IN reply to Julian Thake and Gary Webb (You Say, July 9), all that I know of Harry Potter is that it is a production for children and therefore, no doubt, is well-suited to these two correspondents.

There's no doubt that the dollar and the American economy are already in gradual decline, relative to the rest of the world. Corruption is endemic in the USA at every level and a facet of life.

Thus, the Dow Jones index is indeed in a state of collapse and dragging every other index down with it. We're in serious danger of a repeat of 1929, when a stock market collapse in the United States precipitated a worldwide depression that was instrumental in bringing to power undesirables in many countries, among them Adolf Hitler.

I don't suppose that Messrs Thake and Webb remember these occurrences. I have vivid memories.

Probably such catastrophes can only be avoided if the euro, in due course, takes over from the American dollar as the planet's leading currency.

Of course, the euro inevitably had "teething" problems but, gradually, it's becoming beneficial to the 12 countries whose statesmen were wise enough to engage in the scheme.

I'm sure the cost of petrol in Greece, or any other country of significance, includes an element of tax.

The emergence of the euro and the EU should be welcomed as a matter of principle anyway.

However, the time is coming when the UK will become a net beneficiary of EU funds.

We also need co-operation in Europe in order to avoid disasters such as recently happened on the borders of Switzerland and Germany.

D E MARGRETT,

Worcester,

Worcestershire.