Small European Currencies Are Just a Headache

Turmoil continues for small currencies on Europe's periphery: The Czech Republic finally may be about to drop the koruna's peg to the euro, and Iceland is looking for a currency to use to value the krona. The agony of these decisions may give central bank governors an illusion of control, but currency pegs appear to be outliving their usefulness. Countries that don't feel comfortable with freely floating exchange rates shouldn't have their own currencies at all.

International Monetary Fund says that 59 percent of its members had their currencies anchored to another country's legal tender in 2008. That's down to less than 43 percent now. It's mostly the U.S. dollar pegs that are being dropped, although the euro has lost some adherents, too.