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UK Members - Your thoughts on the dollar?

Discussion in 'General Business' started by WebDev Solutions, Nov 13, 2008.

  1. #1
    For the last 2 years I have been working full time online, and over 90% of my income comes to me in American funds. We all know we are in a current economic crisis, but in the last 3-6 months the conversion rate between £ and $ has actually increased.

    So much so in fact, that my income margins have increased by over 20% in the last quarter. Why is the dollar rising despite the fact that it seems the world is in one of the biggest financial crisises it has ever experianced? Is the rise in the dollar just a temporary glitch, do you expect its value to drop once again in the near future?

    Of course, with the rise in value I am enjoying the extra money it is bringing me each month, but I was also looking to purchase several other sites a few months ago. Due to the dollar rise, I have not been able to do this because I think it would be wrong in a business sense to do so now when the dollar is worth more than it was, as if it dropped again shortly after I make my purchases I will have paid an extra 15-20% for websites I buy.

    I hope the above makes sense as I didn't have much time to write this, but I think I got my general thoughts across. If any UK members, or US for that matter, could answer the questions below (or attempt to) I would appreciate it.

    • In the near future, do you expect the dollar to keep rising or do you expect it to fall back down to the sort of levels it was at 6 months ago?
    • If you are from the UK and trade mostly in USD$, do you hope the dollar continues to hold its value or rise further? Or do you hope it will drop again so you can buy more for your money if you are looking to increase your sites network?

    I am not going to pretend that I know anything about how conversion rates are calculated, so really I am trying to establish whether it would be better for me to put off buying sites until the dollar drops back down again (if it even does, for that matter), or whether you think now is the right time to buy as the dollar is likely to keep increasing, at least for the time being.

    Of course, noone can state for sure whats going to happen, but I'm trying to get a general idea of what people think.

    Thanks,
    Jim
     
    WebDev Solutions, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  2. pedigreechump6

    pedigreechump6 Active Member

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    #2
    Hi PokerVillain, I too am happily enjoying the strengthening dollar and I don't think it will drop back any time soon. The latest major movement in USD/GBP rates was due to the BoE's decision to cut interest rates by such a dramatic amount.

    This made the UK a far less attractive place for investors and indeed a worse place to hold cash (and as you know all big businesses will have serious amounts of cash on their balance sheets) so large sums of capital moved out of the UK to Europe and the states. So I actually think its more to do with the pound dropping than the dollar rising.

    Also, the size of the rate cut was probably indicative of seriously bad economic numbers that the MPC see before the rest of us and maybe it means that the UK is actually suffering more than other countries although its hard to see things in black and white at the moment.

    I don't see this reversing itself any time soon to be honest especially since more rates cuts were almost predicted by the BoE.

    Personally I hope the pound continues to weaken as I am not in the business of buying sites right now.
     
    pedigreechump6, Nov 13, 2008 IP
    WebDev Solutions likes this.
  3. WebDev Solutions

    WebDev Solutions Well-Known Member

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    #3
    Great reply, this was exactly the kind of information I was looking for.

    With the inflated income I have seen over the last months I will certainly be holding back from aqquiring more sites now. It was never a neccessity for me but I was trying to diversify my income a little to ensure I had several streams in case one of them went wrong months or years down the line. That said, if something catches my eye and the price is right I will go for it now I know that the current conversion rates are probably here to stay, at least for the time being.

    Thanks again for the reply, rep added.

    Jim
     
    WebDev Solutions, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  4. houck

    houck Active Member

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    #4
    I am from the UK... I have two accounts one for dollars and one for pounds.

    We have to use dollars. Nothing can be done about it.
     
    houck, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  5. ldngooner

    ldngooner Peon

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    #5
    Man i love it, it's about time this has increased, $300 can now get me £200 which compared to months back was much less.

    It's good for UK workers working online!
     
    ldngooner, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  6. pedigreechump6

    pedigreechump6 Active Member

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    #6
    Don't be so hasty. It may be good news for established online marketers in the UK but for those trying to get a site off the ground the whole link buying market has just got more expensive (since most links are traded in $$) and if they have little revenue balancing out the costs then it might make things more difficult.
     
    pedigreechump6, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  7. mentos

    mentos Prominent Member

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    #7
    1.No it will not hold at current rate and it will drop against pound
    2.I do hope that US hold at current value.Coz it make my biz flourish
     
    mentos, Nov 13, 2008 IP
  8. chazmilles

    chazmilles Peon

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    #8
    Remember an old adage: "Don't try to catch a falling knife". My advice is not to invest in sites or things with relative values.

    In my opinion, best thing you can invest now in is the UK property market.
     
    chazmilles, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  9. sitegorilla

    sitegorilla Banned

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    #9
    I think, regarding the US DOLLAR AND EURO....DOLLAR IS going to get stronger..meaning you will start getting less dollars for a euro..i think depending on that, the pound will get affected
     
    sitegorilla, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  10. skaterkee

    skaterkee Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Its great. I used to estimate that if I got $30 for a project, I'd get about 15 quid, now its like 23 quid. Fine by me lol.

    Time to enter FOREX?
     
    skaterkee, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  11. Agent_Dweeb

    Agent_Dweeb Peon

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    #11
    Indeed, PayPal fees are a big blow though.
     
    Agent_Dweeb, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  12. WebDev Solutions

    WebDev Solutions Well-Known Member

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    #12
    Exactly, it cannot be argued that established UK members of DP are feeling the benefits of the US. As I already stated over 90% of my trade comes from the USA, meaning in terms of income I am extremely happy and only hope the dollar to get stronger.

    On the flip side, I did want to expand my network of sites. I am earning good money each month and have a good amount of savings now ready to invest, but after hearing peoples thoughts I think I will wait this out to see if the dollar drops back again within the next 6-12 months.

    Jim
     
    WebDev Solutions, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  13. alexa_s

    alexa_s Peon

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    #13
    Yes - absolutely; definitely. :cool:
     
    alexa_s, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  14. Shellerz

    Shellerz Active Member

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    #14
    I'm loving the dollar again recently - ALL my online trade is in dollars and since it has picked up a bit again recently I'm getting more £££ for my $$$ :)
     
    Shellerz, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  15. Jeanka

    Jeanka Peon

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    #15
    use dollars!
     
    Jeanka, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  16. Dollar

    Dollar Active Member

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    #16
    oh man! I wished I turned all my funds into USD before october and holded on to it. I could profited 20 cents of the dollar, 20%.. (CAD) by converting it back, .
     
    Dollar, Nov 14, 2008 IP
  17. Shellerz

    Shellerz Active Member

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    #17
    Long live the UK credit crunch in my mind lol
     
    Shellerz, Nov 14, 2008 IP