Discuss. Please feel free to use pictures to testify to your undying love of the Dutch. No swearing allowed, nor should Jesus' name be utilised in vain.





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[I]Tell us something about yourself if you have a moment.

How did you find Expat Forums?[/B]

Well, I am Ghandi (sic).

I clicked a button on a friend's website Control Panel on November 15th, 2003 that said "Create Forum".

Expatica refugees enjoyed a short spell on a sunny website called caribsailing.com until we figured out we should maybe get our own name and place to call home. And here we are.

I am a West Coast Canadian (Vancouver) with Dutch, Irish, English, French and Native Canadian roots and have been an expat most of my adult life. I recently moved to the Netherlands from St. Maarten, where I spent the better part of a decade living as a yachtie and working as a journalist, editor and graphic designer. My wife of seven years is from Groningen (where we now live), and we have two wonderful young girls.

Besides tending to this site and http://www.expathos.com, I help build yachts by marketing a boatbuilding company in Brazil and take care of a few other websites for people.

I am usually lurking around somewhere, so if you have any questions or just want to shoot the breeze, message me or email admin@expatforums.org

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In an Nutshell

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Thanks.

Ghandi

admin@expatforums.org

THE dollar’s role as the global currency lay in tatters this week, raising the spectre of recession as the US struggles to fix the huge gap between its imports and exports.

By Friday, the dollar had reached its lowest ever against the euro. Many analysts now forecast a fall to $1.40/à or worse.

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan set the ball rolling last week when he said the rapidly ballooning deficit in the US current account, the broadest measure of its trade with the rest of the world, would lead to a weaker currency.

Markets took that as a cue to sell the greenback, which briefly traded at a record low of $1.33 to the euro on Friday.

The currency was also pushed down by reports that China was reducing its holding of dollar assets in its foreign reserves to minimise losses from the dollar’s slide. Although Chinese officials later distanced themselves from the report, it fed the general belief that the “dollar ageâ€￾ was coming to an end.

This perception was fuelled earlier in the week by a Russian central bank official who said the country would diversify its foreign exchange holdings away from the dollar.
The dollar has lost more than 30% against the euro since the beginning of 2002 as a result of the US’s huge current-account deficit — a record $166-billion in the second quarter — and low US interest rates, which have led investors to seek higher returns in alternative investments.

Greenspan warned that international investors would either reduce their dollar assets or demand higher returns in exchange for supplying the $2-billion the US needs each day to fund the gap between its imports and exports.

Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, said this week the US was facing a crisis. “We are increasingly dependent upon an inflow of foreign capital. The problem is how long can this go on. When something happens it tends to go further than you imagined and that’s the history of financial crises,â€￾ he added.

Some market watchers point to similarities with the 1980s, when escalating dollar weakness culminated in the stock market crash of 1987 and subsequent years of economic hardship.

Other analysts argue that a US recession is not only likely, but should also be welcomed.

Scott Campbell of Optimal Fund Management said: “The US dollar can tank to smithereens and the current account problem will not disappear. The twin deficits in the US — budget and trade — are a consequence of living beyond one’s means for some time, and the only way to fix the problem is through some belt tightening. “The US economy needs a recession badly to reduce import demand, and bring consumer credit back into line. This would also correct the current-account problem.â€￾

The US can fix its trade imbalance by either letting the dollar depreciate further to boost exports and reduce imports, or by raising interest rates , which would attract capital to dollar-denominated assets.

But, raising interest rates would also lead to a reduction in consumer spending, which could then lead to a recession in the US and hurt economies that export to it. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the US economy.
With US president George Bush back in office for the next four years, the country’s policy makers this week seemed unwilling to act to halt the dollar’s slide. Officials in the Bush administration have made it clear that they do not see the weak dollar — which is helping the US economy — as an urgent problem. Bush also seemingly remains determined to push through tax cuts in the US, which is likely to further reduce the country’s revenue and increase its deficit. All of this has led to downgrades of the dollar’s prospects by major banks. US spending on its “war on terrorâ€￾ in Iraq and elsewhere is also likely to increase its deficit.

Goldman Sachs predicted it would hit $1.40/à in 12 months, while JP Morgan Chase, said the dollar could fall to $1.35 by the end of the year.

http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/articles/a ... =ST6A91798

Thank you Mr Bush