[  ...or almost 95 cents !  ]

It kind of hit home when I was looking at Sparky's NARC auction with a opening price of $100 US  = $106 CND.

Wasn't it just 4 years ago it was $1.50+ ???

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=USDCAD=X&t=5y

Gee, if gas wasn't $1/ltr,   I'd be tempted to go on a US pin shopping spree !!!



What's next, CDN $ at par ????    ...  don't laugh,  it's coming...


Cheers,
Steph

CIBC Canada has already predicted that the CAD will be on par with the USD before the end of the year.  

Gas is still cheaper now than it was in the 80s if you factor in inflation

What are you complaining about? At least your cars probably get more than 8 MPG.

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

Quoted from mark

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

Tree Hugger.

I failed to mention the 4 mpg in city.

Quoted from mark

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

...but you don't get tired of pushing it on the 401?

Quoted Text

When it gains ground against the U.S. dollar, for example, Canadian exporters lose ground because their products become more expensive for U.S. buyers. It's simply harder to compete.

Since 2002, Statistics Canada says 189,000 manufacturing jobs have disappeared in Canada. The agency places the blame squarely on the soaring loonie.*

My father owns a company that primarily exports goods to the US market. The layoffs at his business have been steady as the dollar has risen. Where profitability used to be assured, it's becoming increasingly difficult to make money when exporting to the US. Factor in duties and other direct and indirect barriers to trade (free trade isn't always as 'free' as it's made out to be) and the money just isn't there anymore. If you work in an export-related industry whose customers are mainly American, bad news may be on the way if it hasn't come yet.

Quoted Text

But some economists say the difficulties of adjusting to a higher loonie will help exporters in the long run, because they've had to take measures to improve efficiency. The days of relying on a cheap loonie to help them sell in the U.S. are long gone.*

I'm sure the 60 employees that have lost their jobs from my old-man's company will take solace in knowing that they haven't lost their jobs in vain - it's all in the name of greater efficiency (and making one person do the work of two or three).    

And with a Governor of the Bank of Canada that seems to take pleasure in raising interest rates and watching the dollar soar to greater heights, there doesn't seem to be much help on the horizon for Canadian exporters. If you enjoy paying more for your mortgage and sending good Canadian jobs to the South, you have THIS GUY and THIS GUY to thank. Be sure to let them know what you think.

I like paying less for my imports as much as the next person, but everything comes at a price - some more obvious than others.  

*Quotes from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dollar_cdn/

I agree with Cooke on this one.... although yes it is great to be able to buy stuff at near-par with the US dollar, you can't buy much if you lose your job!!!

But let's not put all the blame on private Dodge and Big Steve... US economy is in the toilet... blame Dubya as well...

Quoted from Sparky

I agree with Cooke on this one.... although yes it is great to be able to buy stuff at near-par with the US dollar, you can't buy much if you lose your job!!!

But let's not put all the blame on private Dodge and Big Steve... US economy is in the toilet... blame Dubya as well...

I entirely agree that a strong Loonie hurts exports,  (albeit only to the US...)
and I truly hate the idea of anyone losing their job over it,
but the real issue, as Sparky pointed out, is the tanking of the US economy.

The CDN $ is pretty much exactly where it was 5 years ago against the Euro,
but the US $ has taken a beating against all currencies.

Dubya and his War buddies can be thanked for that...


S.

I don't see 95 cents yet (daily high that I see is 94.7867 from Bloomberg) but the trend is there, the street is currently predicting between 96 and par by the end of the year. There are alot of reasons for it and it's not just against the US$, we were under $2.10 to the pound today, and we have gained 10% against the Aussie $ since Feb/07 (the Euro is around 1.42). We are a resource currency (Oil based vs the Aussie which is more Gold based), as everyone knows oil is up Alberta is booming and the feds are running a surplus (in the states the economy is lagging, they are running a major defiect and involved in a war none of which is good for a currency) . That's not to minimize the difficulty for the individual as manufacturing is hit very hard but again few people feel sorrow for the oil patch (primarily Alberta) when oil prices dry up. It's life in the free market I guess which IMHO is significantly better than the alternative.


Squid

Quoted from Vengeance

CIBC Canada has already predicted that the CAD will be on par with the USD before the end of the year.  

then it becomes a race to see if  we can break the record of 1.02 usd for more than one or two days (like in '68 )

Quoted from takochef

then it becomes a race to see if  we can break the record of 1.02 usd for more than one or two days (like in '68 )

The record is actually $1.0614 on Aug. 21, 1957

Who are you guys kidding. If it weren't for tariffs China would already have all our manufacturing. The day when we all want to work at third world standards will be the day that we become competitive at manufacturing again. Until then we can only hope that China sees North American standards and demands a higher standard of living so as to bring their labour costs in line with ours.

Stop fooling yourselves. We aren't willing to work like that and with the effects globalization it is bleak at best. At one time people said look at the precision of the Swiss or the ingenuity of the Americans. Now third world countries possess the knowledge and equipment to rival the once great industrial countries.

Fat, dumb and happy is all we are. We're fucked. Don't blame the interest rates on export manufacturing. Be thankful we have some resources to prop us up.

Given the amount of debt the US has accumulated (particularly with Chinese banks that have been purchasing billions if not trillions of T-bills), the US dollar is actually significantly overvalued.

One of the main factors propping up the USD is that the 2 energy exchanges (NYC and London) are USD-only. As soon as a Euro-based energy exchange is opened; the USD might be in trouble. The Iranians are working on exactly such an exchange ... hmm maybe this has something to do with recent diplomatic squabbles? Bahh I'll stop with the crazy conspiracy theories.

Canadian dollar will also keep going up as we are becoming an energy currency. However, there is a significant risk that our massive coal reserves will lose relevance due to innovations in energy production, new refineries being built, or any other factor that would significantly drop energy prices. For this reason I hope we are diversifying our investments with all that coal money pouring in.

Quoted from mark

My Z06 gets 34 US mpg on the highway (no joke)

The most recent Z06 ?

I love sport cars too, I have a Nissan 350Z  

Interesting note about the Chinese purchase of tbills, I don't really have an opinion but it seems similar to the middle east purchase of tbills and bonds during the 80's and the Japanese purchase of real estate during the 90's neither of which was castrophic for the US economy but perhaps there are underlying differences.

another thing about the US$ is that since 2 years ago the gouverment doesnt give the number of bill in circulation anymore.....in other words they are printing money without counting they real value.....

The US has to print more money whenever they're about to default on interest payments for their t-bills. Last time they did this was a year or so ago. if you look at the US as a company, then the financials look like sh*t.

The consequence of chinese-owned debt is that they can start calling the shots in the US, politically. "change this or that law regarding chinese imports (or whatever) or else we will call in a trillion or two of the money you owe us."

China has already started in investing in US firms though. Except to see some major chinese-US takeovers and mergers in the next 10 years (if the landscape remains similar).

Quoted from Mani

...
The consequence of chinese-owned debt is that they can start calling the shots in the US, politically. "change this or that law regarding chinese imports (or whatever) or else we will call in a trillion or two of the money you owe us."
...

China won't even have to exert that kinda muscle to send North America into the toliet..  i don't have the numbers on hand but remember how they always showed pictures of Chinese people riding bicycles? Guess what, the recent prosperty (or industrialization), those new workers want automobiles. So instead of .5% of the population having the luxury to afford an auto's, the % will climb & climb with more and more strain on available oil resources.

Keep yer finger's crossed that technology is discovered to cheaply  convert the tar sands into gas. If not, canada will be just as screwed as our buddies south of the border.