Dollar at new low against the Euro

[Guy_Montag]

'Cause Bush looks after the economy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3981455.stm

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. I sometimes say in jest

When the € 500 bill is worth US$ 666, the world will end. :nuke:

[Kellanved]

6. in that case: better start building a fallout shelter

Two cents more and we'll be there (at the moment we're close to €500 = $650).

:scared:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

12. 4-5 cents actually according to http://www.x-rates.com/

Now: 1.28829
The Beast: 1.33200

[Kellanved]

16. err, Euro cent

And today's high was about €1 = $1.294.

:D

[arikara]

2. The Canadian dollar has been steadily going "up" lately too

but really I think that its because the American dollar is sinking. I'm afraid that you guys are in for a rocky ride the next 4 years. My deepest sympathy to you good DU'ers... I wonder how many people this time next year will admit to voting for herr chimp.

[truthseeker1]

4. We are thinking of moving to Vancouver -

do you know if it's a liberal area? I would think since it's close to Seattle, it might be.

[Maple]

17. Yes, it is liberal

Also nice weather and great views. Same earthquake potential as Seattle.

[truthseeker1]

18. Hey, I live in LA...not worried about earthquakes :) nt

[Art_from_Ark]

63. Actually it depends on what part of the Vancouver area you are in

East Vancouver-- The "people's republic"
Downtown-- fairly liberal
Surrey/Delta-- sometimes referred to as Vancouver's version of Alabama

[StanleyWalkersB_tch]

23. To Truthseeker...

You wrote:
"We are thinking of moving to Vancouver - do you know if it's a liberal area? I would think since it's close to Seattle, it might be."

Yes it is. Vancouver is very liberal, laid back, and socially progressive. It's also one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Hope this helps! :-)

[stepnw1f]

49. How Is That?

Do you live in Canada?

[arikara]

25. Vancouver is more big and cosmopolitan

I live on the island, close to Victoria. I like it a lot better than the Vancouver area, its not so fast-paced and easier to get out of town. But its very liberal.

[truthseeker1]

34. The more liberal, the better!

I checked out the visitor's website for Vancouver and noticed one of the menu options was "Gay Friendly" - it was listed right under "Family & Kids" - I thought how refreshing! That's truly an integrated community.

I live in LA, so big and cosmopolitan is fine with me. As long as my tax dollars will go to keeping the air and water clean, and making sure everyone has health care, I'm happy. I can't contribute to massive spending on weapons systems anymore. Did anyone see the announcement of the new $245 BILLION dollar for F-16 contract with Lockheed yesterday??

Thanks for the tip on Victoria - - we'll be sure to also check out the area when we visit.

[Frederic Bastiat]

11. Le peso del Norte

lol I can't make fun of Canadian money anymore.

[RapidCreek]

35. No worries ....I'll start buying Euros.

Easy enough.

RC

[Fovea]

3. What a surprize!

How could God let that happen?

[DBoon]

5. Bush may have a lot of power now

but one thing he can't control is international currency markets.

You are in it deep when the bastions of capitalism lose faith in your nation.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

7. Well

OBVIOUSLY GOD HATES 'MURRICA!!!!!!!!!!!! SO THERE!!!! DEIFY CHENEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(insanity off) :silly:

[0007]

8. A delete

[0007]

9. What's gonna happen to the dollar doesn't look good.

With China holding our paper, where do ya think we'll be this time next year? Some could be looking for food in garbage cans.

[Barkley]

10. More pressure on gas prices- nt

[hatrack]

13. We don't need no water, let the motherfucker burn

Burn motherfucker, burn.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. Interesting - UKP and Yens seem to be falling along with the US$ (nt)

[AP]

36. UKP is edging toward 5-10 year highs.

[AP]

37. Important aspect of this is that it's clear that buyers of US bonds see...

...the October jobs numbers as being bought with record deficits and that that's no real foundation for a functioning economy.

[aneerkoinos]

40. UK economy

Pound has been dropping against euro, UK is bleeding manufacturing jobs and suffers from growing negative trade imbalance, capital inflows and direct investments are nothing to brag about, housing bubble is about to burst, goodby "golden rule" and wellcome growing budget deficit... seems to me that the Euroskeptic Treasurer has succeeding in aligning the British economy with one side of the pond... but which one ;)

[AP]

41. Today the pound is just under 1.87. The highest it has been in 10 years is

about 1.90. It hasn't been below 1.80 in a couple weeks.

The UK economy has some problems, but its economy is more aligned with Europe's than the US's.

[aneerkoinos]

46. What numbers ar those?

I was talking about Euro and Pound. Euro was about 0.6 pounds in 2000, now it's about 0.7 and the trend seems to continue even though interest rates are much higher in UK than in EZ. I guess the reason is UK's relatively much weaker manufacturing base compared to EZ.

Ah, I see, pound closed today 1.559 against Dollar, so just under 1.86 wouldn't have confused me. Euro kicked today "multiyear" high (closing 1.2969) against dollar, following Canadian and Swiss currencies that did the same bit earlier.

I don't mean to trash UK economy, only 40% debt thanks to having oil is nice thing to have compared to Italy and others. But I don't care much for UK trying to lecture to continentals about imitating UK and having more neoliberalism because "third way" version of neoliberalism and Thatcherism has produced some economic miracle in UK and UK is supposed to be doing much better than the Eurozone. It isn't, that's ignorance and eurosceptic propaganda for domestic use, so that the woossies can avoid having the referendum on joining euro. I suspect the current middle class strength that you speak about is largely built on the housing bubble. When that finally bursts, it is not going to be pretty. I know what that is like, as consequense of freeing the market and consequent boom years, Finland wen't through the worst depression in Europe 89-94 (from Soviet collapse until emergence of Nokialand ;)), and it hit very suddenly. Banks collapsing, no demand for services, mass unemployment, less tax income, more debt, interest rates sky high, forced currency floating after long and bloody fight, more debt, bankrupt people paying debts rest of their lives in slavery to banks...

I'm not sure if UK economy is more aligned with EZ or US, it is floating somewhere between. I hope everything will be OK, but I fear...

[AP]

54. Pound to dollar. The pound has been kicking the dollars ass for a year.

A lot of the new wealth in the UK is from wages too. Not just housing. Wages are at something like 20-30 year highs.

UK might be jealous of others in the EU, but the US should be VERY jealous of the UK.

[VegasWolf]

56. Yes, but euro to pound, euro looks better, look at Ireland.

[AP]

42. And part of the reason the UK economy is going to be OK is because since

1997, the bottom two quintiles have seen the greatest increase in wealth and because unemployment is down and because wages are up.

In the US the rich are getting richer, the poor poorer, unemployment is up and wages are stagnating or dropping.

To paraphrase Emily's List's motto, wealth in the middle class is like yeast. It makes the dough rise. That's why the US is sinking in the middle and why Europe, including the UK, are going to beat our pants off unless Bush finds away to get the fascists back in power in Europe.

[fedsron2us]

55. The UK does most of its trade with Europe.

One of the reasons the British government has not joined the Euro is because the pound has been overvalued. Entering the currency at that level would put the UK at a permanent disadvantage in relation to its continental trading partners. Given this fact, Gordon Brown, the head of the Treasury is probably quite happy to see it fall. Normally, such declines in sterling boost manufacturing and chokes off imports.

The "golden rule" on the budget deficit is going to be breached but the size of the shortfall is not large by European standards and is minuscule when compared with the US deficit. Ironically, the main cause of the shortfall has been the cost of the military operation in Iraq. Without it the government would probably have met its target.

You are right that the housing bubble in the UK is about to bust but this is not a new phenomenon. The British property market regularly goes through this cycle. There were similar crashes in the 1970's and during the early 1990's.

The main area where the UK matches the US is the massive amount of consumer debt. This is far more of a threat than the trade imbalances, investment flows or the budget deficit. UK interest rates have risen to 4.75% in the past year which is much higher than in the Euro zone or the US. As a consequence people are starting to feel a credit squeeze. This has led to the number of personal bankruptcies climbing steeply recently. If there is a recession and unemployment rises then things could turn quite nasty. The governments in the US and the UK are probably having sleepless nights worrying about what a cascading consumer debt default could do to financial institutions.
I think it could lead to a world wide depression similar to the 1930's.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000102&sid=anzmBwvsOLdQ&refer=uk

[aneerkoinos]

61. Thanks for the info n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

64. The yen has been gaining against the dollar

Friday's close was 105.50 yen/dollar, up almost one yen/dollar since the previous Monday

[tritsofme]

15. Even after the huge jobs number out today

The dollar continues to go down.

That is telling.

[reprobate]

30. What it's telling is that the numbers were gamed to what they wanted

[AP]

38. Jobs were bought with record deficits, and therefore worth nothing.

[hatrack]

58. Huge numbers of temp office jobs, hurricane construction

Color me underwhelmed.

[Flagg]

19. Can someone explain to me how this is a bad thing for the US economy ?

It certainly isn't is a good thing for the European economy.

DEcline in tourism from the US and our exports are much more expensive.

[Sinistrous]

24. I think you have the import/export picture reversed.

Our exports are LESS expensive to those with the more valuable Euro. However, our imports take more dollars because of their shrunken value vis-a-vis other currencies.

[htuttle]

31. Regarding exports...

Name ONE exported product that doesn't rely on imported components.

Even cheese from Wisconsin requires imported petroleum to produce and transport it.

It's definitely an all-around negative to the economy.

[Sinistrous]

62. Good point.

A devalued currency could arguably be of some advantage to country with net exports that exceed its imports. The US is most definately not such a country. Now with China, however, ...

[aneerkoinos]

43. Only one complaining in Europe

is the export industry. Let them complain, that's what they allways do. Only US dollar and Chinese currency tied to it are dropping, no big changes between Euro and other currencies. Besides, the common market just grew by 10 more members, lot to do there.

[AP]

44. Because the US is financing its deficit by selling T-Bills to foreign...

...countries.

At first, foreign countries thought a growing US economy would be why they could pay them back. Then when the economy got fucked, they figured that so long as Republicans were in power, they'd tax the hell out of the middle class to get the money to pay back the bond holders. But then when they look at the fact that the middle class will never make enough money to pay enough taxes to pay off the debt, then they start to get nervous. Then they stop wanting to buy US bonds. Then they stop buying dollars (the denomination in which the bills are sold). Then when the dollar collapses because there's little demand for it, the want to get rid of the T-bills they have. Then the whole thing goes to hell because there's no way to pay off the deficit or to borrow any more money. Then we're a banana republic.

[flaminbats]

48. inflation is climbing in America as it declines abroad..

The short-term solution is for the Federal government to run surpluses and use them to pay down the National Debt. The longterm solution is to have a single currency with Canada.

Neither will happen in the next century thanks to the backwoods Republicans.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

20. Ouch

[Spazito]

21. As the US dollar falls, the cost to service the debt goes up...

ergo the debt goes up exponentially. It is, in effect, skyrocketing inflation in terms of the cost of servicing the debt. This is the world's response to the pending installation of bush back into the WH, imo.

[VegasWolf]

22. Damn! I missed my chance when * first took office, I would be up

28% if I had converted to euro's then, I damn sure won't
miss it this time. This economy is hosed, deficit,
weak jobs, weak dollar. remember the 18% home interest
rates after Raygun's "Trickle Down Theory" aka tax cuts
for the uber-wealthy. My saving are going to be switched
to a euro-based portfolio now.

[Ilsa]

27. I considered the same thing a couple of years ago.

My broker talked me out of it.

[VegasWolf]

47. Did you find a new broker?

[Ilsa]

57. No. He's still a real broker. I've been thinking of my

portfolio based on instincts, which I don't fully trust when it comes to money.

Funny thing is, I asked him about selling everything in 2000. I was uncomfortable with how over-valued the market was. I would have cleaned up then if I had followed my hunches.

[GinaMaria]

28. how do you do this?

Do you transfer all your money as in every paycheck goes to a euro account and then you pay bills with it by converting it back to dollars? Do you find a euro broker to help you make investments? I'm really slow with some of this stuff, so any help you can give will be appreciated.

[DBoon]

33. Me too

eom

[sarahlee]

26. From an expat in France

Note his last suggestion:
=============================

Here are some thoughts:

1) Slightly more than half the voting population is incapable of rational political thought. They are under the control of lying media and mullahs. In the short-to-medium term there is no hope to cure them. Their obsessions are incompatible with democracy. If they continue to succeed, the US could in short order become a frighteningly dangerous theocracy. Remember that theocracy is only an ideology to bamboozle the population while it is being pillaged and raped.

2) The progressive movement is, nevertheless implanted in the other, slightly less than half, of the population. It must continue to sap the theocratic loonies from the inside in whatever creative ways that can be imagined. Now is not the time to compromise with these people. Just as the racist anti-Arabs say, the theocrats take conciliation for weakness and increase their attacks. Just look at the last four years of Republican refusal to compromise in Congress for confirmation of this remark.

3) Progressives should commit to boycotting companies that donated money to the Bush Campaign. Using

3) No nation or coalition of nations can face down the US militarily. If they tried, it could well lead to the annihilation of life on earth.

4) The US suffers from an enormous Achilles heel. That is where our friends abroad must strike to cripple the Bush administration. The monstrous proportions of the US external debt put it in a precarious position. If, for example, Bush threatens to invade Iran, the US should be threatened with a call on its debt, just as Argentina was. The result of making the call would be the same as in Argentina, and the US would have no way to respond. This is a weapon that should be wielded with the kind of sophistication that "Old Europe" knows so well. It should be used to protect the American people from the worst excesses that we can expect in the coming period. We as progressives should welcome this help from the world's democracies to help preserve democracy in America. If they should be forced to crush our already- gutted economy, we should thank them, and accept their help in rebuilding it. America is no longer the "city on the hill" that it once was. With our democratic allies' help, perhaps we can regain that position.

[malaise]

29. Euros

With one stroke of a pen, I transfered all of my pension money from dollars to Euros two days ago. I do not plan to go down with the ship. Thankfully I have a plan that facilitates such a switch.

I too will join all those who are boycotting businesses that support this madness.

[dogpatch]

45. We've been thinking of this too

Any advice on places to go to learn more about switching to euros? Are there any other safe savings like gold?

[aneerkoinos]

51. Go to bank

I don't think it's any more complicated. Gold and Euro have been stayin on par relative to each other, so gold seems at least as good as euro. Probably better in the long run, and currently silver even better. First there is choise between paper and metal, up to personal taste I'd say. If it's paper you like, keep also in mind that South African Rand and Swiss money have been stronger than Euro. And don't put all your eggs in same basket. :)

Naturally I plead to total irresponsibility if you consider my blather informed investment advice; I'm pennyless myself! :P

[reprobate]

32. #4 is just what some of us have been saying for near four years.

I believe that the current fall of the dollar is the beginning. The first scirmish, if you will.

[pinerow]

39. Outstanding analysis.

nt

[stepnw1f]

50. They Are Attempting to Eliminate Our Current Government

By bankrupting it first, making us helpless. Then they will rebuilding under a Fascist flag.

[jsquared]

59. These guys have no idea that they don't rule the world, global investors

do. (People like Soros and Buffett have proclaimed for over a year they are getting out of the dollar.) Long before the right-wingers are able to shrink government, they will be faced with a huge funding crisis which will raise interest rates, pop the housing bubble, etc. One little-noted variable that could make this worse is that some countries are activly talking about moving oil sales to to the euro which would the final blow to the dollar.

[Deja Q]

52. Said the Iceberg to the Titanic,

"Are you sure you're unsinkable?"

[VegasWolf]

53. Don't forget to buy Halliburton too, you'll kick yourself later. Missiles

and explosives are also a good buy.

[54anickel]

60. Here's a rather fun one regarding the buck

http://www.prudentbear.com/archive_comm_article.asp?category=Guest+Commentary&content_idx=37375

[Still_Notafraid]

65. Great read!

I learned a lot from this post.