On Friday, Gold hit a 27 year high as investors around the world ran to safety from the plummeting US dollar. Hitting $752.80 an ounce, Gold is at levels we haven’t seen since January of 1980.

Additionally, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.8 per cent to a record low of 77.66 on Friday. The index has fallen 5 per cent since mid-August. (Source: FT.com). All you have to do is look at this index to see that we’re on a free-fall.

I’ve begun to hear people from around the country asking about putting their money in foreign currencies, something I’ve never personally experienced. It seems as though those people who are aware of what is happening to the Dollar are really getting quite nervous.

To make matters worse, The dollar fell to a record low against the euro for the seventh consecutive session while the Canadian dollar hit a 31-year high as inflation data raised expectations that the Federal Reserve Bank would again lower interest rates. Longer term, the U.S. has been running large trade and budget deficits for years — factors that tend to undermine a country’s currency in the long term, unless they are offset by foreigners willingness to invest their money in the United States. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Unfortunately, it seems as though there is a new global unwillingness to invest in the US, thanks to the growing fear of recession, and countries pegged to the dollar are wondering how to stop the bleeding in their own countries.

As the Dollar falls, people globally are looking for an alternative, and I think the Euro will reap the benefits of renewed confidence. The Euro will only grow in strength and stature as the Dollar falls.

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Tags: Canada, currencies, currency, dollar, Euro, gold, platinum

I truly enjoyed watching the President lie through his teeth again in this morning’s press conference about how good the economy was doing. I’m not sure what economy he’s looking at, but it is certainly not ours. It seems like things just continue to decline here in the good ‘ole USA . . .

The Canadian Dollar Traded Higher than The US Dollar For the First Time Since 1976!

The Canadian dollar rose as high as $1.0008, before retreating to 99.87 U.S. cents at 4:16 p.m. in New York. It has soared 62 percent from a record low of 61.76 U.S. cents in 2002. The U.S. dollar fell as low as 99.93 Canadian cents today. The Canadian currency last closed above $1 on Nov. 25, 1976, when Pierre Trudeau was Canada’s prime minister. (Source: Bloomberg)

If the US government wanted American goods to be cheaper to the rest of the world, they have certainly done a good job of it. With most of the major world currencies climbing against the floundering Dollar, it is starting to look like we’re in for some serious trouble. Sadly, since we have no manufacturing base here (it’s all in China now), the decline in the Dollar is not really going to help anyone here (except for the tourist business). Keep your eyes open, because I expect to see the flood of foreign visitors to the US to continue (which isn’t a bad thing).

I guess I’ll need to bring a few more bucks with me if I decide to leave this place.

Tags: Canada, canadian dollar, dollar, Economy, George Bush, US Dollar, US economy

• In Houston, Texas the Harris County Housing Authority has teamed up with private development companies to build 5 senior-living complexes, reports the Houston Business Journal. “‘The real story here is that the public/private model works — helping the community balance the need for both market-rate housing and affordable housing,’ says Guy Rankin, CEO and executive director of the Harris County Housing Authority.”
• Andy Beal at WebProNews talks about how real estate agents are shifting their marketing efforts towards blogging; print newspaper ad spending has declined accordingly.
• RealBlogging goes over the Top 10 Most Expensive States for Closing Costs as issued by BankRate.com. New York topped the list with costs of $3,887.
• Calgary, Alberta, Canada is in the midst of a explosive housing growth due to its own oil boom. I’ve been hearing about the market in Calgary for months now, but this RealEstateJournal article captures the picture as well as I’ve seen it described before.

Tags: alberta, bankrate, calgary, Canada, county, harris, housing, realestate, realestatejournal, webpronews