“The ECB may or may not intervene in the currency markets to cap the euro. But this is a red herring. Europe’s retort – if and when it comes – will be far more political, and far more dramatic. We are at one of History’s “inflexion points”.

One recalls the months leading up to the collapse of the Gold Standard in 1931. That was triggered first by Credit Anstalt in Austria and then by a British naval mutiny in Scotland.

Any bets on what will trigger the collapse of Bretton Woods II? I wager that it will be a decision by the Gulf states to break their dollar pegs, leading to a temporary surge of euro purchases. That will tip Mr Sarkozy over the edge.”

Ambrose Evans Pritchard in the Telegraph discussing the possibility of currency controls in Europe.