Good time to buy American $?

[GoinAllTheWay]

Reading this article from the CBC website:

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/04/03/rbc.html

This part made me wonder:

"By the end of the year, we expect the loonie to average 90.9 US cents," said RBC chief economist Craig Wright.
"This depreciating trend will extend into 2009 with the currency dropping further to 87 US cents by the end of that year."


So with the dollar pretty much even with the US$ atm, would this be a good time to buy assuming it doesn't edge over $1 US significantly? I'm dissapointed I guess that the dollar could drop back down to those levels but if they are, why not make a few bucks yourself in the process?

If the US is going to recover in that time frame, perhaps snapping up some American Real Estate may not be a bad idea either?

[troutman]

87 US cents is not good for the Flames.

[HotHotHeat]

No. There's too many unknowns when it comes to the American dollar right now. If the world continues to move away from the Dollar standard, watch out.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by troutman

87 US cents is not good for the Flames.

Or the NHL, or the NHLPA... it means a lot less money goes around.

I would say buy USDs at a price you feel comfortable with... but with the ascendance of the Euro, the instability in the US, and Canada's emergence as a petrodollar... I highly doubt the dollar would slip back below 90c in the next year... I don't think there's even much we can do to artificially lower it, short of imploding the economy.

[worth]

I would say this is about the worst time to buy US dollars. They are trillions of dollars in debt, their economy as a result is in shambles and they have basically bankrupted themselves. Countries have pulled out of the US dollar and switched to the Euro. I would stay away from the USD IMO.

[habernac]

I think RBC is dreaming. No way the American economy makes that kind of turnaround in the next year.

[Top Shelf]

They have no clue what is going to happen, that much is clear.

[HotHotHeat]

I can't get over how bad RBC and CIBC investments have been the past 18 months. Whoever is running ship over there needs to go jump off a bridge.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

Or the NHL, or the NHLPA... it means a lot less money goes around.

Are you sure? I've heard Bettman state many times on radio and in print that the rise and fall of the CDN dollar is irrelevant to the NHL economic model.

[Azure]

Why not invest in gold instead?

[habernac]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Are you sure? I've heard Bettman state many times on radio and in print that the rise and fall of the CDN dollar is irrelevant to the NHL economic model.

don't fool yourself, the NHL in Canada would be in deep trouble if our dollar was still in the 0.65 range. The Canadian teams would have payrolls like the Florida Marlins.

[IntenseFan]

Originally Posted by Top Shelf

They have no clue what is going to happen, that much is clear.

Truer words were never spoke.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by habernac

don't fool yourself, the NHL in Canada would be in deep trouble if our dollar was still in the 0.65 range. The Canadian teams would have payrolls like the Florida Marlins.

I don't believe it either but HE said it.

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Are you sure? I've heard Bettman state many times on radio and in print that the rise and fall of the CDN dollar is irrelevant to the NHL economic model.

Would you openly admit that the Canadian dollar and TV agreements with TSN, SNet and CBC, coupled with increased revenues from the Canadian Six account for a third of league revenue if you were him? Especially when as commissioner you've fought hard for big US TV deals that never materialized.

I don't its a coincidence that the salary cap rose from $39m to supposedly $56m, when at roughly the same time, the dollar moved from 80c to even.

[Sylvanfan]

I think every economist on Earth thinks the Canadian dollar should trade at about 85 cents U.S. They thought this 10 years ago...they thought this 5 years ago, they think this today, and they'll think this 5 years from now. But...more often than not it's at a different value altogether. Although the dollar is historically high right now eventually it will go down. By how much and when...well thats the risk you take.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by worth

I would say this is about the worst time to buy US dollars. They are trillions of dollars in debt, their economy as a result is in shambles and they have basically bankrupted themselves. Countries have pulled out of the US dollar and switched to the Euro. I would stay away from the USD IMO.

The health of the US economy and the value of the dollar are two totally seperate issues. The value of a dollar is a totally artificial concept. For instance, if the US were to start calling its cents dollars the value of a "dollar" would technically drop by 100X, but no impact on the economy would occur.

The US has artificially lowered its dollar in an attempt to rectify a major source of downfall, which is the trade deficit with China (the other of course being the mortgage crisis). The US economy has always been trillions of dollars in debt, and this debt since in US dollars is actually relieved by a downfall of in currency prices. The deficit is high right now, but when you take into account the lowered value of the dollar and look at deficit as a percentage of GDP, it really isn't that high compared to historical levels.

I agree with a the posters who think the situtation is speculative, but that is how you make money by investing. If something was a guaranteed win then everybody would do it and there would be no profit margin.

One thing I definitely wouldn't do is invest in the Euro.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Azure

Why not invest in gold instead?

Hasn't gold dropped like $100 (or 10%) in the last month?

[Azure]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Hasn't gold dropped like $100 (or 10%) in the last month?

On Thursday, March 13th 2008, gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose over $1,000/ounce for the first time.[22]

[ken0042]

OK, so it has dropped $100 in 3 weeks then.

http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/

[Azure]

Originally Posted by ken0042

OK, so it has dropped $100 in 3 weeks then.

http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/

Yeah, I was lazy.

Still good time to invest though, especially with the recent drop.