US ($) Currency Thread 1 (closed - use thread 2)

hammy_the_hammer

take the $TQ's next time you go on holiday to a med. resort and change them into euros

Steve_xx

hammy_the_hammer wrote: »

the reason this question is so stupid is that all the people who have contributed would probably have recommended buying dollars when they went $2 to a pound ....which in hindsight was the wrong advice and must have subsequently cost people money
if you can predict accurately the currency markets you should apply for a job in the city

... so with "hindsight", according to you, the advice that nobody on here actually gave, "was the wrong advice"?

Also, you should note that people who do work in the city as professional currency speculators, often get it wrong.

alchemista

Steve_xx wrote: »

... so with "hindsight", according to you, the advice that nobody on here actually gave, "was the wrong advice"?

Also, you should note that people who do work in the city as professional currency speculators, often get it wrong.

Correct, which is why a non-professional shouldn't even try to speculate unless you just like to gamble. The professionals put their money where their mouth is, and have more detailed information to go on. Thus, while they're often wrong as well, at least their opinion has more seriousness to it than what some anonymous person on a general public deal forum is posting.

If you don't know what you're doing, don't even try to predict. If you really want to try to predict, look at the futures market where it is the market's professional opinion. Don't look to some anonymous general deals forum.

As a traveler you should instead focus on things you can control:

1. If you hold cash, you are losing on potential interest. Thus, keeping money in interest-bearing accounts as long as possible is probably your best option rather than exchanging with the speculation that you may gain/lose in the exchange rate.

2. When you do exchange, get the best rate possible. There are entire articles on here about getting that. This can vary up to a 5% difference (or more if you pick a really bad option), so get it right when the time comes.

3. Use the money wisely, by taking it out with low-fee ATM/debit cards rather than things like travelers cheques that are higher rates. Also, you can then better control as needed (i.e. pull out when you need the money rather than overestimate your needs at the beginning).

hammy_the_hammer

Steve_xx wrote: »

... so with "hindsight", according to you, the advice that nobody on here actually gave, "was the wrong advice"?

Also, you should note that people who do work in the city as professional currency speculators, often get it wrong.

i can only go on what has happened in the past ...on this forum people recommended buying dollars for their 2008 holidays in the US when the rate was $2 to £1..they said things like "it'll only go down"...much like the advice posted in this thread
it's a gamble and i don't think people understand that

alison74

photome wrote: »

IMO this is an impossible question to answer, but for what it is worth I am going to the states in march 08.

I will not be buying much, if any dollars before I go, I will be using my nationwide debit card and my post office credit card while I am there so that I get maximum value.

Yep, wise move. I just paid for something in US dollars and got a NW rate of 2.07

trets77

i agree with alchemista, you never know whats around the corner or what impact it might have on Global currency.

isn,t Tokyo overdue a huge earthquake?? did anyone predict 9/11 ?

Steve_xx

hammy_the_hammer wrote: »

i can only go on what has happened in the past ...on this forum people recommended buying dollars for their 2008 holidays in the US when the rate was $2 to £1..they said things like "it'll only go down"...much like the advice posted in this thread
it's a gamble and i don't think people understand that

You read what's on here, and based on it, you make your decision. You see a financial advisor, and based on what you're told you make a decision. In either of these two cases there are seldom any guarantees. Therefore, there is a 'risk' element involved in taking either view.

Nobody knows absolutely what will happen to currencies since they are affected by numerous factors. It is unlikely that the UK pound will go up too much further against the dollar, but we cannnot be sure. It may well do.

The people who run Northern Rock are professionals, aren't they? Yet they got it badly wrong and they were grossly affected by matters unforseeable a couple of months ago.

Steve_xx

alchemista wrote: »

Correct, which is why a non-professional shouldn't even try to speculate unless you just like to gamble. The professionals put their money where their mouth is, and have more detailed information to go on. Thus, while they're often wrong as well, at least their opinion has more seriousness to it than what some anonymous person on a general public deal forum is posting.

I disagree with you. People are entitled to hold a view and they are entitled to express it here. That's what expression of opinion is about.

alchemista

Steve_xx wrote: »

I disagree with you. People are entitled to hold a view and they are entitled to express it here. That's what expression of opinion is about.

I never said people can't express their views on here.

I said don't take currency speculation advice off this board. People can post all the speculation they want, but my argument still stands - I'm warning people not to listen to it, and more generally I'm warning people not to speculate at all unless you're doing it for gambling purposes.

Steve_xx

alchemista wrote: »

I never said people can't express their views on here.

I said don't take currency speculation advice off this board. People can post all the speculation they want, but my argument still stands - I'm warning people not to listen to it, and more generally I'm warning people not to speculate at all unless you're doing it for gambling purposes.

Whether people on here post their speculative views, or whether professionals post theirs elsewhere does not mean that either party will be correct. It means simply that both are 'speculating'. At the end of the day, either one could be right. There is no harm in people here stating what they think will happen and why they think so.