Don't Blame It on the Euro

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CATCH THE BUG: VW's trendy rationale for lousy corporate performance won't wash

Of all European companies, Volkswagen should know better. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany, Europe's biggest automaker outgrew its German base decades ago, selling about 5 million cars and trucks a year worldwide and producing them at 45 locations, including the U.S., Brazil, Argentina, Eastern Europe, South Africa, India and China. A multinational manufacturer like that has to be used to the difficulties of operating in many fluctuating currencies. Yet last week, when Volkswagen announced that its pretax earnings had dropped by almost 67% in the first three months of this year, where did it place the blame? The sharp rise in the...

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