[SoFloFreeper]

Hold on, hold on. Exports are up?

I thought the whole world hated us and refused to do business with us...at least, that is what John sKerry and the LameStream Media kept insinuating during Campaign 2004...

Can someone clear this up for me?

[bankwalker]

Does the falling dollar help to increase our exports and reduce our imports? I don't see that mentioned in the article.

[LowCountryJoe]

We need tariffs!!! Those numbers are still too high. I also don't particularly like seeing inexpensive goods that flow in from Mexico and China. We need more stuff that's made in America and consumed in America. Did you know that this is this first president in 70+ years to be net jobs loser? We've become a nation of Wal*Mart greeters and burger flippers while Haliburton robs us of our tax dollars.

[snowsislander]

It's certainly a move in the right direction for the trade deficit, and I hope this presages a continuing decrease in the trade deficit.

I haven't had time to look at any details, but it would be very good news if the details also show good growth in some of the harder hit areas.

[Red6]

The dollar is finally not under the pressure it has been for all those years, The Euro, a self made monster is helping take off the pressure which for years was hurting our economy by pricing us off the markets. With a higher per capita productivity, lower fixed costs in electricity, logistics, fuel and so on, we have been highly competitive all along, but when we had 3.56 Deutsche Mark to $1 we were being crushed by our own currency.

Now even Russia is buying Euros (mixed with dollars) for its reserve and many Ba’athists fleeing Iraq were caught with guess what? Euros. Most used currency (For trade) in the Balkans? Euros.

For years some conspiracy theorists were coming up with ever crazier ideas of how the US had an unfair advantage because of the dollar and the fact that most trade in strategic resources is conducted with this currency. In reality, our trade was being hampered by our own currency. We ended up with a currency with had a high volume of counterfeiting and regulatory issues because foreign governments would buy money or sell it causing major monetary shifts which affected our economy.

I truly believe that a lot of the devaluation of our dollar is caused by the advent of the Euro. I think in the long run this will make us MORE competitive on the world scene. Games like intentional devaluation of currency as the Italians commonly practiced with the Lira will be difficult if not impossible with the Euro. The Euro zone will have similar issues as the dollar while taking off pressure of the dollar. Only they are not as competitive and will have a harder time dealing with the pressure in the long run. In the end, US products will end up cheaper while Euro zone products will be more expensive. Imports will sink, while exports rise. But these are long term developments. In the short term businesses will suck up the costs in the hope of this trend changing. Eventually they will be forced to cave in. This will also bring MORE business into the US since our competitive advantage is now noticeable and can be taken advantage of. So Mercedes will build MLs in Mississippi and import them to Germany to sell. BMW will build Z3s to import to Germany to sell. As a manufacturing base we become more cost effective as well.

The Euro is a great thing. Hats off, I like it.

Red6

[sixmil]

rudeboy, I thought a trade deficit was a sign of a booming economy!? When are you free traders going to get your story straight?

[Mulder]

Dead cat bounce. Nothing goes straight up or straight down without some aberrations along the route.

Maybe I'll reconsider my position when one of the biggest 3 employers in America is someone other than the gov't, Walmart, or McDonalds.

Or perhaps when I can go to Home Depot and find something made in America.