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From: lynn stone (no email)
Date: Wed Dec 15 2004 - 14:02:09 EST
Thank you so much for the information. My noticing the
conversion rates was such a chance thing. I don't
normally see or hear that kind of thing since I'm not
in banking or anything. But, when I do, it simply
makes sense (to me) to ask questions to those I think
might have some of the answers figured out already.
The way I figure it, why take the time to reinvent the
wheel when someone else has already done the inventing
and I can use and perhaps even build upon their
knowledge. Wish we had thought to do the banking thing
back when the Euro was way down at the $.82 level!
At the risk of sounding political, it is eye opening
to hear how the government is doing things. The more
we find out... I suppose there is nothing illegal
about all that is being done by the government in this
arena but it sure seems (to me if no one else) like
they are undermining the citizenry's personal
financial picture by not maintaining the strongest
dollar possible. While in this country, we don't seem
to realize anything like this is happening until it
effects us directly, those positioned around the world
that deal with other counties see it daily and just
expect it and understand it more I think.
For instance: I have a friend in California who works
for a county government. They get a lot of their news
from the TV and what other people they know say
whether factual or not. They voted for the current
governor. Now, he has made some move that appears to
make it likely to somehow result in privatizing part
of the county government and her job could well be
eliminated and her retirement could well be at stake
since, although she has worked there for several
years, she is not close to retirement. She told us
that it was the first time that she could see and
understand how her vote could really have a bearing on
people's jobs. People don't seem to really think about
what the effect of their vote is but "judge" based on
what other people are doing/saying without checking it
out. BTW,she's still working but her husband isn't.
They didn't see the possible repercussions until it
was possibly too late; and, perhaps voting another way
would not have made such a difference either. It's
something they will never know. It is simply amazing
to me when I hear things like this since we take our
vote seriously and so very many other don't even
consider voting.
Oh well, off the soapbox. I don't want to get
political in one direction or another. It's just hard
for me to understand why we as citizens don't know
much about what our government is doing; and I can
include _myself_ in that category as well. It's
refreshing when someone with real experience chimes
in with real experience in a particular field that is
apparently alien to many of us. Personally, I thank
every one of you who do that. It enriches all our
lives whether you agree or disagree with the info.
--- ferd2k <> wrote:
>
>
> I've been lurking here for months.
>
> Lynn asked some very good questions and touched a
> nerve obviously by
> the volume (and quality) of responses.
>
> My wife and I are also planning the sailaway
> retirement. With dollar
> denominated savings, pension, 401K etc. I feel your
> pain.
>
> A couple of points in the discussion I'd like to
> revisit.
>
> On the dollar being in a cycle:
>
> I don't think so and I've been a currency trader,
> analyzed and
> watching FX (Foreign Exchange) for more than 20
> years. The dollar
> has gone from 277 yen per dollar to 80ish and back
> to current levels
> of 104 in that time frame. That is a decline in the
> value of the $
> from top to current of more than 60 percent. Euro
> debuted at 118.30
> on 1/1/1998, hit a low of .8285 in October 2000 and
> a high of 1.3465
> ten days ago.
>
> Realpolitick: The US owes a tremendous amount of
> money to foreign
> investors. This is a situation other countries have
> found themselves
> in but the US Treasury has one distinct advantage.
> They owe the
> money in their currency as opposed to the other
> countries that have
> owed huge sums but in somebody elses currency
> (usually dollars.)
> That means that over time by devaluing the dollar
> they can pay back
> the debt with "cheaper dollars." If you don't think
> they will go ask
> John Snow. (Treasury Secretary)
>
> On future directio of the Euro/Dollar, An article on
> Bloomberg.com
> this morning cites Simon Derrick, head of currency
> strategy in London
> at Bank of New York as predicting $1.45 in 12 months
> time.
>
> Don't expect to see dollar at old exchange rates.
> Relative interest
> rates, inflation rates, productivitiy, investment
> and growth rates
> run this world and nothing says they have to return
> to any particlar
> level.
>
> On Planning:
>
> I really liked the earlier post asking to the effect
> if people were
> planning or just going to drift along with the
> tides. Planning is a
> huge part of sailing. Uncertainty is part of it as
> well and adapting
> to change is a skill we all need, but planning is
> most important to
> achieving our dreams.
>
> On Investing and reducing exposure to dollar
> declines:
>
> Recent articles in the financial press has
> highlighted that an
> apporpriate asset allocation for a US investor would
> include 40%
> foreign stocks. (Caveat: I am not licensed to
> dispense financial
> advice and you should seek your own counsel.)
>
> One way my wife and I have reduced our exposure is
> to open an account
> at www.everbank .com They offer non-dollar CDs and
> savings accounts
> that are FDIC insured, web access and some other
> nifty features. (I
> have no financial link to them other than having an
> account there
> myself.)
>
> On this list:
>
> You'll notice I clipped out the message I am
> replying to so the
> digest isn't 9 feet long withg replies to replies to
> replies....
> I am concious some folks may be using limited
> bandwith and/or paying
> for internet cafe time to read this.
>
> Be careful out there... on the high seas and in the
> investing jungle.
>
=====
Lynn
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