Falling American Dollar is helping me buy pool cues!

yally

yally

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have to say, I feel bad for the Americans on the board with your dollar taking a beating recently on the market. Do you feel the effect at all?

On the flip side, for the first time in 31 years, the Canadian $ is on par (a drop higher) than you guys.

This is the first time, I don't have to get to get out the calculator to see if I can figure out the conversion to know if I have the funds for a cue!

Excited to be flying to New York this weekend on vacation. I am hitting Blatt Billiard first! Any other good Pool stores out there?
 
Thanks for the reminder that the dollar is falling. It won't affect me.
Why, because there is no cue I would want other than American. It would be different if I was traveling. The last time I was out of country and the dollar was falling I thought all foriegners hated us and that I could never get a fair exchange rate. My first lesson in international finance. 1970
Thanks for the memories,
 
They are booming out there...places like McDonalds, and Tim Hortons are paying $13-$15 an hour to try and keep staff.
 
Ltldebbie said:
Thanks for the reminder that the dollar is falling. It won't affect me.
(snip)
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Ha ha.

The price of everything is skyrocketing, even as the culprits lie about that fact.

The inflation cycle of the 70's is here again...maybe worse this time. Read up on it and take evasive action, is my suggestion. Look what just happened last week as the federal reserve lowered their rates...gold jumped and the dollar tanked. The feds are nuts and we have to pay for that...eventually. That is one of the laws of nature.

Pool cues are the least of your concerns. You may have to sell yours just to pay the heating bill.

Jeff Livingston
 
yally said:
I have to say, I feel bad for the Americans on the board with your dollar taking a beating recently on the market. Do you feel the effect at all?

On the flip side, for the first time in 31 years, the Canadian $ is on par (a drop higher) than you guys.

This is the first time, I don't have to get to get out the calculator to see if I can figure out the conversion to know if I have the funds for a cue!

Excited to be flying to New York this weekend on vacation. I am hitting Blatt Billiard first! Any other good Pool stores out there?
Click to expand...

Hardly any Americans know what's going on with the dollar. It's been sinking for years versus other currencies. The yen, the euro, the yuan are all moving up in dollar terms. I predict it's only going to get worse.

Many other counties are reducing their dollar reserves due to lack of confidence. This could spell trouble since Americans have been counting on credit from foreign central banks to keep our current lifestyle going. The only way to keep confidence in the dollar is to raise interest rates and Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve is not ready to do that - not with the housing debacle fresh in everybodies mind. Yet our politicians are almost indifferent about this subject. The only presidential candidate even talking about this is Ron Paul.

(I better get something on here that's pool related)

Because of our falling dollar I have to play foreigners at least $2 a game instead of my nitty $1 a game, just to keep them interested.
 
yally said:
I have to say, I feel bad for the Americans on the board with your dollar taking a beating recently on the market. Do you feel the effect at all?

On the flip side, for the first time in 31 years, the Canadian $ is on par (a drop higher) than you guys.

This is the first time, I don't have to get to get out the calculator to see if I can figure out the conversion to know if I have the funds for a cue!

Excited to be flying to New York this weekend on vacation. I am hitting Blatt Billiard first! Any other good Pool stores out there?
Click to expand...

The strenghtening Canadian dollar has really helped bring the Canadians back into the US economy in many industries. We sell to mainly professionals in the US and Canada. The Canadian customers had fallen off for the last decade, but starting last year, we noticed increasing sales to Canadians and so far this year, there has been a huge bounce due to Canada. I predict Canada will be a major growth target for many U.S. companies.

Chris
 
Once again, I thank GWB and his cronies for the wonderful job they have done the last seven years. Pretty much destroyed our economy and our image worldwide.

I can still get a few pesos for a dollar. Soon the major migration will be Americans moving South to Mexico. The Hispanics will own this place in another ten years. So be it!

Can you say tongue in cheek?
 
There are ETF's (exchange traded funds) where you can invest in Euros, FXE, Loonies, FXC, Francs, FXF, Pesos, FXM and many other foreign currencies. Also GLD, a gold ETF.

America is entering into an extended high inflation period.

Also, buy canned food.:)

Jim
 
i hear u yally, the parity is helping me out a lot lol. the parity has resulted in the jensen i just bought being more of a steal than it already was.
 
Danktrees said:
i hear u yally, the parity is helping me out a lot lol. the parity has resulted in the jensen i just bought being more of a steal than it already was.
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If I hadn't gotten my present player at a steal, I would be cursing for missing that eBay auction. Still surprised I didn't see it, as I check it regularly for Jensens...

The Can $ is going to be great for you and your pickup!
 
I'll pass on the economics and politics being discussed, but would like to address the OP about his trip to Blatt billiards.

Im not sure what kind of cue your looking for, but blatt has very few custom cues, and all of their cues, including production cues, are overpriced, imo. On average, prices are at least 20% higher than anywhere else. In fact, with a little research, the internet is a much better rsource. For production cues, there are one stop shops that sell at discount prices. For customs, there are many brokers that are offering deep discounts on a lot of different products.

If your shopping for a table, disregard the above comments. Blatt is THE source if your looking for a large selection of high end options.

Rg

Also, give amsterdam billiards a look. Its only 3 blocks away!
 
Hola . . .

jay helfert said:
Once again, I thank GWB and his cronies for the wonderful job they have done the last seven years. Pretty much destroyed our economy and our image worldwide.

I can still get a few pesos for a dollar. Soon the major migration will be Americans moving South to Mexico. The Hispanics will own this place in another ten years. So be it!

Can you say tongue in cheek?
Click to expand...


George and his fellow "public servants" don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. . .

The ultimate insult will come when I get ready to log on to my favorite pool sites . . and it will ask me to press one to view them in English . . . at that point I'm outta here . . .

BTW, don't expect the dollar to stop its precipitous slide - it will continue to fall against the Euro, etc and make foreign goods even more expensive. If we still did any manufacturing here, we could actually sell more overseas . . . afraid we've been sold out completely by Washington.
 

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Jay, as another person living here in So.Cal, sometimes referred to as No. Mexico, do you really think it will take as long as 10 yrs? lol. GWB and friends who are supposed be fiscally conservative seem to think that spending 400 billion a yr in excess of earnings is of no concern. Any farmer knows that you cannot consume more than you produce without facing disaster. The exchange rate of Euros is ridiculous. By the the time you pay the Exchange you are between .50 &.60 0n the dollar. Now if I could sell my house there I could really make out! But the subprime market has affected the Germany economy already. Banks there don't even want to loan to other banks because they are not sure how heavily invested the other bank is in our subprime market! Guaranteed though I will check out some of Germany's cue makers before I return from my trip next year.
 
I am an economist and can explain the dollar some

For those that are interested I am an economist and got my degree in 97. So, I have a good Idea of whats going on with the dollar. Under Clinton we had a balanced budget and a surplus and the dollar was strong as a result. Post 9/11 we do not have a balanced budget and no surplus, just a HUGE deficiet. So, why is this info or statement important???

Very simple the Dollar is no longer backed by GOLD!!! So, what backs the dollar and how is its value obtained?? It is based on the credit worthiness of the US Government! Bad credit behavior leads to bad things for the dollar.

Bush has established a tax cut early in his administration and it can be repealed to slow the decline of the dollar. Also, the legalization of more illegal imigrinates or a change in imigration policy will cause an increase in revenue and decrease the deficit. So, until we balance the budget and spend responsibly your dollars will continue to decline!!!

As such, with a declining dollar poised to go lower where do you put your money to protect yourself. The answer is clear International stocks. They have the currency fluctations acting like wind behind it sails, Off Shoring on its side and less exposure to speculative venture capital stocks with no real earnings! They have companies with REAL EARNINGS. The only DANGER is political. That exists everywhere. As long as you are diversified you can weather the currency storm and have a little jingle in your jeans betting on internation Stocks.

As always speak with your Financial Advisor about over weighting International!

Kid
Dynomite
 
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Kid Dynomite said:
For those that are interested I am an economist and got my degree in 97. So, I have a good Idea of whats going on with the dollar. Under Clinton we had a balanced budget and a surplus and the dollar was strong as a result. Post 9/11 we do not have a balanced budget and no surplus, just a HUGE deficiet. So, why is this info or statement important???

Very simple the Dollar is no longer backed by GOLD!!! So, what backs the dollar and how is its value obtained?? It is based on the credit worthiness of the US Government! Bad credit behavior leads to bad things for the dollar.

Bush has established a tax cut early in his administration and it can be repealed to slow the decline of the dollar. Also, the legalization of more illegal imigrinates or a change in imigration policy will cause an increase in revenue and decrease the deficit. So, until we balance the budget and spend responsibly your dollars will continue to decline!!!

As such, with a declining dollar poised to go lower where do you put your money to protect yourself. The answer is clear International stocks. They have the currency fluctations acting like wind behind it sails, Off Shoring on its side and less exposure to speculative venture capital stocks with no real earnings! They have companies with REAL EARNINGS. The only DANGER is political. That exists everywhere. As long as you are diversified you can weather the currency storm and have a little jingle in your jeans betting on internation Stocks.

As always speak with your Financial Advisor about over weighting International!

Kid
Dynomite
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Much of what you say is true. Fact is, the dollar has not been backed by gold since 1973. The big culprit in all this is the Fed cranking up the printing presses and making new dollars out of thin air. Now there is no way to track the amount in circulation thanks to the government no longer reporting M3, the broadest measure of money, to the public. This ceased on March of last year. This should have created an upoar but hardly anyone knows what's actually happening. Folks, we are taking it in the shorts and don't realize it.

About 5 years ago I began buying gold. I'd like to say I was smart enough to see all of this coming, but no. I simply thought that gold at $300/oz. was undervalued. Since then, there has been a new gold rush. But I could have done just as well, or better, with silver, platinum or even lead. These and other commodities have the real value, not the dollar.
 
8ballEinstein said:
Much of what you say is true. Fact is, the dollar has not been backed by gold since 1973. The big culprit in all this is the Fed cranking up the printing presses and making new dollars out of thin air. Now there is no way to track the amount in circulation thanks to the government no longer reporting M3, the broadest measure of money, to the public. This ceased on March of last year. This should have created an upoar but hardly anyone knows what's actually happening. Folks, we are taking it in the shorts and don't realize it.

About 5 years ago I began buying gold. I'd like to say I was smart enough to see all of this coming, but no. I simply thought that gold at $300/oz. was undervalued. Since then, there has been a new gold rush. But I could have done just as well, or better, with silver, platinum or even lead. These and other commodities have the real value, not the dollar.
Click to expand...

Nuts! I forgot to say something related to pool.

Anyone want to play 1-pocket for a Kruggerand?
 
Kid Dynomite said:
For those that are interested I am an economist and got my degree in 97. So, I have a good Idea of whats going on with the dollar. Under Clinton we had a balanced budget and a surplus and the dollar was strong as a result. Post 9/11 we do not have a balanced budget and no surplus, just a HUGE deficiet. So, why is this info or statement important???

Very simple the Dollar is no longer backed by GOLD!!! So, what backs the dollar and how is its value obtained?? It is based on the credit worthiness of the US Government! Bad credit behavior leads to bad things for the dollar.

Bush has established a tax cut early in his administration and it can be repealed to slow the decline of the dollar. Also, the legalization of more illegal imigrinates or a change in imigration policy will cause an increase in revenue and decrease the deficit. So, until we balance the budget and spend responsibly your dollars will continue to decline!!!

As such, with a declining dollar poised to go lower where do you put your money to protect yourself. The answer is clear International stocks. They have the currency fluctations acting like wind behind it sails, Off Shoring on its side and less exposure to speculative venture capital stocks with no real earnings! They have companies with REAL EARNINGS. The only DANGER is political. That exists everywhere. As long as you are diversified you can weather the currency storm and have a little jingle in your jeans betting on internation Stocks.

As always speak with your Financial Advisor about over weighting International!

Kid
Dynomite
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While I agree with all you have said, it is even more complicated than just those factors.

Curriencies derive their strenght, or weakness, relative to that of opposing currencies. It is a zero sum game. Along with the factors you've already mentioned are other, perhaps more important factors, such as interest, or bond rates of the opposing countries, which, in return are influenced by economic growth of those countries as well.

And then there is, many believe the most important factor, the human factor, that causes the divergance between real value and perceived value.
That factor some call emotion, or momentum, that is mostly caused by greed and fear and creates undervalued and overvalued conditions that have no revelence to fact. One can be technically correct and still lose money, understanding the human overaction to conditions is what creates wealth in markets. JMHO

Jim
 
pool cues as collectibles

Kid Dynomite said:
For those that are interested I am an economist and got my degree in 97. So, I have a good Idea of whats going on with the dollar. Under Clinton we had a balanced budget and a surplus and the dollar was strong as a result. Post 9/11 we do not have a balanced budget and no surplus, just a HUGE deficiet. So, why is this info or statement important???

Very simple the Dollar is no longer backed by GOLD!!! So, what backs the dollar and how is its value obtained?? It is based on the credit worthiness of the US Government! Bad credit behavior leads to bad things for the dollar.

Bush has established a tax cut early in his administration and it can be repealed to slow the decline of the dollar. Also, the legalization of more illegal imigrinates or a change in imigration policy will cause an increase in revenue and decrease the deficit. So, until we balance the budget and spend responsibly your dollars will continue to decline!!!

As such, with a declining dollar poised to go lower where do you put your money to protect yourself. The answer is clear International stocks. They have the currency fluctations acting like wind behind it sails, Off Shoring on its side and less exposure to speculative venture capital stocks with no real earnings! They have companies with REAL EARNINGS. The only DANGER is political. That exists everywhere. As long as you are diversified you can weather the currency storm and have a little jingle in your jeans betting on internation Stocks.

As always speak with your Financial Advisor about over weighting International!

Kid
Dynomite
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Perhaps pool cues will become the new "collectibles" rage & show up on the Antiques Road Show. As for "international exposure" stick with the most experienced being Templeton or now Franklin Templeton. They have a great closed end fund Emerging Market Fund (EMF) & a new open ended fund called BRIC (Brazil, Russia,India, & China). I speak only as a consumer, not selling anything.

Incidentally, would pool cues be well preserved in a gun safe? Too big for a safe deposit box.
 
Our balanced budget and no deficit in fairness was directly attributable to the 1st time Dot Com economy. And of course no war expenditures.
 
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