISIS HTS EEC

THE WEST GERMAN marl after several days of frantic spe The revaluation is certain to Common Market and disrupt Immediately the price oi gold rose by $1.50 to $123.25 an ounce on the London market, while the dollar fell to record low levels in markets as far away as Singapore and Beirut.

The gold price rise was contrary to prior expectations and indicates that the mark revaluation has solved nothing.

Despite assurances from Bonn, it is a mortal blow for the joint float of Common Market currencies and must make the common agricultural policy, already under strong American attack, almost entirely unworkable.

The Common Market governments will now more and more openly resort to violence to meet the enormous class battles which must result from the breakup of the credit superstructure and the intensification of trade war conditions both inside and outside Europe.

The revaluation will lead to big faliures on the Euromoney markets, which involve some of the biggest banks in Europe.

The Bank of Italy was narrowly saved from bankruptcy earlier this month by the infusion of some $4,000m from the US and EEC central banks.

Since then the Great response to Belle Vue rally Sunday July 1 was revalued by 5ł per cent yesterday :ulation on the European money markets. intensify the conflicts raging inside the credit relations internationally.

JOHN SPENCER Common Market central banks have spent another $1,500m in a vain attempt to maintain the mark's parity within the EEC float.

The mark has been repeatedly revalued and since August 1971 the dollar's value against the mark has fallen by almost 45 per cent.

The decision to revalue was taken at a surprise meeting of the cabinet called by social-democratic chancellor Willy Brandt yesterday morning.

The new rate for the mark -defined not in gold but in so-called 'paper gold' special drawing rights-is 0.310. The previous rate was 0.294 SDRs to the mark.

Rumours that a devaluation was imminent caused a very big demand for the West German currency on Thursday and the Bundesbank bought 2,200 million marks-worth of European currencies in a single afternoon.

Announcing the revaluation at a Press conference in Bonn after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Helmut Schmidt said the mark would remain in the Common Market joint float at its new parity.

He said the Bundesbank had to buy European currencies worth 4,000 million marks during the past 12 days to support the margins which the countries taking part in the joint float had agreed to adhere to among themselves while floating together against outside currencies.

But the central bank had not intervened in the same way to buy dollars on the foreign exchange market and had no intention • of doing so, Schmidt added.

Schmidt told the Press conference the inflows of European currencies had forced West Germany to protect its domestic economic stability by revaluing.

Bonn had never considered abandoning its partners in the joint float-France, Belgium, Holland, Luxemburg. Denmark and two non-EEC countries, Norway an d Sweden—he claimed.

In fact, despite Schmidt's empty reassurance, the revaluation of the mark is a death-blow to the joint float and to any plans for monetary union within the EEC. Site stops over sacked spark p.12 It demonstrates conclusively that the mark cannot carry the burden of maintaining the international credit system and financing world The paper mark, backed by paper SDRs, is in no way a substitute for the pre1971 dollar which was linked to gold.

Yesterday's decision must destroy any lingering traces of this illusion once and for ALL TRADES UNIONS ALLIANCE CONFERENCE THE BIGGEST and most open discussion ever organized in defence of basic democratic rights will be held at Belle Vue, Manchester, on Sunday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Shop stewards committees all over the country have been electing delegations to go from their factories. docks, shipyard mines, and other places work, in response to the invitation from the ATUA.

TRAVEL Two special trains are going trom London direct to Belle Vue station, and another from Southampton and the West Country. Coaches will be travelling from other towns through- CABARET out Britain. ( Trade unionists W making their own way to the son, the ear i end lie rally will be welcome. On our centre today - Quotes Marx, Lenin and on trade unions FILM Sound installed different section have Its INSIDE PAGES TODAY pages Trotsky facilitate discussion, equipment has been in the arena at 15 speaking points. Every of the auditorium i will own microphone.

As a curtain raiser, a film will be shown in colour of the great Pageant of labour history performed by hundreds of workers and professional actors at the Empire Pool, Wembley, on March 11. Some highly sophisticated machinery will enable the film to be projected simultaneously on two screens so as to overcome the problems of viewing in a circular arena.

ADELINE PLACE THE 1M C ANY INCON TO tHE DURING Special correspondence between our News Editor and George Matthews, Editor of the 'Morning Star' page 8 satirical cabaret written and produced by Tom Kempinski and Roger Smith. It will be performed by Tom Kempinski, Corin Redgrave, Kika Markham, Matthew Robertson, Mike Cronin, Vanessa Redgrave, Tom Marshall, and Victor Brox of Music Force, who wrote and played much of the music for the Pageant.

Belle Vue will mark a decisive stage in the campaign to transform the Socialist Labour League into the Revolutionary Party through building a new • leader. ship in the labour and trade union movement.

TICKETS at £1 are still available from 186a Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7UG.

OOK NOW. Or telephone le etalls. 01-622 7029

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