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parispundit
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« Reply #15 on: November 17, 2009, 02:31:05 AM » |
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BTW, I see that gold is over $1,130 this morning.
Which means it is down over $600 from its inflation-adjusted peak. |
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parispundit
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« Reply #16 on: November 17, 2009, 02:32:27 AM » |
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You may not get the news across the pond, parispundit - the cash for clunkers is already gone. They have extended the first-time home buyer's credit. No word on matching contributions to IRAs, although most still get matching from their employers.
BTW, I see that gold is over $1,130 this morning.
sorry for the double post |
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« Last Edit: November 17, 2009, 02:34:50 AM by parispundit »
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mad_doctor
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« Reply #17 on: November 17, 2009, 09:15:40 AM » |
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BTW, I see that gold is over $1,130 this morning.
Which means it is down over $600 from its inflation-adjusted peak. I thought its inflation-adjusted peak was somehwere north of $2,000? That would make it about $1,000 down? |
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fizmath
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« Reply #18 on: November 17, 2009, 09:31:24 AM » |
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BTW, I see that gold is over $1,130 this morning.
Which means it is down over $600 from its inflation-adjusted peak. That peak was a temporary speculative spike. Gold has done well over the long haul in comparison to federal reserve notes. |
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arts4ever
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« Reply #19 on: November 24, 2009, 01:45:57 PM » |
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This may be the wrong topic for this post, but it seems to have bearing: I'm still wondering what shape would the economy be in if trillions hadn't been wasted starting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. How much of deficit and budget mess is caused by that alone? Would there be money to actually (gulp!) FIX the health care mess? That of course ignores the moral issues of those wars, and US foreign policy over the last number of years...
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mad_doctor
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« Reply #20 on: November 24, 2009, 06:57:35 PM » |
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That's hard to say, since the problems besetting the economy are related primarily to things that happened in the mortgage industry. The national debt would be a little lower (currently at $12 trillion), but I'm not sure the economy would be any different now if we had never gone to war.
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mayjohn
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« Reply #21 on: November 24, 2009, 07:40:53 PM » |
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Would saving some consulting income in euro help? I am doing some consulting overseas (remotely) and instead of wiring me the money, I could save it in a bank there...Does that protect against US inflation/dollar tanking? The dollar is indeed weak but gold makes me uncomfortable too....
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prytania3
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« Reply #22 on: November 24, 2009, 08:05:59 PM » |
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Would saving some consulting income in euro help? I am doing some consulting overseas (remotely) and instead of wiring me the money, I could save it in a bank there...Does that protect against US inflation/dollar tanking? The dollar is indeed weak but gold makes me uncomfortable too....
Currency is tricky business unless you have a really good grasp of it--which I don't. But basically by holding euro, you are betting on the euro against the dollar. If the euro stays up against the dollar, then you are in fine fiddle, but personally I wouldn't count on it. The Foracle contends that going long the USD will be the trade of 2010. Oh, but do make sure they pay you in euro, so you'll have the benefit of the exchange. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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mad_doctor
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« Reply #23 on: November 24, 2009, 11:31:56 PM » |
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I agree with prytania. Understanding currency exchange requires a lot of attention, especially if you plan to make money at it. Keeping your pay in euros is like a bet that the dollar will devalue against the euro. The problem with that is a nation may be motivated to devalue its currency on purpose. For instance, devaluing currency may lead to an increase in exports, which is good for an economy.
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mayjohn
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« Reply #24 on: November 25, 2009, 05:27:01 PM » |
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I agree with prytania. Understanding currency exchange requires a lot of attention, especially if you plan to make money at it. Keeping your pay in euros is like a bet that the dollar will devalue against the euro. The problem with that is a nation may be motivated to devalue its currency on purpose. For instance, devaluing currency may lead to an increase in exports, which is good for an economy.
...which is what we see happening now with the dollar, right? I am thinking of keeping the money in euro just to "diversify" my holdings. I am not even thinking of playing with currency exchanges (I have no clue about such things). I have a more simplistic view: keep my dollar-based 401K and a build a euro-based bank account overseas hoping that a similar crash like the recent one will not wipe me out clean.... |
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prytania3
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« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2009, 06:14:01 PM » |
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I agree with prytania. Understanding currency exchange requires a lot of attention, especially if you plan to make money at it. Keeping your pay in euros is like a bet that the dollar will devalue against the euro. The problem with that is a nation may be motivated to devalue its currency on purpose. For instance, devaluing currency may lead to an increase in exports, which is good for an economy.
...which is what we see happening now with the dollar, right? I am thinking of keeping the money in euro just to "diversify" my holdings. I am not even thinking of playing with currency exchanges (I have no clue about such things). I have a more simplistic view: keep my dollar-based 401K and a build a euro-based bank account overseas hoping that a similar crash like the recent one will not wipe me out clean.... That *is* a currency play. But hey, there's nothing wrong with diversification. Only thing currency is played in pairs, and theoretically they could go both down. Or up. One will always be higher than the other, however. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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parispundit
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« Reply #26 on: November 26, 2009, 02:20:05 AM » |
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I agree with prytania. Understanding currency exchange requires a lot of attention, especially if you plan to make money at it. Keeping your pay in euros is like a bet that the dollar will devalue against the euro. The problem with that is a nation may be motivated to devalue its currency on purpose. For instance, devaluing currency may lead to an increase in exports, which is good for an economy.
...which is what we see happening now with the dollar, right? I am thinking of keeping the money in euro just to "diversify" my holdings. I am not even thinking of playing with currency exchanges (I have no clue about such things). I have a more simplistic view: keep my dollar-based 401K and a build a euro-based bank account overseas hoping that a similar crash like the recent one will not wipe me out clean.... There may be better ways to do this. If your "overseas bank account in euros" gets taxed heavily because you are a non-resident, as is the case many places, you may not only earn almost zero interest, you may end up losing money.If it is invested in European stocks, a) you will do better buying a European stock market index fund in the US, but B) the US and European stock markets have been moving in synch for some years now. If you really want diversification. You are best off in an Emerging Markets index fund. Alternatively, consider a global bond fund, which protects you against currency risk and US inflation risk too. |
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mayjohn
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« Reply #27 on: November 26, 2009, 02:21:39 PM » |
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I agree with prytania. Understanding currency exchange requires a lot of attention, especially if you plan to make money at it. Keeping your pay in euros is like a bet that the dollar will devalue against the euro. The problem with that is a nation may be motivated to devalue its currency on purpose. For instance, devaluing currency may lead to an increase in exports, which is good for an economy.
...which is what we see happening now with the dollar, right? I am thinking of keeping the money in euro just to "diversify" my holdings. I am not even thinking of playing with currency exchanges (I have no clue about such things). I have a more simplistic view: keep my dollar-based 401K and a build a euro-based bank account overseas hoping that a similar crash like the recent one will not wipe me out clean.... There may be better ways to do this. If your "overseas bank account in euros" gets taxed heavily because you are a non-resident, as is the case many places, you may not only earn almost zero interest, you may end up losing money.If it is invested in European stocks, a) you will do better buying a European stock market index fund in the US, but B) the US and European stock markets have been moving in synch for some years now. If you really want diversification. You are best off in an Emerging Markets index fund. Alternatively, consider a global bond fund, which protects you against currency risk and US inflation risk too. *This* is exactly what I... don't mean :) Simple stuff: bank account in a european country. Keep it there for long time instead of wiring money to my US bank. Actually, I am also a citizen of that country (so no heavy non-resident taxes) and I am not sure that the money will ever be enough (at most ~10K euro/year) to attract attention by the european tax authorities... |
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i_heart_bulldogs
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« Reply #28 on: November 27, 2009, 01:10:23 PM » |
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I was going to make a long post, but the writing window is the worst. So anyway....
The Federal Reserve (Fed) does not "literally" print money, assuming that what is meant here is the actual creation of currency and coin. This is done by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the US Mint, respectively. The Fed adjusts the supply of "electronic" money (essentially demand deposits) by buying and selling Treasury securities in exchange for U.S. currency. This expands and contracts (respectively) banks' reserve accounts, providing them with more or less loanable funds.
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prytania3
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« Reply #29 on: November 27, 2009, 02:15:59 PM » |
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I was going to make a long post, but the writing window is the worst. So anyway....
The Federal Reserve (Fed) does not "literally" print money, assuming that what is meant here is the actual creation of currency and coin. This is done by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the US Mint, respectively. The Fed adjusts the supply of "electronic" money (essentially demand deposits) by buying and selling Treasury securities in exchange for U.S. currency. This expands and contracts (respectively) banks' reserve accounts, providing them with more or less loanable funds.
If you're going to write a long post, it's always better to do it on word and cut and paste. It's so easy to lose posts. Also, my writing box has gotten all jumpy. I thought maybe it was my computer, but maybe not. |
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Clowns, I tell you. Clowns.
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