Yikes! The $ rate is in freefall

[heatherbelle]

It's only because Mervin King has announced to the world that we are in recession and Gordon B mentioned the R word as well, that the rate fell.

As soon as the American's admit that they too are in recession then things should hopefully balance out again and the rate should pick up a bit. Shouldn't it?

At the end of the day we will have to cut our cloth accordingly, I love the post about 1 less beer and only 2 pairs of trainers

 

[HeresYourEars]

It's only because Mervin King has announced to the world that we are in recession and Gordon B mentioned the R word as well, that the rate fell.

As soon as the American's admit that they too are in recession then things should hopefully balance out again and the rate should pick up a bit. Shouldn't it?

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. I doubt you Brits are going to see a return of 2 dollars per pound sterling. Everyone's economy is headed for recession, not just the U.S.

The good news for Britain with a weakened pound is that your exports will be cheaper.

Unfortunately for Disney fans in the UK, it also means more expensive holidays in the U.S. But hey, it's Disney so it's worth it, right?

 

[Tanzanite]

Ihope it stays strong i am hoping to come to England next year not been to see family3 yrs if i pay high airfare need spending money . sorry if this upsets anyone i am so sad have not spent a summer in England for several years would love to spend a few weeks with my mum when its warmer weather.My mum comes to USA to visit at Christmas but its getting harder for her with insurance so high as has been unwell since having my younger brother and has to pay high rates.

 

[Sleepy]

The Pound does not affect me, but the Euro sure does and I am glad to see that coming down.

I feel badly that you all have a big difference now that the Pound is dropping, but at least it is only bothering your vacations costs abroad and not the everyday things. The bright side is that you live where your currency is equal to the currency of that country. Try being American and living in Europe where your American Dollar is crap. Everytime the rate changes, it has an immediate effect on you. For the last few years, we have seen our rent go from $1800 a month to $2400 a month ....all because of the exchange rate. Go to the store and add 50% to the total. . Buy gas and do the math . I hope the Euro keeps tanking.

 

[orangetiggs]

fair fx 1.52!!!!!!!

 

[Boss Hogg]

fair fx 1.52!!!!!!!

Makes Travelex at 1.57 seem pretty good!

 

[wideeyes]

fair fx 1.52!!!!!!!

wow! it was 1.6 when I looked yesterday.

 

[Graeme]

... buy only 2 pairs of trainers , i wil have saved what we have lost in the exchange rates.

Good point I had trouble stuffing my three pairs of walking boots into a case last time anyway!!

 

[brer_rabbit]

Just come back from M&S where I got $1.53=£1

I guess on the bright side stuff is still cheaper over there even if we have been spoiled in recent years by $2=£1..........

 

[london75]

Neil Cavuto, the business editor and anchor of the US Fox news, described the situation thus:

Our economy stinks ..... theirs is even stinkier

By 'theirs' he meant us in Europe along with the rest of the world!

I agree with Boss Hogg that, short of any more surprises, if Obama wins, the dollar is likely to strengthen even if only temporarily.

The US battle with recession is not over yet, read an article yesterday that as many as 1 in 6 homeowners in the US are in negative equity and with the ability in the US to walk away from your mortgage with no personal liability for the equity shortfall, I'd imagine there is going to be a second wave of loan defaults.

Can you imagine what will happen if even a fraction of those 12 million with negative equity walk away from their loans! Even if you go low and say the average property price is $100,000 and only 10% default in the next year, that is a further $120bn in default.

I see no sign that the UK is in any kind of poop compared to that.

 

[HeresYourEars]

The US battle with recession is not over yet, read an article yesterday that as many as 1 in 6 homeowners in the US are in negative equity and with the ability in the US to walk away from your mortgage with no personal liability for the equity shortfall, I'd imagine there is going to be a second wave of loan defaults.

Can you imagine what will happen if even a fraction of those 12 million with negative equity walk away from their loans! Even if you go low and say the average property price is $100,000 and only 10% default in the next year, that is a further $120bn in default.

I see no sign that the UK is in any kind of poop compared to that.

There are lots of signs that the UK is in poop as deep as anyone else. You're on a sleigh ride into recession the same as everyone. The UK housing market is close to collapse as well, according to the Times.

The pound is $1.56 this morning in New York by the way.

 

[Chris and Pooh]

As of 16:00 today the currency exchange rate not the tourist rate was $1.575. on www.xe.com

The FTSE100 dropped 9% today and as quoted by the Press Association.
"Sterling set a six-year low of 1.52 against the US dollar amid speculation that policymakers will need to make bigger than expected cuts to UK interest rates. Global Insight economist Howard Archer said he expected the Bank of England to cut rates to 4% next month and to at least 2.5% in 2009."

 

[orangetiggs]

fairfx is 1.56 now so a little better

 

[HeresYourEars]

I think the pound will tank to $1.20 and then hold for a while.

 

[disneyholic family]

The Pound does not affect me, but the Euro sure does and I am glad to see that coming down.

I feel badly that you all have a big difference now that the Pound is dropping, but at least it is only bothering your vacations costs abroad and not the everyday things. The bright side is that you live where your currency is equal to the currency of that country. Try being American and living in Europe where your American Dollar is crap. Everytime the rate changes, it has an immediate effect on you. For the last few years, we have seen our rent go from $1800 a month to $2400 a month ....all because of the exchange rate. Go to the store and add 50% to the total. . Buy gas and do the math . I hope the Euro keeps tanking.

same here...we live on the dollar in a non-dollar economy....
i'm a freelance writer - my hourly rate is set in dollars, but i'm paid in foreign currency....
so as the $ tanked, my rate effectively dropped by 30%....
so it's great for me that the tide has turned...

but it's hard to say which way things will go in the long run..

but when i'm betting, i always tend to bet on the $ if we're talking the very long run....but who knows....anything can happen..

 

[london75]

There are lots of signs that the UK is in poop as deep as anyone else. You're on a sleigh ride into recession the same as everyone. The UK housing market is close to collapse as well, according to the Times.

The pound is $1.56 this morning in New York by the way.

I know what you're saying but it's not quite true, with respect to property with an almost total ban on building new homes on greenfield sites for a good decade or more, there is a severe shortage of housing regardless of price. That is always going to keep the bottom from falling out of the housing market in the UK despite the scare mongering.

As I understand it in the US there is no such restriction (certainly never seems to be any restriction when acres more get ploughed up for housing developments each year although my experience is limited to Florida and flying over New York). What I get time to read about the US is that supply outstrips demand at present which means prices can freefall.


It's a sorry state of affairs that the UK relies on bricks and mortar for an economy but with a fifth the population of the US but 1/40th of the land mass, everyone should take a deep breath before comparing property markets in the UK to those in America.

You however still manufacture which we're all very envious of right now

 

[HeresYourEars]

I know what you're saying but it's not quite true, with respect to property with an almost total ban on building new homes on greenfield sites for a good decade or more, there is a severe shortage of housing regardless of price. That is always going to keep the bottom from falling out of the housing market in the UK despite the scare mongering.

As I understand it in the US there is no such restriction (certainly never seems to be any restriction when acres more get ploughed up for housing developments each year although my experience is limited to Florida and flying over New York). What I get time to read about the US is that supply outstrips demand at present which means prices can freefall.


It's a sorry state of affairs that the UK relies on bricks and mortar for an economy but with a fifth the population of the US but 1/40th of the land mass, everyone should take a deep breath before comparing property markets in the UK to those in America.

You however still manufacture which we're all very envious of right now

Very excellent points! Yes, really like comparing apples and oranges. There is a huge glut of housing on the market in the US right now...no one is buying and lots of foreclosures. However, I feel optimistic that the housing market here will begin to recover after the election.

If Obama is elected (and it's certainly trending that way), our friends in the UK can expect the dollar to continue to strengthen, I believe. Which again, is actually great for UK exporters.

As for WDW, gas is down to $2.50 per gallon here and continuing to drop, which Disney loves because it means Americans will be driving to Florida again to throw some money at the Mouse!

 

[whitfields]

That might be good news for Americans that you will have more money but for us its bad news of course.

If the dollar continues to fall the US based currency holiday destinations will all start to suffer from uk visitors. Our friend who works as a Travel agent has told us that Disney and caribean bookings are down by 40% next year, also places like the maldives are down a whopping 75% which is not good news for them.

I think that people will search out destinations which will give more to the pound and go further next year like malta and the balkan states will see a influx of visitors.After all even at $2 to the pound its still not cheap to goto Florida we spent £4000 on our last trip

IF ONLY THEY HAD A MICKEY

 

[orangetiggs]

we have booked a holiday for next year already to disney and I'm a little worried but its 10 months away and anything can hppen in those months.

Once both economys stable out a bit I think it will settle, not as high as $2 but will even itself out i think anything better than 1.5 is ok for me i guess

 

[disneyholic family]

If the dollar continues to fall the US based currency holiday destinations will all start to suffer from uk visitors. Our friend who works as a Travel agent has told us that Disney and caribean bookings are down by 40% next year, also places like the maldives are down a whopping 75% which is not good news for them.

You mean if the dollar continues to rise (strenghthen)....

it's pretty simple really.....the dollar is going up as everyone sells off their securities and buys US treasury bonds....
there's practically no interest to be earned on treasury bonds, but they're 100% safe...

why are they 100% safe?...
the thinking goes, t-bills are backed by the US government, and if the US goes bankrupt the entire world may as well commit suicide.....so there isn't anything safer than a t-bill (or so the theory goes)...

in other words, the continued strengthening of the dollar against all other currencies (except the yen) means that we haven't hit bottom yet....
people are still escaping to the dollar (t-bills) out of fear for what's still to come....

the world economy is most definitely still going to hell in a handbasket...

i suspect we have a very long way to go before we hit bottom...

very scary times.....if you're not at least a little bit scared right now, you don't understand the gravity of the situation....