Skid Of The U.s. Dollar

[retirednavyman]

The Democrats took over the Senate and House and right away told China to help fix

the trade imbalance, China replied by saying they will move their assets out of US dollars

thus the dollar tanked today and beyond.

Leave it to Liberals to mess things up

Just because someone is a Democrat doesn't mean that they are a liberal. Most of the Democrats that we're elected are conservative Democrats. Wake up or shut up!

[retirednavyman]

The Democrats took over the Senate and House and right away told China to help fix

the trade imbalance, China replied by saying they will move their assets out of US dollars

thus the dollar tanked today and beyond.

Leave it to Liberals to mess things up

Yeah, I couldn't agree more, libs are going to give us the shaft of a lifetime as always. Demos are the party of the filthy rich, just take a look at your Pelosi biatch, she's worth 92 mil! You think she cares about regular middle class people? These scums want only filthy rich and dirt poor. They make Taksin look good

The Republicans have run our country into the ground for your information, fought an extremely unpopular war in Iraq, 500 trillion dollar deficit, Bush's "you're either with me or against me" philosophy, and what does that do to freedom of speech, i've only begun to scratch the surface. Bush epitomizes probably the worst Presidency in American history. Wake up a** wipe!

[doninusa]

The Democrats took over the Senate and House and right away told China to help fix

the trade imbalance, China replied by saying they will move their assets out of US dollars

thus the dollar tanked today and beyond.

Leave it to Liberals to mess things up

With all due respect, The dollar actually went up slightly after the election. the dollar has been on the slide. it used to be that you could chart the baht to drop in high tourist season and then rise again in the summer to 40ish. The reasons for the drop in the dollar are multifaceted and numerous. China's emergence in the world economy is one. the deficit in the u.s. and the trade balance another. The fed in the u.s. controls the interest rates and that may or may not have much to do with it. All the pundits i see say that the dollar will not rebound as robust as before, but may take a small upswing in january. go to forex discussions for more.

Also, When I first started going to thailand in January of 2002 the baht was 44 to a dollar. It dropped to 36.5 with the republicans in complete control during the entire time. Just for the record. they may be powerless to do anything about it. They are pretty powerless now in any event.

Edited November 12, 2006 by doninusa

[Jim Abbott]

You dem supporters kill me. You allign yourselves with feminazis like Feinstein, Boxer, Pelosi and Hilary as well as hard core Israelis like Schumer and Waxman. If you think these people are looking out for your interests then you have been truly brainwashed. I will fight against those scums till my dying day

[PeaceBlondie]

Pardon me, but I think it's been shown how little control the Democrats have had over the baht-dollar exchange rate, so could we please do two things here?

Stop the personal insults like a**wipes, and tone down the off-topic American political comments?

I thought retirednavyman's remark about "500 trillion dollar debts" was excessive until I realized my great grandchildren's grandchildren will probably be paying interest on today's 50 trillion debt, forever.....

[GregCV]

Housing & real estate sales & investments in the U.S. has cooled in this second half of '06, with interest rates climbing. In some locations in the U.S., real estate investment is actually falling in value, which has not happened since the early '90's. This is a strong and quick change in the market, and real estate may recover just as quickly with the right combination of interest rates and other incentives. There is definitely a shortage of real estate availibility in most areas of the U.S. So the supply side of the equation favors a recovery of this market.

Investment money leaving the U.S. real estate market have gone into the stock market, pushing the Dow Jones Average to new records, resting currently over 12000, the highest in history. Former real estate market money has also left the U.S. going to foreign exchanges chasing better returns than the current U.S. real estate market. This has included the Thai exchange and many others, boosting them to higher levels, pushing the value of their currency higher. Consequently, the baht and other currencies are rising higher than previously with the U.S. dollar because of substantial increases in U.S. investment in international markets.

This has been seen by the Thai government (and other governments) as a negative situation costing them exports to the U.S. A spokesman for the new Thai government stated on 10-30-06 that they are planning moves to force the baht lower to the U.S. dollar.

While this topic lends itself to silly political rhetoric claiming Republicans are bad or Democrats are saints, but the reality is that aside from the current real estate market, the U.S. economy is extremely strong and steady compared to any other economy. And it has been this way now for at least 50 years. The amount of just the increase in U.S. GNP in the last 6 years (the Republican presidency) is greater than the entire GNP for the second largest economy, China. While everyone can demonstrate that the economies of China and India are the fastest growing, they are still far behind the U.S. Despite the Republicans, despite the Democrat victory, despite China, despite everything, the U.S. economy remains the strongest by a huge margin. Figures of GNP are easily checked.

And as far as Europe, they are falling further and further behind. Simply following the Socialist model, they will continue to fall, until a change in thinking is made and action taken to restore less hindered private enterprise.

So when better investment opportunities than equity exchanges appear, money will leave U.S. and international stock exchanges and go to them. This could likely be a return of positive returns in U.S. real estate.

[GregCV]

Housing & real estate sales & investments in the U.S. has cooled in this second half of '06, with interest rates climbing. In some locations in the U.S., real estate investment is actually falling in value, which has not happened since the early '90's. This is a strong and quick change in the market, and real estate may recover just as quickly with the right combination of interest rates and other incentives. There is definitely a shortage of real estate availibility in most areas of the U.S. So the supply side of the equation favors a recovery of this market.

Investment money leaving the U.S. real estate market have gone into the stock market, pushing the Dow Jones Average to new records, resting currently over 12000, the highest in history. Former real estate market money has also left the U.S. going to foreign exchanges chasing better returns than the current U.S. real estate market. This has included the Thai exchange and many others, boosting them to higher levels, pushing the value of their currency higher. Consequently, the baht and other currencies are rising higher than previously with the U.S. dollar because of substantial increases in U.S. investment in international markets.

This has been seen by the Thai government (and other governments) as a negative situation costing them exports to the U.S. A spokesman for the new Thai government stated on 10-30-06 that they are planning moves to force the baht lower to the U.S. dollar.

While this topic lends itself to silly political rhetoric claiming Republicans are bad or Democrats are saints, but the reality is that aside from the current real estate market, the U.S. economy is extremely strong and steady compared to any other economy. And it has been this way now for at least 50 years. The amount of just the increase in U.S. GNP in the last 6 years (the Republican presidency) is greater than the entire GNP for the second largest economy, China. While everyone can demonstrate that the economies of China and India are the fastest growing, they are still far behind the U.S. Despite the Republicans, despite the Democrat victory, despite China, despite everything, the U.S. economy remains the strongest by a huge margin. Figures of GNP are easily checked.

And as far as Europe, they are falling further and further behind. Simply following the Socialist model, they will continue to fall, until a change in thinking is made and action taken to restore less hindered private enterprise.

So when better investment opportunities than equity exchanges appear, money will leave U.S. and international stock exchanges and go to them. This could likely be a return of positive returns in U.S. real estate.

[bkkandrew]

Back to the OP..

USD down another .25% today to 36.43 - Source:

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/fds/hi/...78/intraday.stm

See my post No.4, I can't see where the bottom is on this one...

Edited November 14, 2006 by bkkandrew

[wasabi]

Where is George Soros when you need him?

[PeaceBlondie]

But aren't forex markets more than 90% speculation, and very little exchange is based upon fundamentals? Is the baht/dollar ratio going downward mostly because of money rushing into the temporary market? Isn't that one of the very things the Bank of Thailand is discouraging?

Meanwhile, ouch! This hurts.....I need to add some numbers to my Excel spreadsheet to plan my budget. I've lost 15%.

[bkkandrew]

But aren't forex markets more than 90% speculation, and very little exchange is based upon fundamentals? Is the baht/dollar ratio going downward mostly because of money rushing into the temporary market? Isn't that one of the very things the Bank of Thailand is discouraging?

Meanwhile, ouch! This hurts.....I need to add some numbers to my Excel spreadsheet to plan my budget. I've lost 15%.

No. Forex is based on actual transactions, actual economics. For instance, when HSBC pays its dividend, mostly having to do a GBP/USD trade, as its two main listings are LSE and NYSE. On the day in question it can tip the market by 1%, but it is a real money movement..

Have to laugh at your comment re. the Bank of Thailand "discouraging" forex speculation. The Bank of England tried that to keep the pound within ERM parity in September 1992 (known as Black Wednesday). In the process it spent $56BILLION, $28BILLION on 1 day alone!!!

It failed, Soros and his pals won, Bank of England still has not recovered reserves lost and the UK has not tried to peg the GBP ever since..

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

Of course, this is Thailand and politicians here think they are very, very, very important, so they might give it a go!!

[lannarebirth]

But aren't forex markets more than 90% speculation, and very little exchange is based upon fundamentals? Is the baht/dollar ratio going downward mostly because of money rushing into the temporary market? Isn't that one of the very things the Bank of Thailand is discouraging?

Meanwhile, ouch! This hurts.....I need to add some numbers to my Excel spreadsheet to plan my budget. I've lost 15%.

No. Forex is based on actual transactions, actual economics. For instance, when HSBC pays its dividend, mostly having to do a GBP/USD trade, as its two main listings are LSE and NYSE. On the day in question it can tip the market by 1%, but it is a real money movement..

Have to laugh at your comment re. the Bank of Thailand "discouraging" forex speculation. The Bank of England tried that to keep the pound within ERM parity in September 1992 (known as Black Wednesday). In the process it spent $56BILLION, $28BILLION on 1 day alone!!!

It failed, Soros and his pals won, Bank of England still has not recovered reserves lost and the UK has not tried to peg the GBP ever since..

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

Of course, this is Thailand and politicians here think they are very, very, very important, so they might give it a go!!

Yes PeaceBlondie that is true. Forex markets are 85% to 90% speculative trading, assertions to the contrary notwithstanding.

Edited November 14, 2006 by lannarebirth

[cclub75]

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

Of course, this is Thailand and politicians here think they are very, very, very important, so they might give it a go!!

Indeed. They've done it in 1997. So why not again ? They are so stupid and full of self satisfaction.

[Gary A]

All I can tell you for sure is that I live on dollars. The almighty dollar has lost about twelve percent already this year. My investments have made about nine percent. Taking inflation into account, it has NOT been a good year. It may come to the point that I can live in the US for the same amount of dollars. This is a VERY depressing thought.

[ray23]

Gary go get the soap and wash your mouth shame on you

[PeaceBlondie]

Gary, I also live on dollars, but I cannot imagine living back in the USA on my pensions. I'd have to work - maybe be substitute ESL teacher for $66 per day (no, thanks). My last one-bedroom apartment in Houston in 2002 cost me $520/month just for rent....I don't think it will be cheaper back there.

But thanks, Gary, for reminding me about my investments. Like the S&P 500, they've done well - over 10%.

[wasabi]

Have to laugh at your comment re. the Bank of Thailand "discouraging" forex speculation. The Bank of England tried that to keep the pound within ERM parity in September 1992 (known as Black Wednesday). In the process it spent $56BILLION, $28BILLION on 1 day alone!!!

It failed, Soros and his pals won, Bank of England still has not recovered reserves lost and the UK has not tried to peg the GBP ever since..

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

Of course, this is Thailand and politicians here think they are very, very, very important, so they might give it a go!!

Why laugh it's true? This type of policy was implemented in response to Soros and the crisis of '97 From Bloomberg

Global News Update

Reminder on Measures to Prevent THB Speculation

THAILAND

10/31/2006

Impact: Clients are encouraged to familiarize themselves accordingly.

Clients are reminded of one of the principal measures introduced by The Bank of Thailand (BOT) in October 2003 to curb short-term capital inflows:

Outstanding cash balances may not exceed 300 million THB per non-resident account without approval from the BOT obtained on a case-by-case basis.

If non-residents exceed the specified limit after 3:30 p.m., local banks are required to contact account holders to request instructions to reduce the outstanding amount. If the limit is still breached at 4:00 p.m., local banks will advise non-residents to sell THB with same-day value. If non-resident clients do not comply, the BOT may consider requiring the local bank to enter into foreign exchange transactions with the BOT at penalty rates, which are not currently disclosed.

It is essential that non-residents supply in a timely manner all relevant payment instructions and pre-advices to facilitate proper cash management.

If derived without underlying transactions, balances in excess of the limit will be repatriated with same-day value at a penalty exchange rate set by the BOT.

If you have questions, please call your daily contact or your Investment Manager Relations Officer.

Edited November 14, 2006 by wasabi

[Naam]

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

*****

yesterday's see-saw (plus minus 1% several times during the day) was clearly induced by BOT interventions. of course to no avail.

[bkkandrew]

Have to laugh at your comment re. the Bank of Thailand "discouraging" forex speculation. The Bank of England tried that to keep the pound within ERM parity in September 1992 (known as Black Wednesday). In the process it spent $56BILLION, $28BILLION on 1 day alone!!!

It failed, Soros and his pals won, Bank of England still has not recovered reserves lost and the UK has not tried to peg the GBP ever since..

The idea that Thailand, with its minimal reserves, could affect that market in any serious way is pipe-dreaming..

Of course, this is Thailand and politicians here think they are very, very, very important, so they might give it a go!!

Why laugh it's true? This type of policy was implemented in response to Soros and the crisis of '97 From Bloomberg

Global News Update

Reminder on Measures to Prevent THB Speculation

THAILAND

10/31/2006

Impact: Clients are encouraged to familiarize themselves accordingly.

Clients are reminded of one of the principal measures introduced by The Bank of Thailand (BOT) in October 2003 to curb short-term capital inflows:

Outstanding cash balances may not exceed 300 million THB per non-resident account without approval from the BOT obtained on a case-by-case basis.

If non-residents exceed the specified limit after 3:30 p.m., local banks are required to contact account holders to request instructions to reduce the outstanding amount. If the limit is still breached at 4:00 p.m., local banks will advise non-residents to sell THB with same-day value. If non-resident clients do not comply, the BOT may consider requiring the local bank to enter into foreign exchange transactions with the BOT at penalty rates, which are not currently disclosed.

It is essential that non-residents supply in a timely manner all relevant payment instructions and pre-advices to facilitate proper cash management.

If derived without underlying transactions, balances in excess of the limit will be repatriated with same-day value at a penalty exchange rate set by the BOT.

If you have questions, please call your daily contact or your Investment Manager Relations Officer.

Which is why I added the rider that, as this is Thailand, they might probably give the foolish idea a go again...

Is it not a sign of madness to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result?