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News
The Clarion | February 13, 2009
To travel or not to travel? The answer is now
Strength of the U.S. dollar make this the perfect time to plan a trip
by Radosav Babic
Business Editor
Someone’s suggestion that this would be
a good time to cross the Pacitic or Atlantic
Ocean may sound foolish to many; how
ever, there is a good reason for it. The value
of U.S. dollar hasn’t been as strong as it is
now in decades.
There are two main reasons that could
explain the instability of the strength of
U.S. dollar Firstly, due to the difference
between the interests rates in America and
other central banks around the globe, and
due to the fact that central banks around
the world diversified their holdings away
from dollars to euros, Japanese yen, Brit
ish pounds and so on, which ultimately
increases the amount of dollars available in
currency markers to be purchased. There
fore, as the quantity of dollars increases, the
value of it decreases, and vice versa. Don’t
spend too much time asking yourself WHY,
because the explanation of the sudden and
unexpected boost in the value of U.S. dol
lar is often difficult for many economists to
explain; however, what you can do is take
advantage of it.
HOW? Take a week or two and travel
abroad and get the most out of each dol
lar spent. The dollar has substantially
increased in comparison to many curren
cies. It was just a few years ago when you
would receive only half of the euro for each
dollar converted; however, now you would
receive 0.8 euros or even higher European
dream vacations can much easier become
the reality. Venice, Athens, Valencia, Lon-
SccLT&d'?
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885-7885
or 1-800-395-help
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don, and Paris don’t seem to be too far away
any more. Airfare is also more affordable
due to the decrease in price of oil.
If you wish to travel even further away,
Australia would be another great destina
tion. The value of Aussie dollar last year
was almost equal to the value of U.S. dollar,
while today a U.S. dollar buys 1.5 Aussie
dollars, which makes is 40-50% more af
fordable for American tourists.
If you are on a tighter budget, you can
simply cross the border and visit suimy
Mexico, as the value of your currency
considerably increased in comparison to the
value of Mexican pesos. Visiting Toronto
and experiencing the “typical American
city with a French touch,” as I like to call
it, wouldn’t be bad choice either Better do
it now then wait until, again surprisingly,
Canadian dollar “jumps up” again.
The list could go on and on, continuing
with Thailand, Egypt, Rio de Janeiro and
many other attractive destinations, de
pending on your choice. Not only will this
unique, travehng experience benefit your
personal growth, but you will finally be able
to locate some well-known destinations
on the world’s map, as well, since your
Geography teacher might have skipped that
lesson years ago.
Poster contest winner named
By: mrlin
Swafeiiftsjts:
Christina Nelson won the Brevard College poster contest
with the poster shown above. The contest was open to all
students, asking them to come up with the best possible
poster for the upcoming campus production of "Picasso
at the Lapin Agile." Nelson will receive a $30 gift certificate
to Square Root and be given two tickets to the play, which
opens Feb. 19 at the Morrison Playhouse in the Porter
Center.