He said: Keeping current with the Currency

I have 2 pieces of exciting news! The first is that we just finished up a big weekend with our bosses and mentors, the Shutes. We had some great times in teaching and fellowship, and we've now have our evangelistic vision in better focus than ever. We're gonna have church around here before you know it!

The Second big news is that Gerhard Schroeder has conceded the German Chacellorship to Angela Merkel. Isn't that fantastic? Do you know what that means!? Well, I'll tell you. The "uncertain sound" played by the too-close-to-call election, and the odd bedfellows coalition that was cobbled together in its aftermath have lead the economic pundits, the financial movers and shakers of the world, to have a dimmer view of Germany's economic outlook. "So what?" you say.
"The "what:"", I reply, "is that the Deutchmark has fallen strongly against the leading world currencies, as currency traders head for stable ground. With the Deutchmark's fall the Euro goes down with it."
"ok..." you say, with a look that indicates that you're desperately trying to follow my pretzelesque logic.
"Ok, since the Latvian Lat is tied directly to the Euro, if the Euro goes down, then all other currencies rise against the Lat. So my Dollars in my Stateside bank account are instantly worth more; I get a RAISE!

Now, in the past, I didn't pay much attention to the Dollar being up or down, certainly not in the short term. I knew that a strong Dollar represents cheaper imported goods, so I can catch a bargain or two at Wal-Mart, but for the most part I didn't know or care about the fluctuations in the Dollar. Today, I care. In fact, I care a lot, because, for instance, Germany's election results have increased my spending power by about 2% in the last 2 weeks, back to where it was before I lost all that money due to a bunch of scattered news events around the globe. Imagine, if you will, that what you read in the news every day has a direct result on your bottom line. You are the yo-yo on somebody else's string.
Personally, I find it hard to get used to: Hurricane Rita damage potentially severe: I get a pay cut. Hurricane Rita downgraded to Category 3: I get a raise. Japanese stock market down: I get a pay cut. Landslide election results in Japan: I get a raise. Election results uncertain in Germany: I get a raise.

So if you find me cheering (OR bawling) over the dramatic success (OR profound failure) of the opposition (OR ruling) party of, say, Australia (OR Iceland OR China OR Venezuela Et Cetera), you'll know why.

Bob

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