Canadian dollar now worth more than the US dollar.

[O R A N G E]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-11-06T222142Z_01_N06413854_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-CANADA-DOLLAR-BONDS.XML

The economy is so screwed up and in debt. The dollar is becoming completely worthless.

What do you think this means long term? What is the cause of this inflation? Will our dollar ever be worth more than the Candian dollar again?

[Nailpolish <3]

Because I live in Canada, I don't really care. But I actually don't even know WHY the dollar is rising...

I know its about stock and all. I have a feeling its gonna go down again...

[O R A N G E]

Because I live in Canada, I don't really care. But I actually don't even know WHY the dollar is rising...

I know its about stock and all. I have a feeling its gonna go down again...

It's rising becuase the country is in so much debt.
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

[White_Rook]

Prioritizing the war effort is becoming more of a burden. Coupled with the increase in housing the market is barely holding together. The government isn't getting enough back to equate what it's putting out, thereby causing the treasury to make the paper it prints even more worthless.

[Nailpolish <3]

oh wow. thats a lot of debt. I guess its not gonna change that easily :3

[White_Rook]

oh wow. thats a lot of debt. I guess its not gonna change that easily :3

Well it's simply a matter of prioritizing. Seeing as the US won't be pulling out of Iraq any time soon, let alone slow it's military bravado with the Bush administration still fighting "terror" the country is being bleed.

[Nailpolish <3]

Well it's simply a matter of prioritizing. Seeing as the US won't be pulling out of Iraq any time soon, let alone slow it's military bravado with the Bush administration still fighting "terror" the country is being bleed.

yes I see, I think ><

talk about leaving a man behind.

[Hakurei Reimu]

That's plain scary. It triple since the last time I checked, which was about 2 years ago...

Anyways, I really dunno if the US dollar will ever rise again. However, I think if we pull back troops from iraq, every1 will b happier (well...almost every1) and our debt rate mite slow down...But I'm not too sure, I dunno much about stocks. But this is a big prob. for me since I live in the US...

[Xendran]

im just happy that our ps3's arent f****** 800 bucks anymore. plus i have a friend who works at Zellers and can get me a 15% discount on a ps3 (80gig for price of 40gig FTW)

[O R A N G E]

im just happy that our ps3's arent f****** 800 bucks anymore. plus i have a friend who works at Zellers and can get me a 15% discount on a ps3 (80gig for price of 40gig FTW)

That's completely off topic. We're not talking about the price of the Ps3. We're talking about economics and inflation.

It might be smart to actually read the topic before posting.

Anyways, I agree with the fact that pulling the troops from Iraq would be smart, and so does the majority of America. It would help reduce the debt and save some lives.

But it wouldn't be profitable so we can't do it, seeing as our leaders don't think long term and only think of short term profits.

[8730]

The exchange rater between pounds and USD is over 2:1 at the moment. It is actually cheaper to fly to America to do your christmas shopping then do it in the UK.

From what I have heard it is mainly due to the sub-prime mortgage market in the US where banks were lending ridiculous amounts of money to people who were high risk. They then sold this bad debt around the world and nearly caused the first British bank to fold in over 100 years =_=

[Vex123]

Wow, the U.S. is in a lot of debt. I agree, we really need to pull troops out of Iraq.

[DarknessKingdom]

Correction. The U.S.A isnt in a lot of debt. It is in a huge amount of debt.

The sooner they take their troops out, the better.

[O R A N G E]

Okay, so we've agreed that war is the cause of the debt.

I'm not sure at all when the war will end. Presumably when Bush is no longer in office? It's been going on way too long and that's how so much debt has built up and the dollar's worth has decreased so much.

[Repliku]

The war isn't the reason for the debt alone. There are other reasons as someone brought up; like the mortgage and all. They should NEVER have given out these loans to people who they knew could not pay them back. It is not even about just giving them to people with 'poor credit' but the fact that credit itself was issued to people that know nothing of it. Many people in the U.S. are now in debt by thousands of dollars and it is very common place. Credit is something many are encouraged to use for a variety of things and it is sinking us in a well. Not to mention the stupid Federal Reserve Bank is screwing us over. The war is definitely part of the problem but the state of banks in themselves is really not well either and we are being ran into the ground.

[Crumpet]

o.0 wow - if this keeps up the japanese yen will be worth more

nah jkz - any way i dont think this will be good for americans - though i live on the other side of the world this doesn't affect me

[DogBoyX]

yes...
i've been hearing that many Canadians have been heading south...
i've also heard some have been denied purchase of motor vehicles due to where they came from...

[Nymph of Destiny]

Well, this certainly isn't good...however, in the past, debt and such has always been risen, lowered, returning, receding, etc. It just goes back and forth, so I happen to believe that with time, the United States' dollar will eventually return to its normal worth. Whoever's fault this is, it almost doesn't matter anymore, as long as the debt is paid in the end. However, as Repliku says, war isn't the only cause...

[O R A N G E]

Well, this certainly isn't good...however, in the past, debt and such has always been risen, lowered, returning, receding, etc. It just goes back and forth, so I happen to believe that with time, the United States' dollar will eventually return to its normal worth. Whoever's fault this is, it almost doesn't matter anymore, as long as the debt is paid in the end. However, as Repliku says, war isn't the only cause...

Hopefully it will, but some debts are so large that they end up irreversible.

[MARIExBRIARWOOD]

I'm probably going to sound stupid when I say this...

I thought we experienced inflation/deflation depending on which of the two precious metals backed out money, and how much money was backed? Businesses desire gold-backed money because then people are more likely to go into debt and get caught up in interest rates and owe more money.

The public desires silver-backed money because then there is a larger quantity of money out there and its easier to buy things and pay them off.

How does a countries debt factor into this? The only thing I can think of is the fact that we are in debt and losing gold/silver to pay off those debts to other countries.

I'm just a little confused. If we were in debt wouldn't the actual cost of the American dollar go up? Why is Canada's going up, are they in debt or something too?

I'm sorry I'm a bit ignorant on this matter but I ask questions to learn =]

[White_Rook]

I'm probably going to sound stupid when I say this...

I thought we experienced inflation/deflation depending on which of the two precious metals backed out money, and how much money was backed? Businesses desire gold-backed money because then people are more likely to go into debt and get caught up in interest rates and owe more money.

The public desires silver-backed money because then there is a larger quantity of money out there and its easier to buy things and pay them off.

How does a countries debt factor into this? The only thing I can think of is the fact that we are in debt and losing gold/silver to pay off those debts to other countries.

I'm just a little confused. If we were in debt wouldn't the actual cost of the American dollar go up? Why is Canada's going up, are they in debt or something too?

I'm sorry I'm a bit ignorant on this matter but I ask questions to learn =]

Unfortunately since the mid 1900's the American dollar has been declared as legal tender, which means that you can no longer exchange it for the precious metal it once represented (gold). It's pretty much worthless paper and it's "value" is based on how much the treasury produces and gets back.

The current issue with housing loans and mortgages is that the treasury isn't getting back more money than it's producing. This is because more an more people aren't able to pay back the loans that they took out or keep up with the increase in mortgage rates. Factor in the current occupation of Iraq, and the US Treasury is forking out a lot more money than what it's getting back. Debt begets inflation.

Canada has also been experiencing a fruitful surplus in the past 5 years. Sure it has the regular government debt, but it's of the expected nature. As of now it's simply on a high in the business world, where more profits are being brought in from increased exports.

[xekushi]

This isn't good for America as their dollar is going down. But this is a great time for Australia as I can buy things from eBay for cheaper. No offence intended <.<

[White_Rook]

This isn't good for America as their dollar is going down. But this is a great time for Australia as I can buy things from eBay for cheaper. No offence intended <.<

Well all things considered, it's a good time to buy for pretty much anyone. Well unless you're thinking about oil. With the recent decrease in value of the US dollar, oil sales have actually increased, in attempt to take advantage of a number of countries that have seen an increase in value for their currency. So while it's easier to shop south of the border for me, gas prices are still pretty shiet.

Another thing that can be seen subtly in the daily market trends-- that and from what many economists are predicting-- is an eventual drop in much of the US market. Apparently it's rumored to be scary enough that a number of medium-sized and a few big business are starting to withdraw a few of their investments.

[xekushi]

I'm assuming if this war doesn't stop soon America will lose its place as world super power.

[White_Rook]

I'm assuming if this war doesn't stop soon America will lose its place as world super power.

Well keep in mind, that's not the war that's really doing this. War is is contributing by forcing the government to spend more, but the ultimate cause is ridiculous gap within the US poverty line, and the banks overstating themselves in clients that can't keep up with the rates being push by the rich. It's like a house of cards really.

[xekushi]

The war is a big factor and America is kinda to take a step back but other countries grown stronger at the same time.

[MARIExBRIARWOOD]

Ahh I see now. I was a little behind on the times.

I remembered learning about inflation/deflation in US History and I thought it still took effect.

[8730]

Apparantly the USA is to lose its footing in the world market. The weakness of the dollar means it just can't compete. This really is a serious problem, but it means that we can fly to New York, do our Christmas shopping, fly back and it would still be cheaper than doing the shopping at home x]

[Starry :D]

It kinda sucks with Canada since we have to pay more, but some stores are going to use US prices for somethings, such as the brand name Coach. They are going to use the US prices here.

[LikeNeverBefore]

Woah...k? Yeah, I think it's good for Canadians^^But for those of you who live in the U.S.....yeah..I live in Canada,so...

[Dredica]

Not to sound stupid, or mean, but I thought that american money was at the top.

[O R A N G E]

Not to sound stupid, or mean, but I thought that american money was at the top.

Umm, no. American money is not at the top. In fact, it is far from it.

Like we repeatedly stated in this thread, the value of American money has been steadily declining for some time now, and it is now worth less than Canadian money.

Please read the posts and become educated a bit about the subject before posting obvious questions such as that.

[Wabba]

Well about the economy, The bush admin has made a deal with E-Z Debt services in order to pay off the nation's $6.1 trillion debt over the next 70 years. Among the valuable properties being put up as collateral are Yellowstone National Park, NASA, and the state of Alaska.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/u_s_takes_out_debt_consolidation

[.Kairi.]

I'm assuming if this war doesn't stop soon America will lose its place as world super power.

It's not just the war. The government mishandles money as it is.

[daxma]

Our country uses the euro and it's worth more than the US and canadian dollar.One euro is worth $1:50.