For the last 50 years, the US$ was been the universal currency. I recall as a kid growing up in a northern Canadian aluminum-smelting town asking my dad why the price of aluminum was priced in US$/pound.
It was only natural for exporters to price their products in US$. America was the biggest economy in the world, the US$ was the universal currency that every bank understood, and -- conversely -- US banks didn't like dealing with foreign money, charging hefty exchange fees.
With the US$ severely weakening against other currencies, exporters are wondering what to do. Do we dare switch to the Euro?
India software developer SYCODE did that this week. What used to be in US$ is now priced in Euros, typically e195. The reason:
The US dollar is turning weaker and the India Rupee is turning stronger. We are getting screwed both ways. Euro and Rupee appear to be going upwards hand-in-hand.
It's the same here in Canada, where the CDN$ is now even gaining strength against the Euro!
The problem, as I see it, is the reaction of Americans. Will they (1) stand for paying in non-US currency, and (2) even know what a Euro is?
I was recently speaking to an old colleague of mine, magna cum laude in engineering back at our college, about how to navigate this increasingly scary US economy for a highly-trained professional. His advice: "Get some tapes or take a course and learn German, super-fast. And/or French or Dutch if you're so inclined. You're gonna need it soon to get an actual, salaried job in the Eurozone." Looks like the UK, Australia and of course Canada are being dragged down right along with the USA, having hitched their banks to ours-- Britain just had a bank run, right out of a 1929 serial.
Crazy, but he has a point, a half-dozen old colleagues have picked up stakes, done the full emigration thing and now living in Europe. Belgium/Netherlands I guess are popular for those with some Dutch or French skills but Germany's again becoming the world's egghead capital I guess. I'm starting to think he has a point, heck I'd be overjoyed to actually get a paycheck in Euros for my research job, and not have to be worry about being laid off after it's outsourced to India. I always thought German was a real bruiser to learn, but maybe not according to my friend. For my own sake, I hope it's not too tough, I could see myself getting set up there some years down the road!
Posted by: Brandon | Oct 17, 2007 at 12:38 PM
The dollar is being driven down intentionally to counter at least China and probably India as well. Our currency being overvalued has really hurt our exports and internal manufacturing. Its tough to compete when the Chinese have been artificially suppressing their currency for so long now, specifically to build exports. A lot of people in manufacturing here really see the trade imbalance as the biggest economic problem, and since we can't get the Chinese to play nice, its only fair that we do what we have to to survive.
Americans aren't as dumb or as unemployed as the world thinks we are. Aside from a few thousand criminally negligent home loan agents, we're doing pretty well.
Posted by: matt | Oct 17, 2007 at 06:11 PM
US by and large doesn't need Europe. It does need China. Weak US dollar is Europe's problem, not ours.
Posted by: | Oct 17, 2007 at 08:10 PM
<< Weak US dollar is Europe's problem, not ours>>
It is India's and China's problem as well, since we typically bill in USD.
Posted by: Deelip Menezes | Oct 17, 2007 at 09:59 PM
As a Belgian citizen, we use the Euro everyday. Strange when you compare prices, though... Some companies price their products $1=€1 (1 dollar = 1 euro). We are the ones that should be complaining...
When I compare the price of my CAD software (ArchiCAD), the difference is even larger, since they charge more euro's than dollars...
US price = $4250
European price = EUR 6250 or so... (+ 21% taxes), I heard it is about EUR 7000 in Germany.
Is that fair?
The expensive EURO is giving problems for the European community. Export and investments are diminishing. It does make it cheaper to buy US goods, but then we are stimulating the US economy at the cost of our own economy... E.g. it is cheaper to order a book on Amazon.us and have it sent to Belgium than it is to buy it in a local shop.
Posted by: Stefan Boeykens | Oct 25, 2007 at 01:16 AM
Actually Canada's banking system passed the IMF tests with flying colors. Australia is also on solid ground, especially because of its ties to Asia, Oz does not have the kind of foreign debt that the US and UK have, the UK is even more in the red than the USA. There is a definite trend going on, wealth is moving from the US and UK to Continental Europe and Asia.
Posted by: Mark | Feb 19, 2008 at 08:20 AM
The weak US Dollar is the result of one of the best "scams" ever pulled off in the modern world, i.e. the Federal Reserve System. If you want to get educated, point your search engine toward "The US Federal Reserve System" and/or "Fabian Socialism".
Posted by: Mike Turner | Feb 26, 2008 at 06:52 PM