Why is the pound worth so much more (like more than double) than the dollar? What are brits doing differently?

9

Apparently, the same thing that Canadians are doing that the Canadian dollar is staying strong (BLI AYIN HARA!!) over 4 for at least a month and a half.

The pound is also worth double the canadian dollar.

9

VS.

I guess this just means that everywhere is better then the US...

Pretty much. Except Canada though. Nobody even knows if they even have a president, never mind if he's a total twit or not.

9

You people are forgetting that the pound and Canadian dollar may be worth more than the American dollar, but at home, prices are higher. That's why people come to America to shop. The only thing that's cheaper in Canada than in America AFAIK is medicine.

Cheap dollar is more of a good thing then of a bad thing. This was a deliberate move by Bernanke and Bush has nothing to do with it. This will help US economy to possibly dodge or soften the recession. Usual rule of thumb, the cheaper your currency - the better. And for the Chinese it's a double whammy too, between their reliance on US imports and their investments in US debt.

We don't have a president, we have a prime minister and his name is Stephen Harper. I wouldn't know if he's a twit, tho, I'm not there.

How naive...how sad.

it's a double edged sword, because it's lowering confidence in the dollar and investors are turning to the euro. The Arabs are already moving away from the dollar--the Chinese will too (although their ability to do so is limited by their need to maintain the US as a market).

It's not what Brown is doing right, it's what the US is doing wrong. I'm not convinced that this is a good thing--it stems from the credit crunch.

It will ultimately hurt US consumers too since we import so many of our manufactured goods. Cheap currency is great for exporters, bad for importers. Right now manufacturers are holding down price increases for Americans because the market is huge and they need it (so the PS 3 is cheaper in America than in Europe)--so taking less profit is better for them. But if the dollar keeps going down, they'll be forced to pass on the cost. They can afford to take a cut in profits, but they can't take an outright loss.

Arabs and Chinese can only move that far, given US's share in their exports.


Why do people insist that cheap dollar is a bad thing for the US ? Given the amount of US debt that others hold, US just basically repurchased 15% of that debt without spending a penny. Yes, oil will be more expensive; but at the end of the day US exports and debt shrinkage will work marvels. It'll slow job bleeding and outsourcing and will probably bring back some business that ran away because of SOX.


Competition to sell goods on the US markets is so strong that the only concern here is a rise in raw material costs. Everything else will probably manage Ok.

Exactly, it's not what Britain or other countries are doing right, it's about what's happening here in the U.S. The heavy U.S. debt load to finance the war and the large trade deficit have put tremendous downward pressure on the dollar, so all other major currencies benefit as a result. Also, the rise in the price of oil is certainly another factor, especially when considering why the USD has fallen sharply against oil exporting countries such as Canada.

Doodlehead - Educated people certainly know that Canada does not have a President, so it's interesting to me that you are inferring that the Prime Minister is a "total twit", since I'm sure you know absolutely nothing about him. I have certainly heard many insults about him from people who hold different political views, but I have never heard him anyone call him a twit before, so that's a first. My personal philosophy is to at least have a few basic facts down before bashing someone or something, but hey....that's just me.

To be fair, lots of educated people simply don't care about Canada. There are plenty of more influential countries in this world.

They may not care, but they still know a few basic facts. As for not being influential, you really don't think that as the U.S.'s largest trading partner Canada holds any influence? I beg to differ... Also, no one ever said that Canada is one of the most influential countries in the world, but I can tell you that it is more respected.

http://www.hoover.org/research/factsonpoli...ts/4665961.html

You obviously didnt follow the entire conversation. If you would've read all the posts you might've understood what I was referring to.
I will generously forgive the condescending tone of your post, simply because I know you "don't have any basic facts down". Which is definitely just me.

9

Okay, even I know it has a prime minister and not a president. And that some people there speak french. And some of its history (very little). But beyond that, not really. And I'm in my third year of college.

America may trade with Canada, but I doubt it's more than with China. And regardless, the average American does not respect the Canadian. What they feel is apathy at best and "they're the wussies up north" at worst.

I actually had read all the posts and didn't feel that your comment about Canada's "President" was at all relevant, which is why I wrote that. As for my "condescending tone", actually it was not meant to be, just a statement really that everyone I have ever met globally is aware of basic facts about Canada, including that it has a Prime Minister and not President. As for why you always feel the need to bash Canada, I have no idea... I live in the U.S. and am American, but I don't feel the need to bash other countries as apparently others here seem to.

Then you were probably aware that my saying people's lack of knowledge of Canada's lack of president was a joke, right?

9

You can doubt that all you like but it happens to be fact, just click on the link from my earlier post from the Hoover Institute. You are not alone though, most Americans don't know the facts regarding the U.S.'s largest trading partners either.

As for your last comment, you can think whatever you like, but I have certainly met lots of Americans who do not share your views.

I hope you're not serious.

9

Yeah, Jersey

I've told you before I am not from New Jersey, and don't even have a trace of an accent for you to make fun of, but since you want to ridicule it, here are a couple of key facts for you to consider:

* Its median household income is the highest in the nation with $55,146.
* Its per capita personal income in 2004 was $41,636, 2nd in the U.S. and 126% of the national average of $33,041.
* New Jersey also has the highest average scores for advanced placement testing in public schools in the nation.
* New Jersey is home to more scientists and engineers per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
* 54% of high school graduates continue on to college, which is tied with Massachusetts for the second highest rate in the nation (North Dakota holds first place at 59%).
* It has the second largest Jewish population by percentage after New York at 4%.

So a lot of well educated, wealthy Jewish people live here, I can see why you'd have such a problem with it.

So as not to hijack this thread any further, if you feel the need to have any further discussion on this you can PM me.