Quotes of the Day

The Greenback is acting more like a hunchback these days, slumping ever lower last week as it pushed the euro to a fresh three-year high of $1.067. Nervous about an Iraq war and hedging their bets against the struggling U.S. stock market and economy, even normally bullish strategists at Citibank and ABN AMRO are losing faith, saying the dollar may fall to $1.09 against the euro in coming months. To Europeans that may sound great: after all, it makes American goods cheaper, and who couldn't use a shopping run to New York City? But the euro's super-power could carry its own kryptonite, because it makes exports more expensive, potentially damaging one of the few bright spots in countries such as Germany, where exports defied the larger slump to grow 2.9% last year. (For more on the European economy, see business.) Europe's own woes make it unlikely the dollar will spiral much further, and investors won't abandon the U.S. "I find it difficult to believe that people will buy European assets thinking, 'Hey, what a great place this is!" says Tony Norfield, head of foreign-exchange research at ABN AMRO in London. But as the U.S. digested a raft of bad news last Friday — including a surprise fall in consumer confidence and a current-account deficit that ballooned to $40 billion in November — no one expects the greenback to stand tall soon.

SOFTWARE
Peeping Into Windows
For geeks, it's a scintillating show: Microsoft is releasing its closely guarded Windows source code — the instructions that make it run — to most governments. The move is designed to fend off the threat from Linux, the open-source platform that is gaining headway in governments across Europe. Cheaper and, many experts say, more secure than Windows, Linux is the world's fastest-growing server operating system. Openness becomes a strength because users share improvements. Microsoft wants to reassure governments about security, but it hasn't shed all its reserve. This show is only a peep: restrictions remain, and the code still cannot be altered at will. By providing a look, though, Microsoft seems to be admitting the benefits of open-source. Moreover, notes security firm mi2g, big companies — as large as some governments and hacked more often — may now demand similar access. So what started as a peep show may lead to the Full Monty after all.

EUROBLUES
So Sue Me
The courts have not been kind to Mario Monti and the European Commission, overturning three of his merger-busting decisions last year, including a union of packagers Tetra Laval and Sidel, and a linkup between travel firms Airtours and First Choice. So the gloom in Brussels must have been thick as a lawyer's wallet when it emerged that another thwarted suitor, France's Schneider Electric, is suing the Commission for more than €1 billion over its blocked bid for rival Legrand. Schneider had completed the €5.4 billion deal for Legrand when the Commission reversed it, ultimately forcing Schneider to sell Legrand for €3.6 billion and eat the loss. Since the European Court of First Instance ruled that the Commission unlawfully blocked the deal, and Schneider now has a good argument that it suffered as a result, legal experts say this lawsuit may be a precedent-setting case. If so, it certainly won't be one the beleaguered Monti wants to hear.

INDICATORS
Truce In The Chocolate War
The E.U.'s high court struck down Spain and Italy's restrictions on British chocolate, ending a nearly 30-year battle. The countries can no longer call British products, which contain up to 5% vegetable fat, "chocolate substitute." But there is one rearguard action left. They don't have to eat it.

Women Get A Share Of Kuwait
The Kuwait stock exchange — one of the world's best performers, with 39% growth last year — is opening a special trading room for women. Formerly restricted to buying shares over the phone or through male relatives, they can now participate directly, although they still can't vote.

New Wine World Order
The rise of Australian wine to superpower status just got confirmation. Constellation, of the U.S., agreed to a $1.1 billion merger with Australia's BRL Hardy, creating the world's largest wine firm. Last year Australian wine exports rose nearly 30%, good for 5% of the global market.

Greenpeace 'McDonald's
Forget global warming. Hell must be freezing over: the enviro group Greenpeace praised McD's, usually a top target, for opening the world's first hydrofluorocarbon-free restaurant, in Denmark.

BOTTOM LINES
"You have blown the whistle for the end of playtime, but you have yet to convince France it should get back to work."
ERNEST-ANTOINE SEILLIERE,
chairman of the French employers' organization, on the government's economic reforms

"It's of 100% commercial interest."
CHRISTER TRANSBY,
lawyer, on his client's breast implants, which a Swedish court refused to let her write off as a business expense for her job as a stripper

"Overcrowding for territorial animals is a bad thing."
PHILLIP HODSON,
psychotherapist, on a study showing that commuting can cause stress-related illness

• BLAINE GRETEMAN
• The dollar in crisis is may not be good news for currencies on the rise