Floating

Economics is killing me.

Last week the dollar fell to a 5 month low due to weak economic reports. That means that today my dollar will buy only 51p. That's down from about 53p when I first arrived. It doesn't seem like a big difference but it adds up...not that 53p is good by any means. One to one would be nice, but I would even take 75p- the way I remember it when I came to London on vacation about 10 years ago.

Maybe this will paint the picture a little better. I saw a headline today that said bargain hunters from the UK are heading to New York to do their Christmas shopping. That's because 1 GBP is worth $1.95! Imagine, it's actually more cost effective for them to pay to fly to New York and shop than it is to stay here.

I'm an advocate of floating exchange rates because it helps balance the global economy work better but right now I'm on the wrong end of things!