Have you noticed in all the furor over terrorism that the dollar has got stronger again, ruining the exchange rate, but cheepening imports. People seem to want cheep, so interest rates go up and mortgages get more expensive. But imports get cheeper at Christmas time. This doesn't help US business, other than retailers, maybe. Who wins Wall Street Financiers. There we go again! While the people continue to struggle, the 1%ers seem to be winning yet again, by persuading The Fed Reserve to forecast increased interest rates to line the pockets of currency traders to begin with.
Don't do any Christmas shopping until after the fed makes their interest rate decision. If they are scared by the Christmas sales reports, they won't raise rates.
Actually, the dollar's value is a free-market valuation. But the current rise in the dollar's value likely has more to do with other currencies being less desirable than the dollar. The dollar has often been a safe-haven in the past, but that isn't my own perception. Steve
