By the late-1990s it became clear to informed observers that the some portion of the EU countries that had signed the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 were going to proceed with a European monetary union (EMU) as codified in the Treaty, most probably on schedule, in 1999. Previously dismissed as a Franco-German political pipe-dream, there was a growing air of excitement in financial markets as the EMU countdown began. But on the trading floors of banks and in the boardrooms of asset management firms, such excitement quickly gave way to the practical reality of how best to prepare for the euro. What were the implications for the participating economies? Their  financial markets? How would the euro trade as a currency? How would the various national bond and equity markets trade vis-a-vis each other? Most importantly for investors, what were the risks involved? The opportunities?