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[bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com>]

Lynn, the yen has long been used , globally, as the carry trade currency. 
Carry trade is when you borrow one currency with low interest rates to buy 
and use for investment a currency with higher interest rate.  I have checked 
the yen since earlier , but it was close to 90 against the dollar, last week 
it was 105.(I just checked, it is 93).  Most of thew carry trade happens with 
bonds, treasuries,instuments of debt .  

The USD (dollar) is very strong right now against practically all currencies, 
not because we have done anything great , but because the CBs (central 
bankers) in Europe and other countries were playing the same games as the CBs 
in US, but we are still more important (bigger guns).  They get hurt worse, 
first.  There is now talk of insolvency with the euro.

This am, with the rise in the yen (when it drops in number to the dollar, the 
yen becomes stronger, we want the yen to always be at least above 100)..  
What the strength of the yen does is portend a future problem with the USD.  

If you don't work outside the home or need income outside the home, or rely 
on any kind of gov't retirement, etc; I guess it will not hit you hard.  
Right now the dollar is so strong, you can find really good deals.  It is a 
great time to vacation to europe, australia, canada, etc.  I'll give you an 
example of a commodity.  Gold is gold, the same thing anywhere.  But, because 
of the strength of the USD, gold has fallen in value by 30%, bought in USD.  
But in Australian dollars, gold, today, is still at an all-time high.  

When the carry trade unwinds, it will affect everything in USD, including 
treasuries, which are the backbone of the most conservative investments, 
social security, savings accounts, etc..  

In other words, if the yen falls to seventy, I'd be worried enough to write 
an email asking if you wanted temporary renters <G>.  You would have to 
promise "no snow" of course, and my dog gets to watch tv in whatever chair 
she prefers (my wife can sit on the floor). 

Seriously though, ....I really am starting to worry  


--- On Fri, 10/24/08, Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com> wrote:

> From: Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Homestead] Bad day ahead?
> To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Friday, October 24, 2008, 5:43 AM
> I'm still trying to figure out just what this means. How
> will it affect 
> my life? I don't even understand the 'credit
> crunch'; I still get credit 
> card and loan offers in the mail/email every day, just like
> I have for 
> years. I see ads for 0% financing for cars. Prices
> haven't gone up in 
> the grocery store (in fact,there have been some good sales
> lately; been 
> stocking up), and gas prices are down. I don't buy much
> other 'consumer' 
> stuff; is that the piece that I'm missing?
> 
> Lynn Wigglesworth
> 
> bob ford wrote:
> > It is 2:20 am here.  'woke up early.  Right now,
> the dollar is down 5% against the yen, I don't remember
> seeing the ration this low in a long time.  The Japanese are
> savers.  If they are starting to give up on the dollar, we
> will all (well maybe not James) be starting to see some
> perilous times.  
> > 
> > The dollar might have only been string because the
> socialistic paradigms of the Eurpoean and other countries
> was so much worse than ours.  But, if the Chinese follow the
> Japanese and sell dollars, look out ......bobford
> > 
> > 
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