Quote Originally Posted by Chilihost
ARGH!!! on a slightly different note the bloody USD is losing big ground to the Euro right now which is eating away my margins on NL hosting. I have to pay costs in euros and it really sucks when costs get increased by 10% due to a slowing US economy.

come on, all you Americans, get out there and strengthen your economy!!!
You want us to strengthen our dollar. Our to put it accurately, you want the value of the dollar to rise on the currency market, compared to other currencies like the euro, the yen and the pound. Yeah that is disadvantageous now, if you are spending US dollars in other countries. There are positives and negatives to that, and a source of endless debate among economists.

I don't pretend to understand how currencies work. But economies can be humming along fine, and that doesn't really have to do with the value of their currency. Right now, China is booming, and their yuan is worth less than the dollar.

One lesson I remember is that interest rates are the price of money. And interest rates for the past five years have been tiny, so consequently the value of the dollar has been practically nothing. (earning 1% interest in a savings account)

When you read in the paper that the Fed raises interest rates, like they did this week, I think that would essentially make the dollar worth more, or grow stronger. But then you have other factors like the debt that the federal governement is carrying, and even world events, which effect the value of the dollar.

Steve