Posted on 11/17/2007 10:16:45 AM PST by shrinkermd
The euro's rise and dollar's slide are squeezing European exporters' profits or multiplying their losses, prompting layoffs and plant closings. Companies are not only curbing production of goods headed to U.S. buyers but also rethinking the way they do business.
The euro recently passed the record $1.47 mark, gaining 11.5% since the beginning of the year against the greenback. It closed Friday at $1.46; a dollar bought 0.68 euro.
Most emblematic of the problem has been the impact of the euro-dollar relationship on the aeronautics industry -- and particularly on France's Airbus, whose main rival is U.S.-based Boeing.
With a falling dollar making Boeing's products cheaper outside the U.S. and Airbus' more expensive, Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus' parent EADS, recently described the sinking U.S. currency as a "sword of Damocles" hanging over the company's future. He vowed to cut an additional 1 billion euros in operating costs by 2010 or 2011.
This would mean more layoffs at a company that is already purging 10,000 jobs, a decision made when one euro equaled $1.35.
Survival strategies
Less dramatic but no less crucial is the impact on other European companies that export sophisticated equipment, technology, cosmetics, cars and luxury goods. For firms that make a large portion of their sales in the United States or compete with firms that deal in dollars, survival depends on raising prices, cutting costs or hedging currencies.
The strong British pound, moribund Japanese yen and undervalued Chinese yuan also play roles in this tale of currency chaos, from a European exporter's perspective. Nearly every day, another company announces more lost earnings and job cuts and blames the currency commotion.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
You watch....there will be a WTO trade complaint with America being told to strengthen its currency...out of “fairness” don’t ya know!
You watch....there will be a WTO trade complaint with America being told to strengthen its currency...out of “fairness” don’t ya know!
No, I want you to explain why government stated personal income grows at on average 0.9% while officially stated GDP grows at about 3% on average.
You realize that personal income doesn't include benefits? Or capital gains? Or probably a dozen other things that I can't find at the moment?
Here is a post that while not directly answering your question, talks about several related issues.
If that doesn't give you enough info to answer your question and you really want more, let me know and I'll try to scrape more info together for you.
It doesn't. The BEA invented the PCE for figuring real personal income growth so they can include all consumption prices --not just urban comumer purchases; since '80 it's averaged 1.44%. My plot with CPI adjustments is useless for anything beyond showing a comparison with the PCE. The BEA uses the GDP deflator to get real GDP so they can cover prices over the entire economy; the deflator is the broadest inflation measure and it goes far beyond even the PCE.
That's just what the government does. The question of why it's doing it is more of a question of what the people want, and what I want is to know how to plan for the changing market place. I've gotten rich assuming people's incomes are growing.
Another quandry. You say it doesn't. BLS says otherwise.
From http://bea.gov/bea/glossary/glossary_p.htm
Personal income. Income received by persons from all sources. It includes income received from participation in production as well as from government and business transfer payments. It is the sum of compensation of employees (received), supplements to wages and salaries, proprietors' income with inventory valuation adjustment (IVA) and capital consumption adjustment (CCAdj), rental income of persons with CCAdj, personal income receipts on assets, and personal current transfer receipts, less contributions for government social insurance. Related terms: state personal income, local area personal income.
Supplements to wages and salaries. Consists of employer contributions for employee pension and insurance funds and employer contributions for government social insurance.
Employer contributions for government social insurance. Contributions consisting of employer payments under the following Federal Government and State and Local government programs: Old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (social security); hospital insurance; unemployment insurance; railroad retirement; pension benefit guaranty; veterans life insurance; publicly administered workers' compensation; military medical insurance and temporary disability insurance.
So it would seem that personal income DOES include everything that individuals gain from the economy. Please tell me again why GDP has been soaring while personal income has been skimming the treetops.
I am glad you have done so well for yourself. Now, ask yourself, is your success because personal income has been growing at .9% per year or because the ability and willingness to borrow has grown at rate commensurate with the growth in household debt, which has unarguably been soaring?
Fine, give me your source for personal income.
Only five years ago the average household had $72,300 of debt, and now it's soared to $119,000. More info here.
Did you ever figure out the huge loss that Alan was so worried about? Or did you waste our time by posting a speech you didn't understand?
What are you buying that takes twice as many dollars?
Well, I just returned from a 6 week vacation in Europe (where the dollar doesn’t buy sh*t anymore). I didn’t have time to check email and post.
What do you know? While I was out, oil hit 100 (all time high), gold blew though 900 (all time high), the banking system collapsed into the toilet, and Bush, Bernanke and Paulson are pretty much saying we’re in a recession.
I’m batting 1000.
Any questions?
Toddster - how’s that BAC looking now?
"household debt, which has unarguably been soaring?"
Ah, now I follow you, it's some kind of religious hatred of money lending.
Over the past five years Americans have had no problem with increasing private debt by $6T in order increase their savings by $26T. It's what's called a $20T increase in "net-worth", and this is what's got fanatical Muslims and protectionists going crazy because their story is that America's wealth creation is by definition, evil.
Go ahead and believe what you want, just try and cut back on the blowing-up-airplanes shtick.
You sound overjoyed --what's bad for America is good for you. Now, while I'm usually in favor of people finding happiness wherever they can, it just may be that the reason that all this sounds too good to be true may be that it isn't true.
You predicted those price targets?
Any questions?
Why'd you come back?
Toddster - hows that BAC looking now?
Cheap. Better than a 7.0% yield.
These parts: "...the banking system collapsed into the toilet, and Bush, Bernanke and Paulson are pretty much saying were in a recession."
Sure, this is what we're getting from the lying Democrat press, but they'll say anything to get Hillary elected. Those of us working for a living are still using the banking system same as before, and by checking the actual statements Bush, Bernanke and Paulson are making --not Hillary's rewrites-- they're constantly saying that we're not in a recession.
Sorry to be the bearer of good news, I understand how much you were counting on a US economic collapse.
Why did Bernanke cut rates an unprecedented .75% this week ?
a) to bail out the banking system
b) to counter the recession
c) because the economy is doing great
You telling me you’re going with “c”?
"Bernanke and Paulson are pretty much saying were in a recession."
I said that's not true, and now you want to change the subject. That's probably a good idea.
You’ll get farther in life if you watch what politicians DO, rather than what they SAY.
The actions of bush (tax rebate), bernanke (big rate cut) and paulson (mortgage bailout) say RECESSION and INFLATION.
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