[peeb]

Originally Posted by tie 

Exactly. Record deficits are normal under Republican presidents. If the Dems really cared about balancing the budget, they'd nuke Alaska, New Orleans, and every other state that doesn't pay as much in taxes as it receives back from the government.

No, they'd shut down the war on Iraq.

[ironknee]

Originally Posted by peeb 

No, they'd shut down the war on Iraq.

...that gwb started and got us in this whole mess

[Face Ache]

Originally Posted by ironknee 

...that gwb started and got us in this whole mess

At the end of 2001, 75% of Americans preferred GWB over Al Gore as a "War President".

In 2004 they re-elected him.

Don't blame the fool. Blame the people who crowned the fool.

edit:

And still:

Depending on how it is asked, more than a third of Americans say Saddam Hussein was personally involved in those attacks. In a New York Times/CBS News Poll in September, 33 percent of the respondents said Saddam Hussein was “personally” involved. In June, when Princeton Survey Research, polling for Newsweek, asked if “Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in planning, financing or carrying out the terrorist attacks,” 41 percent said yes.

That's now, in 2007. You can't help people who won't help themselves.

[shabbasuraj]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

Loonie is now @ PAR with the US dollar.

AWESOME.

Loonie is simply destroying the greenback today..

at about 1.038...

awesome...


I predict $1.10 by the holiday season..

[Eug]

Originally Posted by glideslope 

You do realize the only reason we have an economy currently is from Chinese investment of Trillions of dollars in TBills.

The dollar goes to low. They start putting billions in the EU, or Canada the US goes bankrupt. Thanks to George Bush. The worst type of politician. One who approves out of control spending, with constant Tax Cuts.

Very much like the mess we have in NY State. Years of spending growth double the inflation rate while cutting taxes all the time.

So what is wrong? Easy the jobs the tax cuts create are overseas. The middle is being destroyed. We will have the Royalty, and the Peasants down the road.

Actually, China is already starting to put their money elsewhere. They need to keep money in the US to keep things flowing smoothly, but they're also investing more of their foreign reserves in other currencies because the US dollar is doing so poorly and they already have so much of it.

Originally Posted by Eug on Sept. 28 

CAD: $1.004
GBP: $2.035
Euro: $1.414
Yen: $0.00868
Yuan: $0.133

October 19, 2007

CAD: $1.037
GBP: $2.048
Euro: $1.427
Yen: $0.00870
Yuan: $0.133

Note the yuan still refuses to budge. Whoever thinks the yuan isn't (effectively) pegged is fooling themselves.

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

Loonie is simply destroying the greenback today..

at about 1.038...

awesome...


I predict $1.10 by the holiday season..

I doubt it. I suspect somewhere between US$1.01 and US$1.05.

[shabbasuraj]

Loonie touched 1.04 this morning...

that is HOTTT.

[Andrew Stephens]

I used to do lots of work for American businesses (I'm in the UK). I can't afford it anymore. I was producing work to a fixed dollar cost since their other suppliers were all american. Lost my entire profit margin and more. Had to stop.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Actually, China is already starting to put their money elsewhere. They need to keep money in the US to keep things flowing smoothly, but they're also investing more of their foreign reserves in other currencies because the US dollar is doing so poorly and they already have so much of it.

October 19, 2007

CAD: $1.037
GBP: $2.048
Euro: $1.427
Yen: $0.00870
Yuan: $0.133

Note the yuan still refuses to budge. Whoever thinks the yuan isn't (effectively) pegged is fooling themselves.

October 27, 2007

CAD: $1.039
GBP: $2.051
Euro: $1.425
Yen: $0.00876
Yuan: $0.1336

The yuan has actually moved!

[Eug]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

I predict $1.10 by the holiday season..

Originally Posted by Eug 

I doubt it. I suspect somewhere between US$1.01 and US$1.05.

Hmmm... Who knows? shabbasuraj you may be right.

Originally Posted by Eug 

October 27, 2007

CAD: $1.039
GBP: $2.051
Euro: $1.425
Yen: $0.00876
Yuan: $0.1336

The yuan has actually moved!

October 29, 2007

CAD: $1.046
GBP: $2.060
Euro: $1.430
Yen: $0.00871
Yuan: $0.1338

I wonder if this is going to have an affect on Mac pricing. In the very least I would hope that Apple would drop the pricing to equivalent to US pricing when the next Macs are released. I just hope that Apple doesn't have to increase the US pricing.

[shabbasuraj]

1.047 today....

hold 'on t'yer Hats...


$1.10 here we come...

[peeb]

Originally Posted by tie 

I can't agree. The US already more than competes with China and other developing world economies. A lower dollar just helps us more. Well, it hurts companies who have moved manufacturing offshore (e.g., Apple), but helps companies still manufacturing here. It also helps US companies selling products overseas and bringing back dollars (e.g., Apple).

Sorry Tie - I think I missed your response to my question - in which areas without government subsidy or protection is the US competitive with China?

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Hmmm... Who knows? shabbasuraj you may be right.

October 29, 2007

CAD: $1.046
GBP: $2.060
Euro: $1.430
Yen: $0.00871
Yuan: $0.1338

Hallowe'en

CAD: $1.052
GBP: $2.078
Euro: $1.446
Yen: $0.00868
Yuan: $0.1338

Wow. Despite the continued fall of the US dollar, the Yen continues to suck.

Oh and the CAD is now worth than US$1.05.

[tie]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Sorry Tie - I think I missed your response to my question - in which areas without government subsidy or protection is the US competitive with China?

Our per capita GDP is 5.5 times China's. So I think it is up to you to argue that we aren't competitive. If you want some place to start, look up the statistics on manufacturing…

[peeb]

Originally Posted by tie 

Our per capita GDP is 5.5 times China's. So I think it is up to you to argue that we aren't competitive. If you want some place to start, look up the statistics on manufacturing…

Oh I'm sorry, I was using the word competitive in the conventional sense of having an industry that can compete. You made the claim, the burden of proof rest with you - there are a ton of industries that simply don't exist in the US any more, and without government subsidies, more would also disappear - I'm asking you for examples of some industries that are competitive with China, without corporate welfare. As I suspected, you can't do this.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by peeb 

Oh I'm sorry, I was using the word competitive in the conventional sense of having an industry that can compete. You made the claim, the burden of proof rest with you - there are a ton of industries that simply don't exist in the US any more, and without government subsidies, more would also disappear - I'm asking you for examples of some industries that are competitive with China, without corporate welfare. As I suspected, you can't do this.

It's not a bad thing that there are industries that no longer exist in the US. That frees up American workers to move on to newer and potentially more profitable things.

[peeb]

That may well be true. I'm asking to see a non-government subsidized industry in the US that is competitive with China.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by peeb 

That may well be true. I'm asking to see a non-government subsidized industry in the US that is competitive with China.

My point was that there doesn't need to be any. If China is better at doing x, and the US is better at doing y, it makes the most sense for China to do x and the US to do y, rather than China and the US both doing x and y. Specialization and the division of labor is pretty much the foundation of civilization.

That said, why must the US industry be non-government subsidized in order to be competitive with China? China is a communist country, almost all their industry is government funded/run to some extent.

[peeb]

I'm not saying that there must be. The claim was made that there were some. I don't beleive it, and was asking for examples. If there are none, that's ok, I just wanted to establish that.

[shabbasuraj]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

I predict $1.10 by the holiday season..

+11111111111111111111



$1.07 today...

$1.20 by Jan. 1



SICK

[Eug]

The US is getting a LOT of Canadian online orders lately, and so much so that Canada Customs is getting swamped with paperwork from stuff crossing the border.

And I've added to the problem... as I made use of the $1.07 Canadian dollar and ordered more goodies from the US today. We Canadians are doing our best to prop up the US economy.

P.S. I wonder just how swamped they are. I received a projector from the US many, many weeks ago... and have gotten no tax bill at all. Maybe they just let it pass through untaxed, cuz usually I get a bill within 2 weeks. If I lucked out, then... sweet!

[PB2K]

holidays to the US are popular in Holland because they are bargains, suddenly it's really really cheap to travel there. I would like to go too but I have no more holidays this year.

[shabbasuraj]

The Loonie busted through $1.08 USD today..

This is becoming laughable...

[thunderous_funker]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

It's not a bad thing that there are industries that no longer exist in the US. That frees up American workers to move on to newer and potentially more profitable things.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

1.047 today....

hold 'on t'yer Hats...

$1.10 here we come...

Originally Posted by Eug 

Hmmm... Who knows? shabbasuraj you may be right.

October 29, 2007

CAD: $1.046
GBP: $2.060
Euro: $1.430
Yen: $0.00871
Yuan: $0.1338

I wonder if this is going to have an affect on Mac pricing. In the very least I would hope that Apple would drop the pricing to equivalent to US pricing when the next Macs are released. I just hope that Apple doesn't have to increase the US pricing.

Nov. 7, 2007

CAD: $1.10021
GBP: $2.09486
Euro: $1.4617
Yen: $0.00878
Yuan: $0.13413

Just for kicks... As soon as the CAD$ hit US$1.10, I hit "Pay" for my PayPal US dollar eBay purchase.

[PB2K]

wow, i found 6 canadian dollars in a box, they gained value over the years

[Eug]

Originally Posted by PEPPERRULES 

How high can the US deficit and/or debt go? Wait until China comes to collect.

Originally Posted by Eug 

It's not in China's best interest to collect too soon. That said, China is diversifying its foreign currency reserves.

So, one big reason for the fall in the US dollar today is Beijing saying it's diversifying its foreign currency reserves.

China Reserves to Favor Strong Currencies, Cheng Says

Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- China will invest in stronger currencies when diversifying its $1.43 trillion foreign-exchange reserves, said Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the National People's Congress.

``We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly,'' Cheng said in a speech before a conference in Beijing today. The dollar is ``losing its status as the world currency,'' Xu Jian, a central bank vice director, said at the same meeting.

Chinese investors reduced holdings of U.S. Treasuries by 5 percent to $400 billion in the five months to the end of August and the government set up an agency in September to seek higher returns on currency reserves. The U.S. dollar has weakened 4.7 percent against the yuan this year, while the euro has advanced 5.7 percent.

[Judge_Fire]

Originally Posted by Eug 

``We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly,'' Cheng said in a speech before a conference in Beijing today. The dollar is ``losing its status as the world currency,'' Xu Jian, a central bank vice director, said at the same meeting.

Whoa. No diplomatic fancy talk there.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Judge_Fire 

Whoa. No diplomatic fancy talk there.

Yeah, even if something was lost in the translation, any way you slice it that's pretty blunt.

BTW, since early this morning, the US dollar has gained back a little from CAD buck, but slid even more against other currencies.

Originally Posted by Eug 

Nov. 7, 2007

CAD: $1.10021
GBP: $2.09486
Euro: $1.4617
Yen: $0.00878
Yuan: $0.13413

Just for kicks... As soon as the CAD$ hit US$1.10, I hit "Pay" for my PayPal US dollar eBay purchase.

Nov. 7, 2007, 12:16 pm.

CAD: $1.09001
GBP: $2.10441
Euro: $1.46585
Yen: $0.00884
Yuan: $0.13436

[Eug]

Here's a different translation.

“In terms of the structure of our foreign exchange reserves, we should take advantage of the appreciation of strong currencies to offset the depreciation of weak currencies,” Cheng told a financial forum.

“For example, in the current foreign reserves structure, I mean the bonds we bought, the euro is appreciating against the yuan while the U.S. dollar is depreciating against the yuan. So we should make a balance between the two,” Mr. Cheng said.

Still sounds the same... Very, very blunt.

Also, there was this, which added to the US$ mayhem:

Xu Jian, vice head of the People's Bank of China's Communist Party school, twisted the knife by saying recent surges in gold and oil were a reflection of the dollar's loss of standing.

“The U.S dollar's global currency status is shaky and the creditworthiness of dollar assets is falling,” said Mr. Xu, who noted he was speaking in a personal capacity.

He said he expected the dollar to weaken further in 2008 under the impact of the gaping U.S. trade deficit. That could push the price of gold to $1,000 an ounce from a 28-year peak of $840 scaled on Wednesday, Mr. Xu said.

Welcome to the New World Order...

[shabbasuraj]

Originally Posted by shabbasuraj 

Loonie is simply destroying the greenback today..

at about 1.038...

awesome...


I predict $1.10 by the holiday season..

I was wrong...

The LOONIE reached $1.10 way earlier then I predicted...

Let the online shipping begin...(again..)


Do I hear.....20% INSTANTLY off all US bought goods by Jan.1 ????

[stupendousman]

I've just skimmed through this thread and not read it all, so if this has already been covered, please forgive....

After blowing millions trying to hurt republicans the last ten years or so and having little to show for it, didn't Soros go on record as saying he was going to do everything he could to devalue the dollar?

I mean...when you have an anti-American lefty billionaire with the ability to sway markets as he can, what's the surprise?

[richwig83]

I dont know how low it will go, but hope it gets stronger soon.... its playing havoc with UK petrol prices!!!! (over 1GBP a litre)

[tie]

Originally Posted by stupendousman 

I've just skimmed through this thread and not read it all, so if this has already been covered, please forgive....

I mean...when you have an anti-American lefty billionaire with the ability to sway markets as he can, what's the surprise?

Actually, ridiculous conspiracy theories haven't been covered yet. I think that maybe it is the same aliens who took Saddam's WMD? Something for you and ebuddy to ponder...

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by tie 

Actually, ridiculous conspiracy theories haven't been covered yet. I think that maybe it is the same aliens who took Saddam's WMD? Something for you and ebuddy to ponder...

No need for science fiction. Here's the first article I googled, where Soros was talking down the dollar back in 2002:

BBC NEWS | Business | Soros warns of dollar plunge

and another in 2003, after he took back personal control of his monetary fund and focused his attention there, where he makes it clear he's working against the dollar with his vast hedge funds...

George Soros can't hurt the dollar. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

Here's an article from back in 2003 where it says that both Soros AND his left-leaning buddy Warren Buffet are actively involved in shorting the dollar...

SOROS AND BUFFETT BETTING AGAINST U.S. DOLLAR!

Apparently this isn't the first time Soros has done this. He did the same thing to the pound back in the early 90's when he was dubbed "The Man who broke the Bank of England". After all, if you can't control the minds of America by paying for millions of dollars of failed propaganda, you might as well work with your strengths - influencing financial markets to make your enemies look weak.

Most of the time, you can't get a peep out of people like Buffet and Soros in regards to how they are using their money until after they make their cash off their plan, UNLESS they are trying to influence the market and here we have the evidence that Soros has been doing this for the past 5 years. In the article above, Soros alerts international investors that he's going to work against the dollar because he disagrees with Bush's economic policies and you don't think that he knows that will have a negative effect on international monetary investing? It appears you need to take out whatever implant the aliens inserted into you when you were abducted. It seems to be shorting out.

[Eug]

Work against the dollar? It's the US economy and the US government that are working against the dollar.

These guys were just smart enough to see what was coming. And they were not alone either.

Personally I just hope China really does follow through with increased diversification of its reserves. It's about time they eased their partial peg to US dollar, and let the Chinese Yuan rise as it should, and stop artificially keeping its product pricing so low. China already has a huge advantage in terms of labour costs. They don't need keep the Yuan rock bottom to make money. Yeah, it will hurt China, but in the end China gets stronger if it fights on the world market with a properly valued Yuan.

The good news for the US is the severe drop has halted, at least momentarily. They've gained back a bit in the past couple of days:

Originally Posted by Eug 

Nov. 7, 2007, 12:16 pm.

CAD: $1.09001
GBP: $2.10441
Euro: $1.46585
Yen: $0.00884
Yuan: $0.13436

Nov. 13, 2007, 10:06 am

CAD: $1.04211
GBP: $2.06410
Euro: $1.45467
Yen: $0.00914
Yuan: $0.13492

BTW, the Japanese Yen seems to be doing very well in the last couple of days, for whatever reason.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

More like how much lower can the US go in general.

Well we aren't going to get higher than you on the map anytime soon. Unless you were making some derogatory anti-USA rah rah thing you always do.

BTW do you know how much BUSINESS the border states are getting from you Canadians now that are dollar is cheap? They are coming to the US to buy stuff cause its cheaper to do so than in Canada.

This raises our economy and helps us.

Think about it. I know you hate anything and everything US pretty much but come on. Drop the xenophobic and bigoted comments. They do you no service.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Kevin 

Well we aren't going to get higher than you on the map anytime soon. Unless you were making some derogatory anti-USA rah rah thing you always do.

BTW do you know how much BUSINESS the border states are getting from you Canadians now that are dollar is cheap? They are coming to the US to buy stuff cause its cheaper to do so than in Canada.

This raises our economy and helps us.

Think about it. I know you hate anything and everything US pretty much but come on. Drop the xenophobic and bigoted comments. They do you no service.

What annoyed me to no end was a TV show I saw a couple years ago. They asked a bunch of Canadians off the street what they liked about Canada, and what defined Canada as a nation. A couple of people came up with nothing better than "It's not America".

Lame.

Weirdly enough, the same exists domestically. Everyone seems to hate Toronto. I encountered this when I was living in Vancouver, and got a nice job in Toronto. I told people in Vancouver that I got a good position in Toronto so I was moving, and they said they were sorry for me. No, not sorry to see me go, but sorry for me because I had to endure the hell that was Toronto. WTF? I asked them why they hated Toronto so much and they said it was because Toronto was full of itself and was way too cocky. Then I asked them if they'd ever been there. "No."

That said, I do think Toronto can be a little self-centered at times, but overall I think it's a great place. Similarly, I've been to many areas in the US where I've met people who think that nowhere else in the world can be better than the US in any way, even if they're living in a crappy area, and that every single US foreign policy initiative must be the right course of action. However, idiots exist everywhere, and usually I find that most places you go, you'll find some great people (and some not-so-great people).

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Work against the dollar? It's the US economy and the US government that are working against the dollar.

I'm not going to suggest that there are not elements of the US economy (which in general is in pretty good shape) which do not add to the problem, or give investors pause to wonder if Soros is right and that they should listen to him, but most all of the economic indicators are up and the economy is growing. If it was just all about the health of the economy, this would have happened back in 2000 to the same extent when we did have a real recession.

The fact remains though that Soros FIVE YEARS AGO was planning on selling the dollar short to protest Bush. He told everyone he could that he was going to do it, and told everyone he could that they should as well. What international investor in their right mind would say "oh well...just because one of the most powerful monetary investors in the world is planning on trying to ensure that the dollar goes down doesn't mean I shouldn't stop investing in the dollar". I'll tell you which ones - NONE. I wouldn't either.

You can argue that certain elements of the US economy aren't helping, but to ignore the fact that Soros and his buddies haven't been doing everything they can to reduce the value of the dollar themselves is naive. This is a guy who blew millions trying to influence an American election - he isn't going to invest his billions in something if he doesn't think that he can unfairly influence the market in order to help him in some way or another.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by stupendousman 

I'm not going to suggest that there are not elements of the US economy (which in general is in pretty good shape) which do not add to the problem, or give investors pause to wonder if Soros is right and that they should listen to him, but most all of the economic indicators are up and the economy is growing. If it was just all about the health of the economy, this would have happened back in 2000 to the same extent when we did have a real recession.

The fact remains though that Soros FIVE YEARS AGO was planning on selling the dollar short to protest Bush. He told everyone he could that he was going to do it, and told everyone he could that they should as well. What international investor in their right mind would say "oh well...just because one of the most powerful monetary investors in the world is planning on trying to ensure that the dollar goes down doesn't mean I shouldn't stop investing in the dollar". I'll tell you which ones - NONE. I wouldn't either.

You can argue that certain elements of the US economy aren't helping, but to ignore the fact that Soros and his buddies haven't been doing everything they can to reduce the value of the dollar themselves is naive. This is a guy who blew millions trying to influence an American election - he isn't going to invest his billions in something if he doesn't think that he can unfairly influence the market in order to help him in some way or another.

Compared to these factors, a guy like Soros is a drop in the bucket.

Basically, it seems to me that he's just a better prognosticator than most.

You give this guy way too much credit.

[tie]

Originally Posted by stupendousman 

Most of the time, you can't get a peep out of people like Buffet and Soros in regards to how they are using their money until after they make their cash off their plan, UNLESS they are trying to influence the market and here we have the evidence that Soros has been doing this for the past 5 years. In the article above, Soros alerts international investors that he's going to work against the dollar because he disagrees with Bush's economic policies and you don't think that he knows that will have a negative effect on international monetary investing? It appears you need to take out whatever implant the aliens inserted into you when you were abducted. It seems to be shorting out.

No, this is just another of your random conspiracy theories. I guess you still haven't learned your lesson after Iraq? (No need to answer, I don't care about the aliens who stole the WMD out from underneath us.)

Soros thinks Bush's economic policies are bad, so he thinks the dollar will fall. This is common sense, and has nothing to do with Soros's hatred of Bush or the Republican party. Millions of investors (including it seems lots of people in this forum) see the same economic problems and similarly think the dollar will fall. Actually, Soros and many others were quite premature in thinking the dollar would drop in 2000-2002. In fact it has taken much longer for fundamentals to catch up with us.

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Compared to these factors, a guy like Soros is a drop in the bucket.

Basically, it seems to me that he's just a better prognosticator than most.

You give this guy way too much credit.

The notion that one billionaire, or even one highly connected trader can have little effect on the markets is again, naive. To suggest that Soros would simply sit idly by and loose money or allow the dollar to grow is equally naive given his past record at putting forth vast resources in order to try to make Bush look bad and ensure he makes money. You simply must not pay much attention to this stuff.

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by tie 

No, this is just another of your random conspiracy theories. I guess you still haven't learned your lesson after Iraq? (No need to answer, I don't care about the aliens who stole the WMD out from underneath us.)

I have no idea what your ad hominem has to do with anything, but you're welcome to keep shooting your credibility in the foot if you like.

Soros thinks Bush's economic policies are bad, so he thinks the dollar will fall. This is common sense, and has nothing to do with Soros's hatred of Bush or the Republican party. Millions of investors (including it seems lots of people in this forum) see the same economic problems and similarly think the dollar will fall. Actually, Soros and many others were quite premature in thinking the dollar would drop in 2000-2002. In fact it has taken much longer for fundamentals to catch up with us.

Short selling to negatively influence the market often takes a lot of time to make a major dent in the investment in question. Soros says he's going to short the dollar...tells EVERYONE and SURPRISE...the dollar sinks after five years.

You'd MAYBE have a point if Soros hasn't already shown a willingness to take whatever means necessary to make Bush look bad (and the economy was as bad as it was say 7 years ago), and the fact that when people like Buffett and Soros talk...people listen (AND ACT) and he knows it. But that's not the case. Soros has sunk MILLIONS into trying to hurt Bush. The idea that he wouldn't use his REAL power, his power in the financial market to hurt is is comical. You can see the trees, but not the forrest apparently.

[Eug]

Yes, he doesn't like Bush. Yes, he's a pessimist for the economy with Bush's policies.

However, the point is not to directly cause the dollar to fall, because he's smart enough to know that he alone isn't powerful enough to do that, but to capitalize on that fall when it happens.

Sinking millions is not going to do much. Sinking hundreds of billions, yes.

[tie]

Eug is right. Just because you write "MILLIONS" in all caps doesn't make it worth more. It's millions.

Short selling to negatively influence the market often takes a lot of time to make a major dent in the investment in question. Soros says he's going to short the dollar...tells EVERYONE and SURPRISE...the dollar sinks after five years.

If Soros had been short-selling the dollar for the last five years, on scales of hundreds of billions each year, he'd have gone bankrupt five years ago.

Sorry you don't like being reminded of your idiocy on Iraq.

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by Eug 

However, the point is not to directly cause the dollar to fall, because he's smart enough to know that he alone isn't powerful enough to do that, but to capitalize on that fall when it happens.

I disagree. You can spend ZERO cash and effect the markets. It doesn't even require any real investment. Selling "naked short" is one way. Being someone like a George Soros or Warren Buffett (and in this case, both lefties acted in unison) and making continued pronouncements about your investments and what you think has a HUGE effect on the markets. Again, if you think that one man using his own wealth and/or connections and reputation can't cause markets to go drastically up or down, you simply know nothing about how the markets work. At one time, Alan Greenspan could send the markets into a freefall by just wrinkling his brow the wrong way during a Fed announcement. Seriously...you're just wrong.

[stupendousman]

Originally Posted by tie 

Sorry you don't like being reminded of your idiocy on Iraq.

I don't like to be reminded that I'm sex machine to all the chicks and have to beat them off with a stick either. But of course that isn't true either and has as little to do with the topic at hand as your desperate attempt to form an argument. Congratulations.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by stupendousman 

I disagree. You can spend ZERO cash and effect the markets. It doesn't even require any real investment. Selling "naked short" is one way. Being someone like a George Soros or Warren Buffett (and in this case, both lefties acted in unison) and making continued pronouncements about your investments and what you think has a HUGE effect on the markets. Again, if you think that one man using his own wealth and/or connections and reputation can't cause markets to go drastically up or down, you simply know nothing about how the markets work. At one time, Alan Greenspan could send the markets into a freefall by just wrinkling his brow the wrong way during a Fed announcement. Seriously...you're just wrong.

Heh. Fancy that. Comments and actions from the Fed leader affecting the market. Whouda thought? It's not as if he sets key interest rates or anything.

As said before, if your Soros argument had any merit, this dollar freefall would have happened 5 years ago. It didn't.

Personally, I'm just glad that China is no longer willing to prop up the US dollar. It's about time they diversified their reserves, both for the sake of China itself, and for the sake of the US. This has served as a nice wake up call to some of the US's policy makers.

[peeb]

Like most elements of US prestige, political and economic power, the last 7 years have squandered much of it. On the good side, it's less than a year until we can start the long, hard work of recovering what can be saved. The dollar will rebound, probably not to its previous high point, and the rest of the world has learned a lesson about having all their eggs in one basket.

[BadKosh]

The Eggs are about to be grabed by that BIG Democratic Tax hike. Enjoy!!

[peeb]

The one to pay for the BIG Republican credit card bill, you mean?