Remember when you could expect to pay just over $150 for a YJA auction ending at 15000 yen? Those days are OVER. Thanks Bush (and administration) for ruining the dollar. That is all.
i am off on holiday to venezuela in a few weeks if you think the dollar is going crazy,,the venezuelan bolivar is about to implode!! looks like no toy shopping in caracas... they are completely changing currency on new years day (right in the middle of my stay)& noone seems to know what is going to happen...and the place i am staying from jan 4 - jan 11 has no banks...the nearest banks are 3hours away... the hotels are giving us about 65% off our rates if we bring them US$ in cash...it is going to be mad!! the best thing,,,i change from UK££ to US$$ first it is about $2.06 to £1 right now
I own a store that specializes in import DVD's so this has been killing me. For example, the price of Korean DVD's has increased almost $10 over the last couple of years. An addiction to buying stuff from Japan is not helping. Sucks. I'm going to start only accepting Euros like that Victoria's Secret model.
The pound is that strong it's cheaper to buy CD's in the US and have them shipped over. Boris with Merzbow from the southern lord US site: $16 (£7.70) same item from the UK store: £11 ($22.80)
Aussie dollar for a bit went up to equivalent of $0.93c which was highest ever in history, but we're down around the $0.88c mark again
This is all good short-term news for British/European shoppers and travelers, but in the long run it will have a strong adverse affect on EU exports as well as inbound tourism (the world's largest industry, to the tune of $3 trillion/year), which is why some (perhaps many) in the EU are quite nervous about the super strong Euro & Pound. In terms of Japan, though one hears (for what it's worth) that the MOE is no longer intervening in yen/USD dynamics, you can bet your bottom dollar (sic) that an export economy like Japan loves a weak (and perhaps still severely undervalued at 110:1) yen. So on the one hand a weak USD/Euro is great for US exports to Euroland. On the other hand, a strong USD/yen ratiois bad for US-> Japan exports, for what that's worth. US administrations have tried for decades to crack the door open more widely. A cursory shopping trip there reveals that local products outsell overseas goods by a substantial margin. Can't say I entirely blame them!
Also, with the market being how it is, the weak dollar, and high gas prices, we Americans are actually starting to <gasp>...save. That means less purchasing of other countries cra...I mean goods.
What's gas runnin' at in the US now? Over here is hitting £1.00 ($2.00) a litre! The cost to pump, ship, refine, distribute and sell through the pumps runs to approximately 35p (70c), the other 65p ($1.30) is our government fuckin' us in the butt with tax! . . . . gawd bless 'em!
jesus christ! think we're paying $2.40 - $3.00 /gal = £.31 - £.4 / litre (if my conversion is correct the currencies out of whack is nice when you're selling stuff on ebay though!
Nah . . . one of the guys at work was talkin' to a tanker driver this morning! (He's probably been watching Top Gear though!)
Can't complain totally. I know a LOT of Americans I FART A LOT about gas but most don't know that, compared to most of the world, we got it good.
Boston is kinda similar. What is amazing is that people are still driving these big ass gas guzzling SUVs and Hummers up here. It's going to have to double in price before people start to make changes.
Trust me I know, I live in the south. That means since I don't drive a pick up or SUV I'm some sort of alien to everyone. I'm also a confusing driver to many because I use my signals, don't drive at a constant 60 mph or more and let people in the lane.
If you think about it, it is actually close to tripling at the pump in about 4.5 years and crude oil has almost quadrupled from $24 a barrel in 2002 to $98 a barrel currently.
To be honest, even when it doubles, most won't change. They'll I FART A LOT even more, but they don't want anything to impede their lifestyle. I think most know we've got it good here, but people need to something to piss and moan about...
