That sinking Dollar feeling again! M9 prices?

Ha, ha, ha!

In the mean time; the dollar sets new bottom records towards Norwegian Kroners today. With a $-price of NOK 5,75 it is lower than ever.
 
I have 4 slabs of ribs on the BBQ right now and could not care less about the dollar.

In another hour or two, I will be writing congress to quit printing money and spending more than they take in with taxes. It won`t do a damn bit of good, but I`ll feel better.

It is simple basic economics. Inflation will occure within the US if and when employment starts to go up. In the mean time the dollar falls against more sensible countries.

Giving away mortages to people who can`t afford them fueled the whole thing plus some stupid "financial instruments" like credit default swaps and derivitives and overindulgance in comodity futures. The rich make money. We suffer.

Current administration is not going to change a thing except make matters worse.
 
Ronald M said:
I have 4 slabs of ribs on the BBQ right now and could not care less about the dollar.

In another hour or two, I will be writing congress to quit printing money and spending more than they take in with taxes. It won`t do a damn bit of good, but I`ll feel better.

It is simple basic economics. Inflation will occure within the US if and when employment starts to go up. In the mean time the dollar falls against more sensible countries.

Giving away mortages to people who can`t afford them fueled the whole thing plus some stupid "financial instruments" like credit default swaps and derivitives and overindulgance in comodity futures. The rich make money. We suffer.

Current administration is not going to change a thing except make matters worse.
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I think that writing your congressman is a sensible thing to do. But. Inflation is caused by printing up more too much dollars. Not only you in USA is suffering because of this. World business has contracted and many have lost their jobs over here. Also European banks, along with European pension funds and insurance companies, have lost money on the financial melt down. We are in this together.
 
You can say that for sure. My employer is reorganising the whole company and reducing staff. All due to the melt down of business. If business do not improve I might be without a job soon. Not only that. We employers have accepted a 20% salary reduction for three months of this year. That hits me hard. Norway is not very cheap, to put it mildly. Only a bus ticket costs as much several shares in CitiGroup 😀 I am spending a lot of time thinking about what to do next in life: Find another job or get more education.

As Little Big Man said:"That was the end of my gunfighter period..."
 
Roger Hicks said:
In general, in the short term, absolutely.

Buying the right product at the right time, second hand, they can be very good in the longer term. Thambar, Noctilux, tri-lens turret, VIFUR, VISUR, VORSA/VOTRA, and plenty more.

Cheers,

R.
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Should have bought those finders when they were $12, and the half frame Leicas?

Is the pound even with the euro or just close? ;-)
 
The US dollar is now 'record low' towards NOK. Further; sources that usually are 'friendly' towards dollar investments are now 'talking the dollar down', over here. Rumours say that many nations plan to price oil in Euro in the near future. Particulalry China is very dissatisfied with how the US government and 'the Fed' is handling the financial crisis, they say. Rumors tell of 'secret negotiations' ongoing trying to establish a new 'fall back reserve currency'. Other argue that such a currency already exists: The Euro. One 'analyst' (whatever that is, - the sort of folks that brought us into this mess?) claim that the US dollar might fall to NOK 3,00 compared to the NOK 5,70 today, - or NOK 9,95 as late as 2003. This would mean inflation of 'Argentinian levels' in domestic USA...
 
I have heard that more than 50% of US currency is out of the country, so we will have a lot of company if things get too out of hand.

All you can do is hope the folks in Washington will hit something right, and not take too much off the top for themselves.

Would love to see someone run for office on a platform that he and his cronies are going to steal 20% less than the guys on the other side?
 
That is indeed true. it is so called 'European dollar market', and certainly other 'dollar markets' around the world. These volumes are used in business deals in which dollar is used. The most prominent dollar market I know of is shipping. Almost all ships for international 'high seas' trade are paid for in Dollars.

Don't forget all the US multi nationals ranging from Coca Cola, Caterpillar to Harley Davidson that sends money home in dollars.
 
The Reserve Bank of Australia has increased their interest rate from 3,0% to 3,25%. A bold move. Inflation in Australia stands at 1,5%. What a pa... - If it hadn't been for all them salt water crocodiles and sharks....
 
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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is being interviewed on Bloomberg right now. Very interesting. Impressive lady.
 
If I buy yet another M, the M9, I am hoping the pricing here will not be entirely determined by exchange rates, but rather by the expectation of what we will actually pay, that is, I hope Leica feels they are sufficiently rewarded at the Dollar price point. After all, the taxes on them are lower here as well, relative to the EU.

I do think the pricing is artificial, and I also think that even a small amount more would severely limit further what is a niche market.

Leica bumped up the price of the M8 just after I bought one, and I would be interested in seeing the sales figures of, not demos, old stock, but new stock after that bump.

It does not get beyond what I can actually shell out, but does it enter in to the realm of what I will shell out.

I still need a new freezer dedicated for film, and it would not be impossible for me to shoot film and feed it in to the Nikon Coolscan. The wind could shift and blow me back to more film than digital, as it might do others? I prefer, at this point, to develop more skills with digital.

If I decide the M9 is precisely what I want, I will buy one.

When is another question, and if the price starts jumping up due to exchange rates, it will not quicken me.

Regards, John
 
JohnTF said:
If I buy yet another M, the M9, I am hoping the pricing here will not be entirely determined by exchange rates, but rather by the expectation of what we will actually pay, that is, I hope Leica feels they are sufficiently rewarded at the Dollar price point. After all, the taxes on them are lower here as well, relative to the EU.

I do think the pricing is artificial, and I also think that even a small amount more would severely limit further what is a niche market.

Leica bumped up the price of the M8 just after I bought one, and I would be interested in seeing the sales figures of, not demos, old stock, but new stock after that bump.

It does not get beyond what I can actually shell out, but does it enter in to the realm of what I will shell out.

I still need a new freezer dedicated for film, and it would not be impossible for me to shoot film and feed it in to the Nikon Coolscan. The wind could shift and blow me back to more film than digital, as it might do others? I prefer, at this point, to develop more skills with digital.

If I decide the M9 is precisely what I want, I will buy one.

When is another question, and if the price starts jumping up due to exchange rates, it will not quicken me.

Regards, John
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I think you are doing the right thing. The Leica M9 could only be more expensive with the decrease of the dollar value. Further; you must expect that introduction of VAT (Value Added Tax) could be one way of paying down on Federal and State debt in USA. Nancy Peloci hinted that on this Bloomberg interview yesteday. Conclusion: Shop now!
 
sigh. no one really knows what the future holds for the world economically. a sinking dollar affects everyone. you cannot wish for one country to be struggling because it is a global economy now. the former emperor of the US has definitely messed up. eg. 2 wars. but it is just not him, it is everyone - from bankers, to the fed, politicians, to the home owners who defaulted, to the traders and etc... we can all learn from this, but history will repeat itself.

my advice is to ignore the news. the world is full of bad news.

the m9 is not affordable to the masses despite the performance of the dollar. it will always be expensive because leica is a niche company and there a many purist who will follow and drink the cool-aid.
 
Maybe the solution is to borrow to the hilt, spend the money while it has value, and pay it back with the inflated dollars?

I had an itch to invest in Czech Crowns when they were about 40 to the dollar, and I have a small account there, -- definitely could have doubled my money.

I have heard that if you want to see what God thinks of money, look at who he gives it to.
 
JohnTF said:
Maybe the solution is to borrow to the hilt, spend the money while it has value, and pay it back with the inflated dollars?

I had an itch to invest in Czech Crowns when they were about 40 to the dollar, and I have a small account there, -- definitely could have doubled my money.

I have heard that if you want to see what God thinks of money, look at who he gives it to.
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It is dangerous for ordinary people to do long term currency speculation. Still, it is smart to do the obvious smart choice on a short time scale.
 
Spoks said:
It is dangerous for ordinary people to do long term currency speculation. Still, it is smart to do the obvious smart choice on a short time scale.
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You can never really win, it is a miracle if you break even. ;-)

Aren't we all doing currency speculation? ;-)

For good deals, look for the yard sale in front of my house after my demise, am sure there will be some $5 Liekas. ;-)
 
JohnTF said:
Aren't we all doing currency speculation? ;-)
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This is absolutely true. it is those trading in currencies for goods & services, from tourists to exporters & importers that speculate all the time. - Even if they try to cover their position through forward trades etc. It is very little known that banks can make huge risk free investments in, say, CIA (covered interest arbitrage). Without taking any risk whatsoever. The outfall of the deal is known at 'day one'. Today computer programs picks up the signals of CIA opportunities (relations between currency rates today and the forward rate, say, three months ahead, compared to interest rates in one country and bond rates in another) and a fairly novice bank clerk can 'click enter' and the deal is done. An absolutely risk free money pump with a known profit and no value created. Only the three largest banks here in Norway (population about half of Ohio) made CIA profits of several billion US$ last year....
 
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