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Dollar getting killed by the Euro
The Dollar had been doing well against the Euro this week but it's getting whacked today. It looks like the exchange rate is going to be pretty bad this year again, and probably worse in the next few years. Is everyone discouraged, or will we still travel like always - but just try to save a little more with cheaper flights and hotels etc.
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I don't think I'll be able to stay away from Europe. Just look for cheap flights/hotels and NO SHOPPING!
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I see travel to Europe the same way I see coffee and chocolate. There are some things I must have regardless of the cost. There are worse addictions. :-)
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Where are you getting your exchange rate, whitey? Here's what oanda.com is reporting, which isn't much different from yesterday. Whacked? Not according to Oanda.
Friday, April 15, 2005 1 US Dollar = 0.78027 Euro 1 Euro (EUR) = 1.28160 US Dollar (USD) |
I use www.XE.com
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What everybody seems to forget...the original value of the euro was pegged to be about $1.17= €1...what was abnormal when it sank to $0.87 or so....as it stands it is only about 9% above where it was pegged to start so to keep saying the USD is getting "killed" is a bit of an overstatement.
Would I be happier if the USD were valued more against the euro. from a travelling view point, of course. But it will be interesting to see what will happen when the newly admitted eu countries begin using the euro. In the interim, this is what it is. If you want to travel, you live with it and deal with it. |
P_M: Well said! I am in total agreement. Also, IMPOSSIBLE not to shop in Europe. Life was meant to be lived...
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When we first started booking hotels, it was about $1.35 per Euro; now it's around $1.28 or $1.29.
So for every E 1000 spent in Italy, it's either about $1280 or $1300, or $1350. -- I'd like the extra $50-$70., but it's not quite enough to keep me home. (And there's something to be said for calculating bills, tips, etc., in Euros instead of lire.) Just glad we're not buying gas for a car there! |
The Dollar is down 1% for the day, but more important is that it's mini rally against the Euro seems defeated. I guess gone are the days of 1.3 Euros for every dollar. Wish I would have stocked up on them when I had the chance...
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I don't pay attention to exchange rates, any more than I do politics. It just is what it is. No I won't try to save with cheaper flights and hotels. I will travel the same as I always do, which is modest anyway.
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Yes, but when $ was at 1.3 euro, financial experts were predicting 1.5 euro soon. It's very difficult to second-guess the market.
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I don't know but my thoughts are what goes around comes around. So it goes
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True, the euro is doing well against the dollar. That's great for US export. The highly socialized EU econmy may well go the way of Japan, but in any case, Europe remains a great trade partner that buys a phenonemal amount of US production.
CHEERS! |
foreign exchange (forex) is an extremely liquid and volatile market. there's so much that impacts currencies that nobody has it right. keep track of france, germany, spain, belgium et al; keep tabs on the us economy in relation to each and the eu on the whole; earn a phd in economics; and then you may have a chance (remote albeit) to even have an educated guess.
for fun, the EuroDollar trades down to the ten thousandths of a unit (1.2805), so watch a days trading and enjoy a wild ride of .0085; that's a good amount of money there. seriously, if you're spending $$$ on a trip then you shouldn't be too worried about $100. |
The "EuroDollar?" Is that the right name? I thought it was called the European Monetary Unit, or euro for short.
I learned in school that the EuroDollar is when you have a foreign bank account in US$ denominations, and it doesn't have to be in Europe. |
The name of the currency is of course the euro...eurodollar is something that was once used in foreign exchange circles but never made its way into the actual physical currency. I never can understand where people get that expression from.
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Eurodollars are about as common as pounddollars, yendollars, pesodollars, and in the old days -- francdollars and liradollars.
But to make you feel better there is such a thing as a eurocent! |
I was going thru some of our travel stuff the other day and found 65 Euro my husband had tucked in his passport wallet after our trip in 2002. I think the Euro and Dollar were about 1 to 1 then. I found myself wishing it was a whole lot more!
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Eurodollar:
In finance, US currency deposited outside the USA and held by individuals and institutions, not necessarily in Europe. Eurodollars originated in the 1960s when East European countries deposited their US dollars in West European banks. Banks holding Eurodollar deposits may lend in dollars, usually to finance trade, and often redeposit with other foreign banks. The practice is a means of avoiding credit controls and exploiting interest rate differentials. sigh Source: Tiscali |
The dollar has actually remained pretty stable against the euro over the past two years.....of course that's the Australian dollar.
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"Is everyone discouraged, or will we still travel like always" Please bear in mind that not everyone on this board lives in the US.
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Of course, Caroline, your point is well-taken. This weak dollar benefits you, so why not come visit the US? :-)
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adeben: Canadian dollar, too.
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Very good point P_M, I've been thinking of a quick shopping trip to NY for just that reason!
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K_M : nothing personal of course (against any of the mostly fine people on this board) - but not until there is regime change :-)
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Sorry, of course I meant P_M !
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>><i>I thought it was called the European Monetary Unit, or euro for short.</i> Shouldn't they call it the EMU then? As in, "That croissant costs 1.5 emus." |
Good one, elle!! :-))
Caroline, I respect your position, but I hope the dollar will be stronger by the next regime change. Of course, I said that 2 years ago and it continues to head south.... :-o |
Theoretically a weak dollar would be better for our exports but apparently nobody is buying much! What it also does is make foreign investment here more appealing and so more and more infrastructure, buildings, stocks, are being purchased by foreign investors...I'm surprised the xenophobes in the militias haven't rebelled by now.
A few years ago the dollar was at par with the Euro and I enjoyed that. Now it costs more to travel so you either stay home or pay more. |
Just be glad you're not changing Canadian dollars:
1 $CDN = 0.61 Euro :( |
I am sure this will be the beginning of the end of this thread, but could someone explain how a "regime change" will make the dollar go up against the euro?
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well.... no, never mind. I'm going to be a good neighbour....
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>a weak dollar would be better for our exports but apparently nobody is buying much! <
In Feb 2005 (last month I could find), the US exported $100,000,000,000 worth of goods and services. This is larger than the yearly GDP of most of the world's countries. Exports account for about 10% of the US yearly GNP of about $12,000,000,000,000. In 2004, the US trade deficit was about $600,000,000,000, approx 5% of GNP. >...a weak dollar ...make(s) foreign investment here more appealing and so more and more infrastructure, buildings, stocks, are being purchased by foreign investors..< Been there. Done that. Went through the same thing when Reagan was President. A square foot of real estate in Tokyo was worth more than the whole NYSE. Had to listen to the Japanese telling us that we should study their business methods. Had to listen to the Europeans lecture us on economics (among other things). Currently the unemployment rate in the US is half that of the Eurozone. The Japanese economy has been stagnant for over a decade. Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose ((I)) |
Yes, Ira...thank you for the "economics lesson" but the fact remains that we have a HUGE trade deficit and that there is a tremendous amount of foreign investment in this country.
Did I misstate the "facts" as they are interpreted down in Madison and have you decided to give up your trip to France???? |
Wren, I did not suggest that a regime change will affect the value of the dollar. All I said was that I hope it will be strong again by 2008, which as you know, is the next change.
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Trade deficit? How about a budget deficit, and an expensive and unnecessary war for oil that benefits the rich while at the same time cutting taxes on the rich. Your dollar is very shaky because people are losing faith in it, rightly or wrongly.
Sorry... |
Voting with my feet and now living in Mexico.
M |
PM...apparently the monitors scratched that post. What I was referring to wasn't yours.
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Not to turn this into a political thread....
BUT WHY NOT?! ;) ...I'm trying to figure out the significance of this apples-to-oranges comparison: "Exports account for about 10% of the US yearly GNP of about $12,000,000,000,000. In 2004, the US trade deficit was about $600,000,000,000, approx 5% of GNP." To me, there is no particular virtue in having a trade DEFICIT that is equal half of our total exports. It actually illustrates the magnitude of the problem. The theory about exports being more attractive should have some validity, but U.S. consumers and industries can see what a weak dollar means when they fill their tanks and pay for other commodities that trade on the world market. Higher commodity prices, including energy, can suck up a good share of the "advantage" of a weak currency in many industries. The dramatic decline in the value of the U.S. dollar over the past few years is a reflection of the mismanagement that is going on under this Administration. Borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars every year -- partially to cover short-sighted tax cuts that are disportionately given to very small percentage of the population while waging a costly war isn't a good policy direction any way you cut it. Check out some other countries with weak currencies and see if that is really what you would like to emulate. Over time, the only sure thing that it seems to translate into is a lower standard of living. |
Although the value of the dollar vis-a-vis other currencies has declined, it's a double edged sword. Obviously, a nation's currency has a large effect on its import/export business. And the US is the most powerful economy in the world by far, and lately had taken a longer range view of world affairs by prmoting democracy in the middle east in its hugely successful effort in Iraq, regardless of the uninformed and insulting remarks of fly<b>boy.</b>
Not to mention the dollar stood strong during the 50+ years the US had to protect Europe from the Soviet Union! |
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