Wednesday, May 4, 2011

U.S. DOLLAR HITS 3 YEAR LOW

From Reuters

The dollar fell to a fresh three-year low on Wednesday and the euro briefly rose above $1.49 as weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data convinced investors that U.S. interest rates would remain low this year.

The yen also hit a six-week high against the dollar after data showed the pace of growth in the dominant U.S. services sector also slowed unexpectedly in April, another sign the U.S. economy may be hitting a soft patch.
As for the WHY the Dollar continues to slide. 

The decline is no surprise: It's the anticipated result of the Federal Reserve printing lots of dollars (increase the supply, decrease the price) in its effort to resuscitate U.S. economic growth. And, because money flows toward higher yields, it's the inevitable result of the European Central Bank's eagerness to raise interest rates faster than the Fed.
In case you are wondering "Federal Reserve printing lots of dollars (increase the supply, decrease the price) in its effort to resuscitate U.S. economic growth"is what Quantitative Easing is. (Long time readers may remember that I pointed this all out to last month)

I pointed out yesterday that the USD/JPY exchange rate is a key dynamic to the anime industry in both the U.S. and Japan. (Read Robotech Art 3 for a great example of what I'm taking about) If the dollar continues to fall and the Yen strengthens  it makes anime more expensive (the shows themselves or their merchandising) to acquire for both companies and consumers.

Furthermore, as the dollar weakens it forces upward pressure on oil prices which adds to the cost of manufacturing goods. That includes anime merchandise (check out what most anime merchandise is made of/from). Also, the weakening dollar forces gas prices to go up and that robs consumers in general and anime fans in particular of thier purchasing power.

2 comments:

  1. Just because purchasing power of consumers has weakened doesn't change the fact you guys have no new original product (ie a new Robotech tv series/OAV) to sell since releasing Shadow Chronicles. Again, you make it point to say that it's expensive to acquire anime. Is HG still in the business of acquiring anime? Maybe they (ie YOU & YOUR FRIENDS at HG) should be in the business of making a NEW ROBOTECH SERIES.

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  2. Since you're so interested in the exchange rates maybe you should consider working at a newsdesk for CNN in their finance department. I'm sure Tommy can help you out there. That way after Katie Couric steps down as newsanchor she can take over your job and submit real Robotech news. And even if she were to submit fluff pieces like yours, it would probably be far more engaging and would wake us up from the induced coma that you put us through on a daily basis.

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