The Euro has hit a four-year low against the dollar after renewed fears arose over the strength of some Euro-zone economies, as experts predict that further falls could occur and result in the two currencies attaining parity, according to the Zermatt Foundation.

Christopher Wasserman, president and founder of the Zermatt Summit, said: “The continued loss of confidence is hurting our economies, and ultimately the root cause is loss of trust which has fallen to an all time low and could fall further, due to the high risk approach to debt, leading to a collapse in trust of our political and business leaders. For stability to be restored and sustained, we urgently need to govern and run our companies with an ethical, transparent and accountable mandate which needs to lead to a significant change in leadership behaviours, without which we are heading for further catastrophe. Already we are sowing the seeds for a second asset bubble.”

Although large quantities of money have been injected into the Euro as a result of the €750bn support package by the EU and IMF, it has not stopped investor confidence from continuing to drop.

Colin Melvin, CEO of Hermes Equity Ownership Services, said: “It is vital that investors change the way they behave and interact with the companies that they own. As the world navigates through the current economic crisis, it is not more regulation that we need, but a greater level of accountability from businesses to their core stakeholders.”