MetaFilter posts tagged with dollar

Design with Currency

Atreides — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:21:14 -0800

"If the Swiss can do it on a regular basis, why can't we North Americans too." The Dollar ReDe$ign Project believes its time for the United States to switch from the old to something new in the field of American currency. As a result, a contest was developed and submissions accepted. They range from the cultural to the cynical, and a salute to American space achievements to update designs to the present content.

Stimulus package for vending machines

parudox — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:01:28 -0800

To encourage circulation of $1 coins, the U.S. Mint offers $250 boxes of dollar coins at face value with free U.S. shipping (and credit card cashback). [via]

Another Day, Another Dollar

ornate insect — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:01:25 -0800

China proposes replacing the dollar as the world's standard currency. Less than two weeks after Premier Wen Jiabao raised concerns about its massive U.S. debt holdings, China's central banker, Zhou Xiaochuan, has called for a new central currency. Although China's top foreign-exchange official also reassured today that it would continue to buy U.S. treasuries, and although this is not the first time China has used its unique position as holder of US debt for political ends, this new case of China's buyer's remorse comes just before the upcoming G-20 summit--and China has already potentially got Russia on board as well.

Fat Profits

Pater Aletheias — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:01:22 -0800

"After a period of collective indigestion induced by the 2004 documentary Super Size Me and the 2001 book Fast Food Nation and its subsequent film adaptation, much of the industry is returning to its traditional customers—men—and its traditional food—meat—served up in ever-greater quantities. Although CKE's signature behemoths—the Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger and Hardee's Monster Thickburger, both introduced in 2004—out-calorie all comers, Burger King narrowed the gap with its Triple Whopper With Cheese (2005); Wendy's unveiled the Baconator (2007)...and Taco Bell awakened the industry to new possibilities with its 2006 campaign, which urged customers to enjoy a "fourth meal" each day."

Dollar for Dollar?

jabberjaw — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:59:45 -0800

Stemming from a lawsuit that has gone on for several years, a recent Court of Appeals ruled that the U.S. government must make bills with distinguishable tactile features to benefit the blind. While the U.S. government disagrees, the judges say: "The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible." Not all blind people agree with the decision. A link to the court decision.

money can't buy happiness? well, actually it might.

krautland — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:37:17 -0800

money can't buy happiness? well, actually it might (NYT). "owning an iPod doesn’t make you happier, because you then want an iPod Touch. Relative income — how much you make compared with others around you — mattered far more than absolute income." That's what the old Easterlin paradox of "money can't buy happiness" is about. Last week, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, two economists presented a rebuttal of the paradox. They argue that money indeed tends to bring happiness, even if it doesn’t guarantee it. David Leonhardt has a nice writeup in the NYT. This post just has to be dedicated to jessamyn.

Funny Money

specialk420 — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:51:32 -0800

Super funny money turning up on the world stage
Along with pranks going on in the gulf this week, some funny stuff going on with US Currency as well - Perhaps part of the explanation of the seemingly endless run on gold?

Liberty Mint Raid

Sam.Burdick — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:00:28 -0800

Secret Service and FBI raid Liberty Mint, arguments of counterfeiting versus constitutional right to commerce ensue! I caught this on NPR this morning. It seems the US Mint doesn't like alternative currencies circulating within the US. The organization in question wants to abolish the Federal Reserve and the US mint and claims that both are the cause for the excessive inflation. At the risk of sounding shrill and/or sarcastic; these folks amuse me. The basic premise of their mint seems to be one of tax dodging and they love Ron Paul so much that they released currency with his face on it. This has been done before by less.... professional... people. The Liberty Mint seems to feel that the only constitutional and moral solution to our current economic is to print money actually backed by real valuable metals. And they claim that the US Mint making money is unconstitutional despite some evidence to the contrary (scroll down on last link). I'm pretty sure I don't buy their arguments. But at least they weren't actually counterfeiting... or so it seems. Were they violating the constitution or laws of this land? Or are they patriots? hmm...

They see dollar fallin', they hatin'

azazello — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 06:41:51 -0800

Is Jay-Z signaling a recession? There is something quite alarming on the recently released “Blue Magic” music video ... it wasn’t sex, drugs, violence or explicit language that shocked my conscience. It was the Euros. The Jay-Z video flashed large stacks of $500 Euros. When I start seeing rap stars flashing euros instead of U.S. dollars, I know our economy is in trouble.

Your Bottom Dollar

chuckdarwin — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 05:06:24 -0800

The pound has hit its highest level against the dollar in 26 years.

Cui bono?

Pastabagel — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:41:30 -0800

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5%. Wall Street aggressively demanded the cut to stop the sub-prime mortgage contagion from triggering a credit crisis among large US and foreign investment banks and the collapse of their over-leveraged hedge funds, which ultimately threatened to drag the US economy into recession. The market rallied this week in response to the Fed's move. But there is no free lunch. Oil rallied also, to an all-time high of $81/bbl. The rate cut shattered the dollar, sending it to new lows against the Euro and to parity with the Canadian dollar. The falling dollar puts pressure on China, whose dollar-pegged currency has attracted the ire of many US politicians, causing China to threaten the US with the "nuclear option" of diversifying its foreign currency reserves away from the dollar. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia refuses to cut its interest rates in lockstep with the US for the first time ever, signaling that it may break its long standing dollar peg as well. In other words, foreign investors who currently own roughly 50% of the publicly-owned portion of the US national debt may flee the US bond markets. Result? We'll probably slide into recession anyway. But there is a silver lining: it turns out that many of those large investment banks and hedge funds were making far more money than anyone thought all along. Confused? Some background: Currency carry trade - how currencies are related to one another How interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, and trade deficits are interrelated How interest rates and bonds are related Peviously 1 2 3 4

Canadian Money becomes Real Money

SansPoint — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 09:39:01 -0800

Parity - The Canadian Dollar is (almost) at equal value to the American Dollar for the first time since 1976.

I'd buy that for a dollar

mwhybark — Tue, 22 May 2007 18:55:45 -0800

My Million Dollar Ideas "Ever since I thought up of the basic idea of the World Wide Web in 1990 and didn't write it down, I thought I should start documenting these more." Jon Konrath takes notes on certain of his harebrained ideas. Examples to date: the pneumatic-tube-food-delivery theme restaurant 'Tubes,' America's next hit gameshow 'Heads or Tails,' and several ideas that combine the concepts of American status-seeking image-consciousness, SUVs, car conversion kits, and hybrids.

Runaway inflation or just Ebay-as-usual?

clevershark — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 17:49:28 -0800

Man turns $1 bill into over $11 via Ebay. No it's not old, it's just a used 2003-series bill that's not even in very good condition. It does has an interesting serial number, though. As does this other $1 bill also on Ebay with a current bid of $11. Of course if your dollar bills don't have particularly rare serial numbers it doesn't mean you can't Ebay your way to profit.

The bourse is the source, of course, of course

Smedleyman — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 00:50:15 -0800

Iran is the next target of the U.S. because of the establishment of the Iranian Oil Bourse, which would trade in Euros, not dollars.
No, it isn't.
Yeah, it probably is.
No, seriously, it's not. (Yeah, really though, it is)
Ok, maybe it is, maybe it isn't either way the odds were running 50/50 we'd bomb Iran by the end of the year. (previously - here)

Poom Time ?

jaksoul — Sun, 14 May 2006 05:27:47 -0800

Storm Warning. Seems like Iran has already started flexing it's economic muscles-haven't seen it reported that widely anywhere else, but these two events seem to be connected. Then again, maybe I've been spending too much time reading itulip.

Greenbacks!

afu — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 01:31:03 -0800

The history of the dollar. Ever since they started minting "tolars" in the Czech town of Jáchymov, the dollar has been one of the most important currencies in the world. It got it’s biggest boost after the Spanish started mining silver in the Andes and minting them into “Mexican Dollars”. This influx of silver dollars had effects all around the globe, including being a major factor in the fall of the Ming dynasty. Because of the economic dominance of the U.S. and because oil is traded in Petro-dollars, the dollar is still the world’s most important currency. But could an Iranian oil bourse put an end to the dollar’s dominance? Also money slang! Iran and the dollar talked about here

Roubini's Econ Blog

trharlan — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 10:20:40 -0800

Nouriel Roubini's Global Macroeconomic and Financial Policy Site is big, broad, and pretty amazing. If you can stomach a 50 page .pdf, make sure to read the dollar-bear article: Will The Bretton Woods 2 Regime Unravel Soon? The Risk of a Hard Landing in 2005-2006.

Dollar Bill Origami

apathy0o0 — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 12:02:52 -0800

Origami is a endeavor that is undertaken by many, using what's available. Often, that is money. Sometimes simple, and sometimes complicated the result is often spiffy and incorporates the bill's features into the design.

Euro's rise raises 'catastrophic' fears

Postroad — Fri, 24 Dec 2004 17:02:29 -0800

Euro's rise raises 'catastrophic' fears The euro rose on Thursday, topping $1.35 for the first time ever, amid speculation that the United States would not act to counter the dollar's decline. . "If we remain in a situation without any coordination, we can imagine a catastrophic situation" for the global economy, Finance Minister Hérve Gaymard of France told manufacturers during a factory visit Thursday in Strasbourg

The phrase ''Banana Republican'' comes to mind

y2karl — Thu, 08 Jan 2004 11:20:26 -0800

I.M.F. Report Says U.S. Deficits Threaten World Economy
With its rising budget deficit and ballooning trade imbalance, the United States is running up a foreign debt of such record-breaking proportions that it threatens the financial stability of the global economy, according to a report released Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund. Prepared by a team of I.M.F. economists, the report sounded a loud alarm about the shaky fiscal foundation of the United States, questioning the wisdom of the Bush administration's tax cuts and warning that large budget deficits pose "significant risks" not just for the United States but for the rest of the world. The report warns that the United States' net financial obligations to the rest of the world could be equal to 40 percent of its total economy within a few years--"an unprecedented level of external debt for a large industrial country," according to the fund, that could play havoc with the value of the dollar and international exchange rates.
From The Brookings Institute: Sustained Budget Deficits: Longer-Run U.S. Economic Performance and the Risk of Financial and Fiscal Disarray (Full Report PDF)

Dollars, Yuans, and the coming chaos

trharlan — Fri, 01 Aug 2003 11:08:52 -0800

The Fed is in a dangerous game with China : Chen Zhao, chief emerging markets strategist at Bank Credit Analyst Research Group, has written an article for The Financial Times, postulating that the Central Banks of the US and China are engaging in a massive reflation. When the reflation ends, however, the US may be in a world of hurt. Meanwhile, some members of the Bush administration are calling for china to let the $/Yuan exchange rate float. A prominent expert, however, expects China to continue to peg its currency. Others discuss the ramifications of a floating currency. Read yet another collection of links at the Library of Economics and Liberty.

What should happen to exchange rates? What will happen?

What if oil was traded in euros?

Birichini — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 14:14:50 -0800

What if oil was traded in euros? "Even more alarming, and completely unreported in the U.S. media, are significant monetary shifts in the reserve funds of foreign governments away from the dollar with movements towards the euro. It appears that the world community ... seems poised to respond with economic retribution if the U.S. government is regarded as an uncontrollable and dangerous superpower." An analysis of the previous link. Apologies to those I

Mullah, can you spare a euro?

CrazyJub — Mon, 21 Apr 2003 22:17:03 -0800

It started in November of 2000, with Iraq wanting to switch to the Euro for oil payments. Following recent events, Muslims at large are thinking about dropping US currency for the Euro. With a large US presence now in the Middle East, this event may never occur.

Related Stories
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article1554.htm
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/euro/comment/0,9236,940790,00.html

The Euro Effect Iraq Oil and threat to the dollar

thedailygrowl — Tue, 11 Feb 2003 01:12:51 -0800

Is the currency that oil is denominated in the real reason for the Iraq War? "The Federal Reserve's greatest nightmare is that OPEC will switch its international transactions from a dollar standard to a euro standard. Iraq actually made this switch in Nov. 2000 (when the euro was worth around 80 cents), and has actually made off like a bandit considering the dollar's steady depreciation against the euro. (Note: the dollar declined 17% against the euro in 2002.)"