Pound put on diet, losing weight fast

The price of a pound sterling is based very heavily on what the next few months in the UK hold in regards to Brexit. Currently, the UK is in the middle of electing a new prime minister. As the head of the cabinet and leader of ministers in the executive branch, this person has a significant influence of the political state of the UK. Their actions are bound to affect the price of currency, and already have proven to have done so. 

Within the last week, both conservative candidates who are running for the position of prime minister mentioned that they are both in support of the creation of a hard border in the case that there were to be a no-deal Brexit. Immediately after this debate, the pence dropped significantly in value. 

The pound usually costs around 0.7-0.85 cents to purchase, but as of 16 July you can exchange 90.22 cents for one pound. This is the lowest value that a pence has been in the last 27 years, and is showing trends that indicate the value will continue …

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Recent currency conversions

One of the hardest parts of traveling outside of the EU, or any area that uses the same currency as your own is dealing with exchange rates. Many people traveling from Ireland for business or pleasure to their neighboring country, the United Kingdom, many times find themselves exchanging their hard earned euros for a lesser amount of British pounds.

As of late, any person traveling from the EU to the UK may have noticed a decline in the value of the pound compared to that of the euro. Within the last month and a half, the pound has hit record lows since 2009; the exchange rate is 88.92 pence per euro.  

This low extends to the exchange rate associated with the United States dollar. One pound sterling is currently exchanged for $1.268. In just the beginning of May 2019, the rate was $1.32/pound. This is a significant loss in value over one month’s time.  

This fall is heavily due to the instability of the economy that rests on the shoulders of the October 31 Brexit decision. The …

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Ireland affordability from a US student standpoint: Groceries

There are many noticeable aspects that differ significantly between the United States and Ireland. For me, one of the largest changes is that the value of every euro I have us significantly more than that of my US dollar.

When coming to Ireland, I used my local bank to exchange dollars for euros with the euro being 1.2 times more valuable than my crisp dollar bill. Although I was aware of this rate, it has continuously thrown me off as I go in and out of sandwich shops, Tesco’s and the occasional Spar.

When I walk into any of these places, I think only in terms of my euros in hand. I am amazed by the €4 sandwiches, the €1.5 salads, and in general much less expensive grocery prices. When getting my first installment of groceries, I was amazed by the €36 price. This is because I usually spend around $50 at the grocery store in the US in order to stock up with those same ingredients.

Although that seemed cheap, the extra $5 in conversion made the payment just …

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The Euro is a credible currency

Quantitative Easing (which used to be called deficit monetization) is justified – in this clip – by ECB president Jean Claude Trichet. Monetary policy works…. eventually, and when it does it tends to result in high levels of inflation.

Some people said the Euro wouldn’t last a decade, for our part, we hope that they are proven to be wrong, the will of society is a very powerful incentive and can be the difference between what should happen in theory and what actually occurs, for that reason I think the Euro will pull through but there will need to be some serious changes made in the way that the Eurozone manages itself.

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We need to clear our bonds, ensure there are retail offerings.

Ireland has been downgraded by Standard and Poors, we are on a ratings watch with Fitch and Moody’s as well. The last bond issued by the NTMA was not subscribed as widely by the international financial community as they were previously and the Irish stepped up and bought up 55% of the bond, we saved the day ourselves. Now we are at a crossroads, we need to raise money, it will be more expensive given our national outlook and at the same time investors are shying away from our sovereign debt, equally we can’t cut back spending enough to bridge the gap and impressing the international investor market with taxation will hurt our national economy.

There is enough money in this country to clear all of the bonds required, and it is held in ready cash format. …

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Whats the fuss about the U.S. Dollar?

The federal reserve is expected to cut rates next week in an effort to alleviate a credit market in crisis. In the meantime there are other developments which may be coming to the rescue, last week Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought a $7.5 billion stake in Citigroup helping Americas largest bank, who incidentally have massive exposure to those nasty sub-prime loans that are at the root of the present credit crunch. Perhaps Abu Dhabi Investment Authority see an opportunity to pick up assets at a bargain from amongst the wreakage? The other surprise is that China Investment Corporation have expressed a desire to invest in stocks ‘rocked by sub-prime defaults’. The chairman of China Investment Corporation said that the $200 billion fund he directs will be a ‘stabilizing force in the international capital markets’. Perhaps they are seeking credibility in the business world.

Why would it be any other way? If the U.S.A. goes down it will seriously hurt China. Why? For a start the fact that for the near future most of the worlds commodities are in $USD it …

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