on €500m that’s a slice worth €4m… Still a sizeable chunk to lose in 2 hours overnight for a business!

True enough Trevor. My point was that currencies fluctuate all the time. In a couple of days the Euro Dollar could be up by the same amount.

It’s pretty much a measure of how you can fiddle axes and scales to show what you want to show. Have the Y axis start at 0 and it almost looks like a flat line.

And at the end of the graph it’s on the way back up again already…

agreed…it looks like an OMG drop of a cliff to the untrained eye but its just a blip so no need to panick..its just normal intraday movements..see the scale of the graph…media scare mongering again!!!!!

And on Oct 4th exactly the opposite happened!

Gimme a break, it’s less than one cent ffx!!

Ha ha. News Flash, No rain over Ireland today, ay!

That’s actually just Australia’s growth slowing down. China isn’t buying all the Iron ore etc… Also most Australians who can afford to buy stuff have what they need and are spending wisely enough, meaning all the big chain stores are also seeing slow to no growth. Mining needs customers, but it’s still the land of opportuinity.

Your theory would be sound Hugo except for the fact that most states earn no income, or there economies grt no benefit, from mining as its mostly confined to WA, and up until 3 months ago the miners paid no tax. The “brick & Mortar” retailers are feeling the effects of two issues beyond their control; firstly the digital economy is growing and people are shifting to buying on line. Secondly people are using more of there disposable income to draw down their home loans and spending more on overseas holidays.

The euro was weak when I came over so I kind of got screwed and when I’m going back, if it’s strong I’ll get screwed again! Plus as you say the commission rate by the banks is sickening over a few thousand dollars/euro!

Currencyfair.com for changing over your AUD to EUR. You will get the interbank rate. I’ve been using it for a long time. Couldn’t recommend it more!

The federal reserve currently has a 100 Year contract to print the US Dollar, that contract runs out in December 2012. Interesting times ahead.

gold bugs …

gold is a piece of metal, the value of which is based on someone giving you more than you paid for , at 1800 an ounce its not cheap – like buying houses in ireland thinking they can go up forever

anyway

when the zombies take over and the doomsday preppers have their dreams come true, you can swap gold for things that are actually useful, like food and medicine – or better still spend money on your bomb shelter now

Gold can have its shocks too. If a new source of gold was discovered, it’s value would shoot right down. This has happened at least once before, when South America was discovered. More realistically now, there is probably a vast amount of gold in the rocks below the ocean floor; if we find a good way of recovering it, imagine what would happen to the gold price.

A more worrying graph.Perhaps.

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/faq.html

“Economic Volatility – Since fiat currencies are loosely coupled to physical economic activity in the objective world, they tend to become increasingly de-coupled and eventually “un-tethered” over time.
Currency Debasement – Voltaire famously wrote that “Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value—zero.”
Wealth Redistribution – Arbitrarily increasing the quantity of currency in an economy distorts the distribution of money and, therefore, redistributes purchasing power, effectively stealing wealth from the majority, e.g., savers and wage workers, to serve the interests of a privileged minority.
Concentration of Wealth – Over time, fiat currency schemes cause wealth and property to accrue to those who enjoy the extraordinary privilege of creating the currency, thus increasing the concentration of wealth in society.
Moral Hazard – Baron Acton observed in 1887 that “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Corruption and Cronyism – As a consequence of moral hazard, fiat currencies tend to encourage cronyism and corruption and ultimately produce a culture of corruption.
Confidence Failure – Since the value of fiat currencies is essentially subjective, maintaining the perception of “value” in the face of economic decline and despite rising prices can be challenging. Counterparty Risk – The “value” of fiat currencies requires trust in counterparties, but trust, like confidence, is an ephemeral, subjective mental state.”
Cliff Kule

“For those of us who understand what is unfolding, it is an amazing opportunity to prosper and thrive because the greatest transfer of wealth from those that hold their wealth in paper to those that don’t is firmly underway. As this is priced into markets, “volatility” shall reign supreme as the Ship of Fools tries to elude its fate, driving markets (stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, natural resources, energy) up, down and sideways as they seek shelter from the unfolding storms and maelstroms. But there is no escape as they have failed to learn history’s lessons and are doomed to repeat them. For the prepared investor, the opportunities are immense.”
Ty Andros