So...what do you think of all these rate cuts?

[Ellen]

Date: 1/24/2008 12:30:19 PM
Author: Skippy123
Well I guess they are thinking up all kinds of things to stimulate the economy but where are they (or better yet, we) getting the money to do this?!?!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080124/ap_on_go_co/economy_stimulus

Don''t they just print more?

And I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but seriously, in todays world, what is 1200.00 really gonna do for me?

*browsing vendors*

 

[luckystar112]

I know nothing about economics...even after taking a couple economics courses. Sad really.
But I *think* that they are borrowing the money from China? Seriously...don''t quote me on that. I''m not sure.

 

[Beacon]

Date: 1/24/2008 12:11:33 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 1/22/2008 10:06:02 AM
Author: Skippy123
Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rate Three-Quarters of a Point Today to Try to Head Off Recession
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080122/fed_interest_rates.html

home loan interest rates went up .5 points for med qualified buyers and more for less qualified buyers pretty much accross the board today.
Well qualified buyers are expected to increase by friday.
So the banks are keeping the extra money as I predicted.

Correct that home loan rates are rising, incorrect that the banks are keeping it. I had a talk w/ Countrywide and they have definitely raised rates over the past 24 hours. Reason is b/c the bond market, which is out of the control of the Fed, is going the wrong (i.e. higher yields) way on inflation concerns. Mortgages are generally priced off the 10 to 30 year Treasury bond so 30 year fixed mortgages are rising right now. This is not good for banks and does not add to their profits.

Some people will be helped immediately by the short term rate drop. Those will be people who have a home equity loan as those are usually priced on prime plus a spread. Also getting a benefit will be anyone with a one year Treasury ARM mortgage as they will see their payments drop.

Did we all notice how gold soared today? Definite inflation fears as the US pumps out more ailing dollars.

 

[chiefneil]

Date: 1/24/2008 12:53:25 PM
Author: luckystar112
I know nothing about economics...even after taking a couple economics courses. Sad really.

But I *think* that they are borrowing the money from China? Seriously...don''t quote me on that. I''m not sure.

The national debt is around 9 trillion, I believe. Somebody can correct me if I''m wrong, but I think China holds about 1 trillion of that.

Think of it like this - you earn $10, and use it buy a "made in China" toy at Target. Figure $4 of that goes to China. That money is gone from the US economy, but China is kind enough to lend it back to us by buying T-bills. So then you earn another $10, but now some portion of that, maybe $.10, goes directly to China to pay interest on the $4 of the money you gave them, which they loaned back to you. Now your take-home pay is $9.90 instead of $10.

That''s why you have some politicians commenting that a "tax rebate" will help China''s economy more than than the US economy. Now that''s very simplistic, and in fact I believe Japan is the biggest holder of US debt, and China is #2. But I do believe it''s our own money that we''ve given them (in the form of trade imbalance) which they then kindly loan back to us.

So now to answer your question. We don''t have $150 billion to spare, so we''re going to borrow it from somebody by selling T-bills. Some of those T-bills will be bought by foreign governments, including Japan and China.

 

[chiefneil]

Date: 1/24/2008 12:53:25 PM
Author: luckystar112
I know nothing about economics...even after taking a couple economics courses. Sad really.

But I *think* that they are borrowing the money from China? Seriously...don''t quote me on that. I''m not sure.

The national debt is around 9 trillion, I believe. Somebody can correct me if I''m wrong, but I think China holds about 1 trillion of that.

Think of it like this - you earn $10, and use it buy a "made in China" toy at Target. Figure $4 of that goes to China. That money is gone from the US economy, but China is kind enough to lend it back to us by buying T-bills. So then you earn another $10, but now some portion of that, maybe $.10, goes directly to China to pay interest on the $4 of the money you gave them, which they loaned back to you. Now your take-home pay is $9.90 instead of $10.

That''s why you have some politicians commenting that a "tax rebate" will help China''s economy more than than the US economy. Now that''s very simplistic, and in fact I believe Japan is the biggest holder of US debt, and China is #2. But I do believe it''s our own money that we''ve given them (in the form of trade imbalance) which they then kindly loan back to us.

So now to answer your question. We don''t have $150 billion to spare, so we''re going to borrow it from somebody by selling T-bills. Some of those T-bills will be bought by foreign governments, including Japan and China.

 

[DMBFiredancer]

Date: 1/10/2008 6:38:43 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 1/10/2008 6:28:50 PM

We are looking at winter 2008 into spring 2009. We''ll hold off even more we can''t reasonably afford something. I''m OK being a renter and may just find a house to rent. California prices are just ridiculous...or one of my fave PS words: redonkulous.

we have been looking, too - my FI seems to think that the next 8 months or so are going to be"THE time to buy" but i am like a scared little mouse about all this. we''re been casually looking at condos and even those are 4-500,000 smakeroos! for that price, i expect a nice big house with a fenced in yard, but i guess to enjoy the socal weather you have to pay to socal price.

 

[firebirdgold]

Well, I don''t know how this will effect home prices, but I''m expecting a 1.5 - 2 year recession. This ain''t no blip, we''ve all screwed up financially and it''s time to pay the piper, so to speak.

 

[Skippy123]

Did anyone catch the "60 Minute show, The House of Cards clip" http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml on the housing Market in Stockton, CA? I know this isn't about rate cuts but sort of goes w/the topic, re: subprime rates causing the housing bubble to pop creating this snowball effect of what is now going on w/the economy.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 1/29/2008 11:10:15 AM
Author: Skippy123
Did anyone catch the '60 Minute show, The House of Cards clip' http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml on the housing Market in Stockton, CA? I know this isn't about rate cuts but sort of goes w/the topic, re: subprime rates causing the housing bubble to pop creating this snowball effect of what is now going on w/the economy.

scary thing is the stock market is in the same boat.
They are priced and bought with the idea they are always going too go up.
When they don't they crash and they will crash because the value isn't there.
Playing the long term someone can come out ok but the day traders and traders are going to panic and bring it down.
Then its a good time for smart investors to buy good stocks for the long haul.
Its the little guy who is going to get badly hurt exactly like the mess in the home market.
The rich will get richer while the middle see their 401k's collapse.

 

[lumpkin]

Date: 1/29/2008 11:10:15 AM
Author: Skippy123
Did anyone catch the ''60 Minute show, The House of Cards clip'' http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml on the housing Market in Stockton, CA? I know this isn''t about rate cuts but sort of goes w/the topic, re: subprime rates causing the housing bubble to pop creating this snowball effect of what is now going on w/the economy.

Yes, I did. It''s frightening that this was allowed to go on. My husband and I sometimes watch the HGTV shows like House Hunters and the prices on the homes in certain parts of the country are so outrageous - half a million dollars for a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bathroom ranch, for example. I''m sure it''s the price of the land and not the cost to build the house, but we did often ponder who exactly could afford to buy such expensive homes, because they rarely show people just buying a basic starter home. How could there be that many middle class people buying homes upwards of half a million dollars? How do they get loans on that (we would NEVER qualify with our bank). Now I guess we have the answer.

 

[Beacon]

Hey Skippy, I live out here in the SF Bay area and see this stuff up close. Stockton is bad and so is Sacramento and it''s surrounding communities. I drive out there and check it out. Disaster. Bad as it seems (and it is startlingly bad) it has happened before.

The progression is always an interesting mixture of hope followed by greed. Virtually the exact same thing happened in 1990-1992 and it destroyed the thrift industry at the time, caused a recession, a 20% drop in the stock market and huge declines in home values.

The Fed acted very similarly then as today. Between 1990 and 1992 the Fed dropped the rates 500 basis points. They are attempting the same thing now, having recently dropped rates and probably again tomorrow.

They don''t have as much room as they did in the 90s as in 1990 the 1 yr Tbill was at 7.40, so right now Fed does not have as much ''ammo'' to shoot at the problem.

However, we will get through this. There was a lot of over building, there is a lot of housing overhead supply and a lot of losses have been taken, mostly by financial institutions. Tons of volatility in the markets. There may be more to come but the government now has it''s sights on this matter and it will resolve.

 

[crown1]

Date: 1/29/2008 11:10:15 AM
Author: Skippy123
Did anyone catch the ''60 Minute show, The House of Cards clip'' http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml on the housing Market in Stockton, CA? I know this isn''t about rate cuts but sort of goes w/the topic, re: subprime rates causing the housing bubble to pop creating this snowball effect of what is now going on w/the economy.

hi! thanks for the link. i missed that program. what a mess. people seem to enjoy living in a "false economy". it has become a major problem for our society.

i am less sorry for the people who took the "free house" and the bankers and other financial wizards who caused this scheme than the honest hard working people who have spent their lives living within their means. many of these people will pay for others greed and mistakes since they have money invested that they are going to have to kiss goodbye when their portfolios shrink due to this mess caused by "false economy".


i am old enough that i know what it is like to only buy what you can pay for and not expect a safety net to catch you for everything you do. at the risk of sounding silly to most of you here i will say i think we are becoming, probably already have become, a nation of greedy and soft people who are our own worst enemies.

 

[Skippy123]

Crown, Lumpkin; I agree, it is a mess!! Beacon, thanks for the info; I hope things get better.



They cut the rates again. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080130/fed_interest_rates.html from the article "That decrease had been the biggest one-day move in more than two decades."

Curious who the the rate cuts help and hurt??? http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/Advice/WhomTheRateCutsHelpAndHurt.aspx

 

[TravelingGal]

They don't have much more room...they can only cut to zero....

ETA, I just told my husband, and he said we might as well take our money out of our "higher interest" accounts and stuff it under our mattress.

 

[crown1]

Date: 1/30/2008 3:06:37 PM
Author: Skippy123
Crown, Lumpkin; I agree, it is a mess!! Beacon, thanks for the info; I hope things get better.




They cut the rates again. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080130/fed_interest_rates.html from the article ''That decrease had been the biggest one-day move in more than two decades.''


Curious who the the rate cuts help and hurt??? http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/Advice/WhomTheRateCutsHelpAndHurt.aspx

thanks for the link. to be truthful i did not have the heart to do more than skim. i am disappointed that those who have tried to save and not incur outrageous debt seem to be the losers in this. but maybe i did not read enough and i am wrong. i can only hope. i am with tguy maybe i''ll have to use the old mattress. j/k i think.

 

[TravelingGal]

Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won''t be getting much in our savings accounts!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680394/

 

[shel]

Date: 3/18/2008 2:21:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won''t be getting much in our savings accounts!

But it had quite a positive effect on the stock market.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 3/18/2008 2:21:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won''t be getting much in our savings accounts!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680394/

ouch! we''ve been moving our $$ around, trying to stick into higher yield savings accounts. ING used to be competitive- not so much anymore...

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/18/2008 4:48:25 PM
Author: ChargerGrrl

Date: 3/18/2008 2:21:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won''t be getting much in our savings accounts!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680394/

ouch! we''ve been moving our $$ around, trying to stick into higher yield savings accounts. ING used to be competitive- not so much anymore...

Same with us Charger...ING ain''t cutting it much right now, but probably others are not much better.

As for the stock market...they went up each time the fed cuts rates (with the exception of the one last year I think where there was hope for a deeper cut than a quarter percent). And then it starts tanking again and the fed cuts more.

And the stimulus package? What a joke. $600 bucks isn''t going to help the average American all that much. If he can go out and spend it on consumer goods, he doesn''t need all that much help. Spending it on groceries and such isn''t going to help the economy the way they want it to, but I am not an economist, so who knows. Paulson said it''s going to create 500-600K new jobs. Interesting...

I got a big raise and a big bonus today. Half my bonus is going into a college fund for TTot and the other half into our own savings. So I won''t be all that good at stimulating our economy myself.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/18/2008 2:21:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won't be getting much in our savings accounts!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680394/

and mortgage rates went up as of 5 pm tonight .25% too .75% pretty much across the board.
Like I said the banks and the mega-rich are keeping the windfall and the losers are us.

 

[choro72]

I have mine in Emigrant, and it''s been steadily dropping. I''d better find a solution soon...

That $600 isn''t going to help one bit. Clothes, shoes, supplies...All money spent on such goods will just go to China or India. Maybe McDonald''s? $600 worth of hamburgers anyone?

 

[meresal]

Date: 3/18/2008 7:03:33 PM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 3/18/2008 2:21:42 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Geez, 3/4 of a point today! For those of us trying to save, we won''t be getting much in our savings accounts!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23680394/

and mortgage rates went up as of 5 pm tonight .25% too .75% pretty much across the board.
Like I said the banks and the mega-rich are keeping the windfall and the losers are us.

strmrdr- I don''t think I agree here that the banks are "keeping" all this extra money. I for one, work for the top Trustee/Paying Agent in the US, and I know that our company is not hording money. We actually just had a stream of layoffs in our CDO dept last week. That portion of our company focuses primarily on Mortgage Backed Securities, and just last quarter we lost $118 million dollars due to lost accounts. Half of the department downstairs is, I''m sorry... "was"... sitting on their thumbs until the bank did layoffs. Banks only stood to make money if the rates were raised to a higher amount that people could still Afford... well once the payments became so outrageous and all these forclosures ensued, the banks lose money too. Now they own houses that are almost completely unremarketable.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/19/2008 5:22:34 PM
Author: meresal

strmrdr- I don''t think I agree here that the banks are ''keeping'' all this extra money. I for one, work for the top Trustee/Paying Agent in the US, and I know that our company is not hording money. We actually just had a stream of layoffs in our CDO dept last week. That portion of our company focuses primarily on Mortgage Backed Securities, and just last quarter we lost $118 million dollars due to lost accounts. Half of the department downstairs is, I''m sorry... ''was''... sitting on their thumbs until the bank did layoffs. Banks only stood to make money if the rates were raised to a higher amount that people could still Afford... well once the payments became so outrageous and all these forclosures ensued, the banks lose money too. Now they own houses that are almost completely unremarketable.

The feds dropped the rate in theory so the politicians say so that interest rates would drop too help lower payments, that did not happen, someone is holding on too the extra spread.
Frankly sellers of Mortgage Backed Securities and the idiots who bought them is what caused this whole mess in the first place.
The banks were much more careful when it was their own money than when it is someone else''s they threw it away.
Now that they have too use their own money again they are hording the interest rate decrease and not passing the savings on.
Therefore the attempted fix is not going too work and you and I suffer.
Frankly throwing several hundred people in jail is what is really needed.

 

[diamondsrock]

I keep hearing about rate cuts and then I check the mortgage rates at my bank but the 20 year has actually gone up not down. I was thinking of refinancing but not now. It was lower about a month and a half ago than it is today. Doesn't make sense if they want to stimualte the economy with all these rate cuts, the banks you would think would lower the mortgage interest rate, not raise it.

 

[TravelingGal]

There was a Q&A on this and it said that with regards to credit cards, banks are slower to lower rates on your CC when there are cuts and are much quicker to raise them...so yeah, I think there''s a bit of "keeping" going on...

 

[chiefneil]

Date: 3/20/2008 11:18:23 AM
Author: diamondsrock
I keep hearing about rate cuts and then I check the mortgage rates at my bank but the 20 year has actually gone up not down. I was thinking of refinancing but not now. It was lower about a month and a half ago than it is today. Doesn''t make sense if they want to stimualte the economy with all these rate cuts, the banks you would think would lower the mortgage interest rate, not raise it.

Fixed-rate mortgages are tied to inflation more than the various rates the Fed cuts. As inflation - and inflation fear - increases, mortgage rates will increase. The Fed can cut until it''s blue in the face and it won''t affect long-term mortgages directly. If you have an ARM, then that''s more likely to be affected if it''s tied to the Prime rate, which the Fed does cut sometimes (but not in the last couple of rounds).

The Fed cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by making it cheaper for banks and businesses to borrow (not the consumer). As the economy picks up, hopefully you don''t get laid-off and can keep making your mortgage payments (or so the theory goes).

Unfortunately the Fed cuts carry the risk of increasing inflation, which in turn can cause fixed-rate mortgages to rise.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 3/20/2008 12:18:42 PM
Author: chiefneil

Date: 3/20/2008 11:18:23 AM
Author: diamondsrock
I keep hearing about rate cuts and then I check the mortgage rates at my bank but the 20 year has actually gone up not down. I was thinking of refinancing but not now. It was lower about a month and a half ago than it is today. Doesn''t make sense if they want to stimualte the economy with all these rate cuts, the banks you would think would lower the mortgage interest rate, not raise it.

Fixed-rate mortgages are tied to inflation more than the various rates the Fed cuts. As inflation - and inflation fear - increases, mortgage rates will increase. The Fed can cut until it''s blue in the face and it won''t affect long-term mortgages directly. If you have an ARM, then that''s more likely to be affected if it''s tied to the Prime rate, which the Fed does cut sometimes (but not in the last couple of rounds).

The Fed cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by making it cheaper for banks and businesses to borrow (not the consumer). As the economy picks up, hopefully you don''t get laid-off and can keep making your mortgage payments (or so the theory goes).

Unfortunately the Fed cuts carry the risk of increasing inflation, which in turn can cause fixed-rate mortgages to rise.

I am so bad at economics, but doesn''t these rate cuts cause our dollar to fall more? Causing imports and what not to become more expensive? I keep reading that everything is getting so pricey...msnbc''s front page story is the cost of gas today. Food is more. Utilities, etc. So people have to pay more for the same stuff and are thinking they''d better save that whopping $600 bucks they are going to get from the govt...which won''t stimulate anything, will it....

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 3/20/2008 12:28:54 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/20/2008 12:18:42 PM
Author: chiefneil

Date: 3/20/2008 11:18:23 AM
Author: diamondsrock
I keep hearing about rate cuts and then I check the mortgage rates at my bank but the 20 year has actually gone up not down. I was thinking of refinancing but not now. It was lower about a month and a half ago than it is today. Doesn''t make sense if they want to stimualte the economy with all these rate cuts, the banks you would think would lower the mortgage interest rate, not raise it.

Fixed-rate mortgages are tied to inflation more than the various rates the Fed cuts. As inflation - and inflation fear - increases, mortgage rates will increase. The Fed can cut until it''s blue in the face and it won''t affect long-term mortgages directly. If you have an ARM, then that''s more likely to be affected if it''s tied to the Prime rate, which the Fed does cut sometimes (but not in the last couple of rounds).

The Fed cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by making it cheaper for banks and businesses to borrow (not the consumer). As the economy picks up, hopefully you don''t get laid-off and can keep making your mortgage payments (or so the theory goes).

Unfortunately the Fed cuts carry the risk of increasing inflation, which in turn can cause fixed-rate mortgages to rise.

I am so bad at economics, but doesn''t these rate cuts cause our dollar to fall more? Causing imports and what not to become more expensive? I keep reading that everything is getting so pricey...msnbc''s front page story is the cost of gas today. Food is more. Utilities, etc. So people have to pay more for the same stuff and are thinking they''d better save that whopping $600 bucks they are going to get from the govt...which won''t stimulate anything, will it....

This is so true! The cost of living is getting too high - for just the basics - food, utilities, gas, etc. and the wages are not keeping up. People who were once living within their means are starting to struggle because gas is ~$3.50+ per gallon in many places and the cost of food keeps going up too. DH and I used to be able to get groceries for around $100 per week and now that''s up to about $140 per week for just basic stuff.

I live in NW Ohio and the foreclosures are really bad here. I think it really goes both ways re: banks and consumers. The banks should not be lending money to those who cannot afford to repay or who cannot prove their income via W-2''s, tax documents and paystubs. I do think the banks unfairly took advantage of some consumers who may not have known what they were getting into when they signed their adjustable rate note. On the other hand, consumers should read everything before they sign it and make sure they COMPLETELY understand the terms of their loan. If you only make $50K per year then you cannot afford a $200K home. Seems simple enough to me.

I''ve mentioned before that I work for a bankruptcy attorney and we''ve seen an influx of filings based on adjustable rate mortgages alone. People who could once afford the payment are being laid off or losing their jobs completely and when the rates adjust they have no choice but to let the house go back via a foreclosure and file bk on the deficiency balance since they have no means of paying it since they''re laid off or lost their job. It''s a vicious cycle. The sheriff''s department is even having trouble auctioning these houses at a Sheriff''s Sale (foreclosure sale) because there''s a lack of qualified buyers for the homes so they just sit and sit and sit and are often vandalized. Ugh. It is really ugly around here.

I guess the upswing for me is that as long as people are filing for bankruptcy I have a job and that keeps me out of the statistics of those who go broke and have to file bk because of a failing economy. DH and I are also in the market to buy our house but we are waiting until later this year to see how the market is then. Basically the worse it gets the less money we will end up paying which will work out for us.

 

[chiefneil]

Date: 3/20/2008 12:28:54 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 3/20/2008 12:18:42 PM

Author: chiefneil

Date: 3/20/2008 11:18:23 AM

Author: diamondsrock

I keep hearing about rate cuts and then I check the mortgage rates at my bank but the 20 year has actually gone up not down. I was thinking of refinancing but not now. It was lower about a month and a half ago than it is today. Doesn''t make sense if they want to stimualte the economy with all these rate cuts, the banks you would think would lower the mortgage interest rate, not raise it.

Fixed-rate mortgages are tied to inflation more than the various rates the Fed cuts. As inflation - and inflation fear - increases, mortgage rates will increase. The Fed can cut until it''s blue in the face and it won''t affect long-term mortgages directly. If you have an ARM, then that''s more likely to be affected if it''s tied to the Prime rate, which the Fed does cut sometimes (but not in the last couple of rounds).


The Fed cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by making it cheaper for banks and businesses to borrow (not the consumer). As the economy picks up, hopefully you don''t get laid-off and can keep making your mortgage payments (or so the theory goes).


Unfortunately the Fed cuts carry the risk of increasing inflation, which in turn can cause fixed-rate mortgages to rise.

I am so bad at economics, but doesn''t these rate cuts cause our dollar to fall more? Causing imports and what not to become more expensive? I keep reading that everything is getting so pricey...msnbc''s front page story is the cost of gas today. Food is more. Utilities, etc. So people have to pay more for the same stuff and are thinking they''d better save that whopping $600 bucks they are going to get from the govt...which won''t stimulate anything, will it....

Right... it''s a complex issue but what you said is one of the reasons why rate cuts carry the danger of increasing inflation. The Fed is currently in somewhat of a catch-22. Lower rates and stimulate the economy but increase inflation. Don''t lower rates and keep inflation at bay but put the economy at risk.

A good side-effect of a weak dollar is that American exports are cheaper, so our trade deficit might shrink and US manufacturing will prosper. Also, if imports get more expensive then American-made goods will be more price-competitive and people may choose to buy US-made goods instead, also helping the economy. You may also see more foreign companies setting up manufacturing plants here in the US to offset the currency imbalance.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 3/20/2008 3:00:50 PM
Author: chiefneil

A good side-effect of a weak dollar is that American exports are cheaper, so our trade deficit might shrink and US manufacturing will prosper. Also, if imports get more expensive then American-made goods will be more price-competitive and people may choose to buy US-made goods instead, also helping the economy. You may also see more foreign companies setting up manufacturing plants here in the US to offset the currency imbalance.

that wont work because very little is made here anymore.
Frankly I believe it was intentional, kill jobs with a high dollar then kill the dollar and replace it with the euro internationally.