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Home Front Economy
Dollar Slides to Record Lows Again
2008-03-07
NEW YORK (AP) -- The dollar struck new record lows against the euro Thursday after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark rate on hold and the U.S. released another batch of dour economic reports.

The euro fetched a record $1.5370 in late New York trading before falling back to $1.5365. The European currency closed at $1.5262 Wednesday. Meanwhile, the British pound broke through $2 again after the Bank of England also decided to keep its key refinancing rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. The British pound rose to $2.0092 in New York, compared with $1.9916 it traded the night before.

"Inflationary pressures similarly remain something of a high-profile concern of the Bank of England, but speculation continues to point toward a quarter-point cut during the second quarter," said James Hughes of CMC Markets.
Posted by:Steve White

#11  Raise the price so high that we are forced to tap our vast reserves

That won't happen until the Greens and the leftists get voted out first.
Posted by: badanov   2008-03-07 22:11  

#10  That's the whole point. The Euros won't due to structural and societal barriers. So let the dollar slide until it becomes painful for US consumers to buy foreign products. Then production will return to the US. Same for energy. Raise the price so high that we are forced to tap our vast reserves.
Posted by: ed   2008-03-07 21:32  

#9  Americans won't buy them, why would Germans?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-03-07 21:22  

#8  The Euro debuted at 1.18 to $1. It got as low as .81 to $1. The equivalent swing the other way would have to Euro at 1.65 to $1. Keep sliding baby until ship loads of Chryslers are exported to Hamburg.
Posted by: ed   2008-03-07 20:58  

#7  OPEC, rebuffing calls from U.S. President George W. Bush to increase oil output, cited "mismanagement" of the American economy as a major factor driving prices up.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2008-03-07 19:24  

#6  Yep, Europe bought Wall Street's bad paper, and now we (the American taxpayer) have to make it right all around. I'm no black helicopter freak, but at times the unelected, unaccountable Federal Reserve does not look much like a friend of the average American...
Posted by: Glereth Hatfield8822   2008-03-07 11:02  

#5  It's not just a matter of keeping Wall Street happy. The European financial sector took a much bigger hit, and they needed even more to be reassured that the world hadn't come to an end.
Posted by: trailing wife    2008-03-07 09:17  

#4  prime rate at 12%-14% by 2010 and not dipping below 10%

Not surprising. Appears qualified future borrowers will be made to repay the losses incurred from unqualified previous borrowers.
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-03-07 06:31  

#3  Accountants/investment people I talk to say that as soon as this election is over the prime is going to skyrocket regardless of who gets elected. They also have the prime rate at 12%-14% by 2010 and not dipping below 10% for five years beyond that at least.

Everyone was singing praises for Greenspan all those years. Sometimes I wonder - if he had only let the prime get to 8% or 9% for a while in 1998-2000 or so perhaps the tech bubble's burst might have been minimized and this subprime mess mitigated as well.

If you mess with the true cost of borrowing, you'll always have hell to pay in the end.
Posted by: no mo uro   2008-03-07 06:22  

#2  Is it surprising with the Fed dumping low interest money on the capital market trying to keep Wall Street happy. Any different than the Donks spending blindly to buy votes with? In their desperate attempt to 'save' the economy, they're going to make a situation which will make recovery longer and harder instead of accepting rises and drops as a 'natural' aspect of the market and eat the pain now. I don't about you, but the fed has understated inflation for years and its become even more exasperated in the last year. When the index is corrected watch the Cost of Living increase eat any give away programs the pols have planned. And those variable rate mortgages, just wait for the howls.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-03-07 06:21  

#1  Strange times we are in. According to Bloomberg.com, 5-year inflation indexed US Treasuries have a negative yield (-0.12%).
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2008-03-07 02:09  

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