Canadian Dollar = American Dollar

[makattak]

No, not a prediction. It happened:

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2768150

The Canadian dollar reached parity with its U.S. counterpart Tuesday morning, as investors looked to park their cash in the fundamentally-sound loonie amid troubles in Europe.


Also, another rate hike from Australia's central bank appeared to heighten expectations that the Bank of Canada will soon follow suit.


Parity was first achieved briefly at roughly 7 a.m. ET in London markets, hitting US$1.0001, achieving a level last hit in July 2008, before dipping down to the 99.70 US cents range. Yet, it catapulted toward parity again, reaching the US$1.0004 level as of roughly 9:45 ET.



Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2768150#ixzz0kKkkCMZJ

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter#from=USD;to=CAD;amt=1

Pocket Guide for 6 April 2010
United States Dollar (USD)
USD $ 1 $ 5 $ 10 $ 50 $ 100 $ 250 $ 500
CAD C$ 1 C$ 5 C$ 10 C$ 50 C$ 100 C$ 250 C$ 500

Canadian Dollar (CAD)
CAD C$ 1 C$ 5 C$ 10 C$ 50 C$ 100 C$ 250 C$ 500
USD $ 1 $ 5 $ 10 $ 50 $ 100 $ 250 $ 500

   
       
You know, I never really wanted to find out what life was like at the time I was born (Carter's Presidency.)

Looks like I'm going to be experiencing it as an adult... Hey! Maybe we'll learn and my children will end up having a childhood like mine!

I wish I knew who our Reagan will be, though. 

 

[Inor]

You know, I never really wanted to find out what life was like at the time I was born (Carter's Presidency.)

I was not quite an adult at the time Carter left office, but I was old enough to know what was going on.  It was bad - real bad.  But this is worse IMO.  On paper, the economy was worse in the late 70's and early 80's than it is today, but that is really hard to judge because they have since changed many of the formulas used to calculate things like unemployment, money supply, etc.  Carter was bad to be sure.  But, at least he still (mostly) played by a set of rules layed out in the Constitution.  Obama does not.  That is what is going to make economic recovery VERY difficult.  Companies do not know if they are the next to be targeted for government takeover or hostile government action.  So, they do not even try to expand; they just try to stay above water.  The uncertainty with Obama is what is so damn scary to me and many others.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

We have major problems, sure, but the Canadian dollar isn't one of them.

[makattak]

We have major problems, sure, but the Canadian dollar isn't one of them.

I'm not concerned about parity with the Canadian dollar per se.

I'm concerned about the underlying problems that LED to that parity.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Give it time.

Canada has a housing/credit bubble even worse than ours.  Only difference is that their markets aren't structured to recognize such facts as quickly and honestly as our markets are.

Their day of reckoning will come, it's just taking them a bit longer.  When it happens Canada will implode even more spectacularly than we did.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Speaking of housing/credit bubbles, has anyone been watching China?

 

[Scout26]

Obama is going to give us the chance to experience what our parents and/or grandparents lived through....Hopefully it won't take a World War to pull us out of it.......

[Inor]

Canada has a housing/credit bubble even worse than ours.

They have some issues, but their dollar is based on a basket of commodities.  As long as their government allows their bubble to reset without repricing their currency they will be okay - in time.

[tyme]

Speaking of housing/credit bubbles, has anyone been watching China?

I keep reading that all official economic data from China is so shady that their primary economic product may well be the image of their "economic boom".

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I keep reading that all official economic data from China is so shady that their primary economic product may well be the image of their "economic boom".

I'll try to dig up some links, but there are entire cities being built in China that nobody lives in.  The properties are bought by speculators (on credit) and held for future sale.

Nobody has ever lost money speculating in real estate in modern China.  And the prevailing attitude is that the government iwll never let real estate lose value.

Basically their attitudes are the same as ours were 2006, only turbocharged and on steroids.

Here's one link, albeit anecdotal:
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/04/email-from-chinese-on-chinas-real.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MishsGlobalEconomicTrendAnalysis+%28Mish%27s+Global+Economic+Trend+Analysis%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

Here's a news report on one of the empty cities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h7V3Twb-Qk

And there's noise brewing fro the Washington intellegentsia about forcing China to revalue its currency.  This could lead to a trade war with China.  Nevermind what that'll do to us.  Put yourself in China's place and imagine what a trade war with the US would do to you, especially in light of the fact that your entire banking system is built upon loans for empty cities.

[makattak]

Obama is going to give us the chance to experience what our parents and/or grandparents lived through....Hopefully it won't take a World War to pull us out of it.......

Despite what you learned in school, WWII did not pull us out of the Great Depression.

Neither did the "New Deal".

Removing the price and wage controls after WWII and having the only advanced economy not destroyed by the war ended the depression.

How do I know that? If I came over and destroyed all your furniture, would you be better off? Cause that's what you do in a war, destroy a bunch of stuff.

[roo_ster]

Removing the price and wage controls after WWII and having the only advanced economy not destroyed by the war ended the depression.

This.

[Tallpine]

The Carter years were freedom and prosperity compared to now. 

[kgbsquirrel]

Removing the price and wage controls after WWII and having the only advanced economy not destroyed by the war ended the depression.

This bears repeating so many times. Its hard to be a run down economy when yours is the only economy still standing after everything else is razed by fire bombing.

[Jimmy Dean]

Despite what you learned in school, WWII did not pull us out of the Great Depression.

Neither did the "New Deal".

Removing the price and wage controls after WWII and having the only advanced economy not destroyed by the war ended the depression.

How do I know that? If I came over and destroyed all your furniture, would you be better off? Cause that's what you do in a war, destroy a bunch of stuff.

So basically, if I build houses for a living, and your neighbor blows up your house, and I blow up his in retaliation, it is great for me right?  because I get two more houses to build right? :D 

So, what I am saying is, we need to get someone to blow up someone ELSE's house soon huh?  And then we blow up the 'agressor's house.

[Viking]

I keep reading that all official economic data from China is so shady that their primary economic product may well be the image of their "economic boom".

I can't for the life of me remember where I read it, but someone noted that while car sales are spiking in China, the consumption of gasoline is more or less at a standstill, which lead said person to believe that somewhere in China, there are huge warehouses filled with cars bought by the Chinese government to improve numbers. Wish I could remember where I read it though so I could check the sources...

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I don't think I'd want to be one of the government lackeys in China responsible for reporting on economic conditions.  At least, not when economic conditions were bad.

I might feel motivated to find creative ways to make my numbers show positive things.