from a faithful reader I like to call Cracknsnuff he writes: It is a world economy folks, and everything you own in assets is worth about 40% of what it was when Bush took office (unless they are in foreign stocks or bonds – in that case you are doing really well). Our currency is weaker against the basket of world currencies now than it was in the 70’s.
A more practical spin: the beer Dorian Gray was drinking at October Oktober fest in Munich would have been nearly 50% cheaper 7 years ago. Much can be attributed to the war and oil prices (as they inflate the trade deficit).
From Reuters-
Early in New York, the euro was up around 0.6 percent on the day at $1.4287, climbing as high as 1.4310 in the opening hours of the New York session, according to Reuters data.
The euro fell 0.3 percent against the yen at 165.01 yen, while the dollar was 0.8 percent weaker at 115.57 yen, near an earlier two-week low.
The dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s value against six major currencies, was down 0.7 percent at 77.576. Earlier in the session it fell to 77.478, the lowest since its post-Bretton Woods inception more than 30 years ago.