"fulfilling its promise"

Reporting from Frankfurt, Germany -- Ten years ago, Europe launched its grand experiment with a shared currency -- and watched it plunge in value before recovering.

But as the anniversary of the Jan. 1, 1999, arrival of the euro approaches, economists say the new currency is finally fulfilling its promise as a way to lower borrowing costs, ease trade and tourism, boost growth and strengthen the European community.

And doing it amid a global financial crisis underlines, for the moment, the safety in numbers that comes from joining one, big currency.