Euro breaks through $1.60 as dollar slumps to record low

The euro roared to another record high Tuesday, crossing $1.60 for the first time ever after a pair of European Central Bank governors said high inflation may cause the bank to raise interest rates. The U.S. dollar also fell against the Japanese yen and the British pound.

The euro rose as high as $1.6018, more than a penny above the $1.5916 it bought late Monday. The 15-nation currency, which was introduced in 1999, has traded as low as 82 cents. It has surged recently, rising 20 cents against the dollar in just five months and 10 cents in just two months.

The euro hit its last record of $1.5982 Thursday. It dropped back Friday after a Wall Street rally generated optimism that the worst of the U.S. credit crunch may be over, but the euro rose again Monday when Bank of America's first-quarter earnings fell short of expectations.

The dollar's slump is a boon for U.S. companies that rely heavily on exports, but it's the bane of travelers as worldwide inflation rises, air fares climb and prices rise in dollar terms for everything from beer in Munich to fine wine in Paris to gondola rides in Venice.


BUT DEAR LEADER SAYS WE'RE NOT IN A RECESSION, SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT A THING!

[url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/22/bush-denies-us-economy-in-recession/]Bush denies U.S. economy in recession
[/url]

Bush denies a great many things.

How rough has it been? Bush has the lowest approval rating of any president at this point in his second term, according to Gallup polls going back to World War II......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Apr11.html

Nearly half of the US public wants President George W. Bush to face impeachment, and even more favor that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a poll out Friday.

The survey by the American Research Group found that 45 percent support the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against Bush, with 46 percent opposed, and a 54-40 split in favor when it comes to Cheney. ....

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id ... _article=1

[url=http://www2.nysun.com/article/75363]Gasoline May Soon Cost a Sawbuck
Big New Shock at the Pump Forecast by Two Analysts
[/url]

Get ready for another economic shock of major proportions — a virtual doubling of prices at the gas pump to as much as $10 a gallon.

That's the message from a couple of analytical energy industry trackers, both of whom, based on the surging oil prices, see considerably more pain at the pump than most drivers realize.

Gasoline nationally is in an accelerated upswing, having jumped to $3.58 a gallon from $3.50 in just the past week. In some parts of the country, including New York City and the West Coast, gas is already sporting a price tag above $4 a gallon. There was a pray-in at a Chevron station in San Francisco on Friday led by a minister asking God for cheaper gas, and an Arco gas station in San Mateo, Calif., has already raised its price to a sky-high $4.62.

And a loaf of bread will cost you a Fin !!!!!!

I am stockpiling food. These are my chief buys:
pinto beans
cannned corn, peas, beans, and tomatoes
sugar
bread flour & bread machine
whole wheat spaghetti
cereals
canned tuna
peanut butter & jelly
mashed potato mix
dried hash browns

I think we should do a thread where members exchange ideas on surviving the economic shocks being delivered courtesy of our elite.

A respected member such as Catherine would be a great thread starter?

For the bread machine, a supply of dry activated yeast or your own sourdough starter.

For storing whole grains, cereals and pastas, a vacuum sealing machine, well worth the investment in keeping the insect kingdom from destroying your stockpile.

water, don't forget water

Here comes that "ROBUST" word again, which is one of Cheney's favorites, so he must be the voice in Bush's earpiece this time!

[url=http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Bush_predicts_economy_going_to_come_0502.html]Bush predicts economy is going to 'come on'
Calls rebate checks 'robust attempt to inject life'[/url]

Bush, buoyed by a batch of economic news that wasn't as bad as expected, predicted Friday that consumers are on their way to better days. "I know it's tough times, and I know you're having to pay more at the fuel pump than you want," Bush said. "But this economy is going to come on. I'm confident it will."

After months of talking of the economy's resilience, Bush was able to pivot his latest pep talk off some encouraging signs — at least relative to the gloomy indicators of late.

Employers cut far fewer jobs in April than they did in March, although it was the fourth straight month of slashed payrolls. The unemployment rate dropped slightly, from 5.1 percent to 5 percent, which was a better-than-expected showing.

Remember Bush making this "come on" promise? Looks like he lied again!

[url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3683270/]Stocks end day way down as cost of oil soars
Crude prices top $130 barrel; Fed issues bleak economic assessment
[/url]

Wall Street pitched lower for the second straight session Wednesday as record-high oil prices and a bleak economic assessment from the Federal Reserve deepened investors’ worry that Americans may face several more months of rising costs and a shaky employment picture. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 227 points, logging its widest two-day loss since late February.

Early in the day, stocks began falling on the surging price of oil, which shot up more than $4 and breached $134 a barrel for the first time on the futures market Wednesday.

The stock market slumped further after minutes from last month’s Fed meeting revealed that while policymakers expected sharply lower economic growth and higher unemployment later this year, inflationary risks are likely to keep the central bank from cutting rates again. Lower interest rates spur economic growth, but they also tend to accelerate inflation.

Robert Hirsch, an energy advisor, says CNBC morning show prediction was a citation of the 'Dean of Oil Analysts.'

By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
5/21/2008 3:38:13 PM



It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”



Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.




“[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”

....................................

http://www.businessandmedia.org/article ... 45247.aspx





Here now that should cheer you up

I was thinking about rationing the other day. I know that during the 70s there was rationing. Can anyone explain that to me? (I'm too young ) And I was thinking that is probably where we are heading to now.

Thanks APL, I appreciate you answering. Hm...so what is a solution to this problem? I have to use my car. For some reason, the south isn't really big on public transportation or sidewalks; so walking or riding the bus aren't options here. And things are spread out in such a manner that it would be difficult to walk anyway.

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record above $135 a barrel as OPEC ministers said they could do nothing to stop the rally that has more than doubled prices over the past year.

Oil has risen 18 percent this month as banks increased price forecasts because of limited supply and demand growth. OPEC has ``no magic solution'' to high prices, Qatar's oil minister said. The IEA, energy adviser to 27 nations, said it plans to reduce its long-term projection for oil supply.

``OPEC is impotent'' said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president of global energy futures at Macquarie Futures USA Inc. in New York. ``The only member with the power to do anything is Saudi Arabia and they are laughing all the way to the bank. They have no incentive to spoil the party as long there is no major demand destruction.'' ............

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

And as aforementioned the crashing U.S. Dollar certainly ads to the problem.

Oh not so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This problem is a world wide supply problem not merely a SUV issue in America. It is very possible it will bring the economy of the world into a major depression. As it hits manufacturing costs even in third world countries.

For instance

Global cost of soaring oil prices

The risk of strikes and social unrest has become a reality in many countries as fuel becomes unaffordable for more people...

The soaring oil price is having a "huge impact" on India's fast-growing economy, Karishma Vaswani, the BBC's India business correspondent says...

In Singapore, annual inflation is set to hit 7% while, in Vietnam, it has already hit 20%.

Even in Indonesia, one of the region's few major oil exporters and an Opec member, prices are set to rise above 10%.

Our reporter says this comes on top of the sharp rise in the cost of staple foods such as rice which is threatening to plunge millions of families into poverty. ......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7415215.stm

Fuel-Price Protests Spread Across Europe
Fishermen, Truckers
Lead Calls for Officials
To Cut Excise Taxes
By EMMA CHARLTON, CHRISTOPHER EMSDEN and ANDREA THOMAS
May 22, 2008

European protests against soaring fuel prices spread across the continent Wednesday, as fishermen, truckers and other groups called for government action as crude-oil prices hit yet another high.

The protests are creating conflicts for European policymakers, who have used every tool available to governments -- taxes, congestion charges, public-transport incentives and even bicycle rentals -- to reduce their countries' reliance on cars and trucks to cut fuel consumption and protect the environment. It's unlikely that a few protests will reverse that unified goal, although temporary rescue plans are expected.

France's politically powerful fishing unions want the government to increase a $480 million rescue plan aimed at offsetting a doubling in the cost of diesel fuel since November. The fishing fleet also has been blockading French ports and oil terminals on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts for more than a week.........

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1211408 ... lenews_wsj

Gas prices too high? Try Europe.
$7 a gallon? That's what drivers in Amsterdam pay. But Europeans have long adapted to high prices.
By Peter Ford | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
PARIS – When Guy Colombier pulls his economy car up to a Paris pump, he allows himself just 15 Euros ($18) worth of gas - barely enough for three gallons. Since prices started rising rapidly earlier this year, says Mr. Colombier, a printing press worker, "I drive a lot more slowly ... and I'm looking for a place to live closer to where I work."...........

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0826/p01s03-woeu.html

$8 FOR A GALLON OF GAS?! IN GERMANY, YES

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/ ... 81155.aspx

Nay sooth sayer the whole world is in the same box of shit. I can't imagine why you would think it wasn't.



1 gallon [US, liquid] = 3.785 411 784 liter you do the math