Euro countdown - Consumer C&A told to withdraw credit card discount Even as consumers watch for hidden price rises following the introduction of the euro, a German court on Thursday ordered C&A clothing retailer to withdraw a 20 per cent discount for customers paying with a credit card rather than cash. |  Read German minister attacks banks over euro launch Renate Kunast, Germany's consumer affairs minister, was involved in a dispute with the banking industry over opening arrangements on January 1 2002, the launch day for euro notes and coins. |  Read Euro changeover excites philatelists The euro is not just about banknotes and coins. Stamps are changing too. |  Read Economists speculate on euro psychology At least one thing in Spain will be cheaper in January because of the introduction of new euro notes and coins. A ticket for the country's largest lottery, run by the national association for the blind (ONCE), will cost just E1.00, or 166 old pesetas, instead of 200 pesetas or E1.20. |  Read Irish travellers get banking help The Irish government is to revise its money laundering guidelines to help Ireland's nomadic travellers and others to access the banking system ahead of the conversion to the euro. |  Read French minister warns consumers over price rises Laurent Fabius, French finance minister, used the launch of France's "Euro-train" to warn consumers to be on their guard against unjustifed price rises by unscrupulous retailers. He also said the government would punish perpetrators of price hikes, as evidence emerged of an increase in supermarket prices. |  Read The message is all too simple The media campaign in the run-up to the euro's launch is likely to disappoint those who had hoped for something that captured the history of the moment and the destiny of a continent, instead consumers will get nit-picking details about how to spot the difference between a real banknote and a dud. |  Read High-value notes spark concern Carrefour, the large French-based retail group, has urged only small-scale distribution of high-denomination euro notes in the first months after the January 1 changeover to euro notes and coins, claiming the move would minimise confusion for shoppers. |  Read Finnish dispute as state uses euro as pretext for price rises Finland's campaign to prepare consumers for the launch of euro notes and coins in January has suffered a setback with a public dispute over euro-related price rises planned by the government itself. |  Read Euro cash 'will boost inflation' Europe's banks warned that an increase in prices as a result of the introduction of euro notes and coins could push up eurozone inflation by up to 1 percentage point. |  Read Euro may deliver spending boom The introduction of euro notes and coins on January 1 could lead to a spending boom as consumers use their hoarded cash to buy Swiss watches, jewellery and fine wine, UBS Warburg has predicted. |  Read