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The pound is also down to $1.19 which is amazingly low. This might be due to the European malaise mentioned in the article or from the ongoing Brexit disruptio

The pound is also down to $1.19 which is amazingly low. This might be due to the European malaise mentioned in the article or from the ongoing Brexit disruption. Fortunately, as the Canadian dollar is sort-of a petrodollar, we're holding at 0.77 USD which makes it a good time to head to Europe if you can get through the airports...

Normille 4y ago
>>The pound is also down to $1.19 which is amazingly low. This might be due to the European malaise mentioned in the article or from the ongoing Brexit disruption... Just Europe shooting itself in the foot again, to please the US.
- jleyank 4y ago
  If you mean Ukraine, it’s something they almost have to stand up to given their history. Can’t reward naked aggression as there’s many examples of what that leads to. Lotta blood in the soil there.
  - tomp 4y ago
    The time for “not rewarding Russia and other dictatorships” was 5-10 years ago, now it’s pure economic suicide and does nothing to stop the war anyways
    - ben_w 4y ago
      The best time may have been 10 years ago — I don’t know enough to argue that either way — but the war is now going to cost Russia 10% of its GDP, and appears to already be interfering with Russia’s ability to maintain the effectiveness (such as it is) of its armed forces. But this isn’t the only thing going on, lots of governments are giving actual weapons to Ukraine as well. If he was rational, sadly that appears to be a big if, that would probably help deter Putin too.
      - jleyank 4y ago
        Weaken the image and actual strength of the Russian Army and it puts into question their position in the various -stan's on their southern border. The Red Army was a terrifying concept during the Cold War.
    - Normille 4y ago
      I upvoted you for the "...it’s pure economic suicide and does nothing to stop the war anyways..." part of your comment. But does your remark about dictatorships include all dictatorships, or only the ones who aren't on our side?
      - tomp 4y ago
        In my opinion, “all dictatorships” but US/EU prefer realpolitik and try to collaborate with some (Saudi/UAE for oil, China/Vietnam for cheap labour, …). Might eventually backfire (in process re:China)
  - Normille 4y ago
    I've said before and got down-voted to oblivion but what the hey: the only nation that's going to profit from the war in Ukraine is the US... increased NATO membership... increased arms sales... increased dependence on US for oil and gas supplies... etc. etc. Downvote away as you always do. I know that even supposedly intelligent Americans have a total mental block when it comes to accepting that your country might actually be the cause of a lot of the trouble in the world --if not directly, then behind the scenes, fanning the flames. Unfortunately we'll all be dead and gone by the time the official documents relating to this period in time are declassified. But, boy are your grandchildren going to laugh at how gullible you all were!
cm2187 4y ago
The article doesn't say a word about money printing which is probably the main story (along interest rates). The US has stopped printing money (and pretends it will shrink the Fed's balance sheet, though they still haven't started [1]). The ECB and BoE are still printing money. So mechanically USD goes up against both GBP and EUR. [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttrends.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttren...
- jleyank 4y ago
  This assumes Canada also has stopped printing money, which is certainly not what the opposition states…
  - jbay808 4y ago
    Canadian interest rate hikes and QT are proceeding at a comparable pace to the US, perhaps faster.
- laurencerowe 4y ago
  > The ECB and BoE are still printing money. So mechanically USD goes up against both GBP and EUR. The ECB has stopped bond buying as of July 1st. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/ecb-ends-bond-buys-signal-july-sept-rate-hikes-2022-06-09/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/ecb-ends-bond-bu... The BoE stopped expanding QE in December and started tightening in March. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/quantitative-easing https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/quantitative...
  - cm2187 4y ago
    ECB Balance sheet still going up [1]. Granted, BoE is now flat, I stand corrected on that [2] [1] https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/central-bank-balance-... [2] https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/central-bank-bal...
treis 4y ago
The US & Canada are energy independent (or at least equalized imports/exports) and food exporters. The EU is a net importer of both so pretty clear why recent events would favor the US/Canada & not the EU.
- mytailorisrich 4y ago
  It certainly explains why the US pushed so much for sanctions against Russia, and it's less clear why Europe so enthusiastically shot itself in the foot by following suit. Edit: this is not a "minor economic pain" for Europe and might reach extreme consequences later this year. On the other hand, the US have played extremely well, gaining on all fronts (increased influence through enlarged Nato and, increased weapons sales, increases oil/gas profits), while China is left in an awkward position. Only downside seems to have been the push for alternatives to dollar/western-centric financial system.
  - coremoff 4y ago
    > so enthusiastically shot itself into foot is rather unfair I think - there are very good reasons why an unpleasant action might be necessary
    - pydry 4y ago
      Germany is set to run out of gas during winter under optimistic scenarios. This is looking less like a bit of unpleasantness and more like economic suicide by the day. LNG is not going to suffice. There isnt even the port capacity to bring it in. Rationing would have to be extreme just to ride out the winter. And then what? Hitting the economic self destruct button so that Ukraine reserves the right to join NATO doesnt look so appealing any more.
      - Retric 4y ago
        Running out in this case just means a spike in prices or the dreaded rationing. Lowering thermostats can dramatically reduce fuel consumption, how to achieve that nationwide is an open question.

Normille 4y ago

>>The pound is also down to $1.19 which is amazingly low. This might be due to the European malaise mentioned in the article or from the ongoing Brexit disruption... Just Europe shooting itself in the foot again, to please the US.

jleyank 4y ago
If you mean Ukraine, it’s something they almost have to stand up to given their history. Can’t reward naked aggression as there’s many examples of what that leads to. Lotta blood in the soil there.
- tomp 4y ago
  The time for “not rewarding Russia and other dictatorships” was 5-10 years ago, now it’s pure economic suicide and does nothing to stop the war anyways
  - ben_w 4y ago
    The best time may have been 10 years ago — I don’t know enough to argue that either way — but the war is now going to cost Russia 10% of its GDP, and appears to already be interfering with Russia’s ability to maintain the effectiveness (such as it is) of its armed forces. But this isn’t the only thing going on, lots of governments are giving actual weapons to Ukraine as well. If he was rational, sadly that appears to be a big if, that would probably help deter Putin too.
    - jleyank 4y ago
      Weaken the image and actual strength of the Russian Army and it puts into question their position in the various -stan's on their southern border. The Red Army was a terrifying concept during the Cold War.
  - Normille 4y ago
    I upvoted you for the "...it’s pure economic suicide and does nothing to stop the war anyways..." part of your comment. But does your remark about dictatorships include all dictatorships, or only the ones who aren't on our side?
    - tomp 4y ago
      In my opinion, “all dictatorships” but US/EU prefer realpolitik and try to collaborate with some (Saudi/UAE for oil, China/Vietnam for cheap labour, …). Might eventually backfire (in process re:China)
- Normille 4y ago
  I've said before and got down-voted to oblivion but what the hey: the only nation that's going to profit from the war in Ukraine is the US... increased NATO membership... increased arms sales... increased dependence on US for oil and gas supplies... etc. etc. Downvote away as you always do. I know that even supposedly intelligent Americans have a total mental block when it comes to accepting that your country might actually be the cause of a lot of the trouble in the world --if not directly, then behind the scenes, fanning the flames. Unfortunately we'll all be dead and gone by the time the official documents relating to this period in time are declassified. But, boy are your grandchildren going to laugh at how gullible you all were!

cm2187 4y ago

The article doesn't say a word about money printing which is probably the main story (along interest rates). The US has stopped printing money (and pretends it will shrink the Fed's balance sheet, though they still haven't started [1]). The ECB and BoE are still printing money. So mechanically USD goes up against both GBP and EUR. [1] https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttrends.htm https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_recenttren...

jleyank 4y ago
This assumes Canada also has stopped printing money, which is certainly not what the opposition states…
- jbay808 4y ago
  Canadian interest rate hikes and QT are proceeding at a comparable pace to the US, perhaps faster.
laurencerowe 4y ago
> The ECB and BoE are still printing money. So mechanically USD goes up against both GBP and EUR. The ECB has stopped bond buying as of July 1st. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/ecb-ends-bond-buys-signal-july-sept-rate-hikes-2022-06-09/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/ecb-ends-bond-bu... The BoE stopped expanding QE in December and started tightening in March. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/quantitative-easing https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/quantitative...
- cm2187 4y ago
  ECB Balance sheet still going up [1]. Granted, BoE is now flat, I stand corrected on that [2] [1] https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/euro-area/central-bank-balance-... [2] https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/central-bank-balance-sheet https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/central-bank-bal...

treis 4y ago

The US & Canada are energy independent (or at least equalized imports/exports) and food exporters. The EU is a net importer of both so pretty clear why recent events would favor the US/Canada & not the EU.

mytailorisrich 4y ago
It certainly explains why the US pushed so much for sanctions against Russia, and it's less clear why Europe so enthusiastically shot itself in the foot by following suit. Edit: this is not a "minor economic pain" for Europe and might reach extreme consequences later this year. On the other hand, the US have played extremely well, gaining on all fronts (increased influence through enlarged Nato and, increased weapons sales, increases oil/gas profits), while China is left in an awkward position. Only downside seems to have been the push for alternatives to dollar/western-centric financial system.
- coremoff 4y ago
  > so enthusiastically shot itself into foot is rather unfair I think - there are very good reasons why an unpleasant action might be necessary
  - pydry 4y ago
    Germany is set to run out of gas during winter under optimistic scenarios. This is looking less like a bit of unpleasantness and more like economic suicide by the day. LNG is not going to suffice. There isnt even the port capacity to bring it in. Rationing would have to be extreme just to ride out the winter. And then what? Hitting the economic self destruct button so that Ukraine reserves the right to join NATO doesnt look so appealing any more.
    - Retric 4y ago
      Running out in this case just means a spike in prices or the dreaded rationing. Lowering thermostats can dramatically reduce fuel consumption, how to achieve that nationwide is an open question.