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Canadian Dollar Hits 99.99 US Cents!

It was at 1.0004 US earlier this morning - so it has been reached already. Crazy news... APPLE LOWER THE CANADIAN PRICING PLEASE. I'm going to have to pay $511 for a touch after taxes, whereas in the US I'd pay like $454. Grrrrrrrrrrr........ an extra $57!
:mad:
 
Yeah, this screws over Canadians on more than just Apple products.

You routinely still see books and magazines with Canada/US/Europe pricing that's till WAY off base with current exchange rates.
 
Exchange rates are only one aspect of product pricing. You obviously also have to take into account the duties, taxes, etc. charged for importing goods into Canada from the United States. The same goes for those of us in the United States when we buy goods imported from other countries as well. Those taxes are always passed on to the consumer somehow.
 
First their dangerous lead in Zamboni technology, then the pervasive encroachment of Tim Horton's and their nefarious Timbits on our soil, and now this? The United States will never be safe until we deal decisively with that bunch of candy striping pinkos.

:eek:

Sorry, this thread would be remiss without some loosely Canadian Bacon style xenophobia. :)
 
Lancetx said:
Exchange rates are only one aspect of product pricing. You obviously also have to take into account the duties, taxes, etc. charged for importing goods into Canada from the United States. The same goes for those of us in the United States when we buy goods imported from other countries as well. Those taxes are always passed on to the consumer somehow.
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That's something that gets brought up in these forums often, and while true, it still doesn't justify product pricing that hasn't changed in years.

Look at magazines from five years ago and today. 90% of them have the same US/Canadian/Euro conversion now as then - you're telling me the huge fluctuations in the currency markets haven't caused those publishers to see bigger profits?
 
Unspeaked said:
That's something that gets brought up in these forums often, and while true, it still doesn't justify product pricing that hasn't changed in years.

Look at magazines from five years ago and today. 90% of them have the same US/Canadian/Euro conversion now as then - you're telling me the huge fluctuations in the currency markets haven't caused those publishers to see bigger profits?
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Most of the US dollar's decline has occurred with in the year. If the dollar remains depressed for a long period of time, I'd expect to see some prices adjusted as producers compete for market share. But as I've said many times before, retail prices are not routinely changed to reflect exchange rates if only because exchange rates are volatile and large corporations hedge against them with futures contracts.

Weak national currencies can be a boon for exporters but they can be very temporary benefits and mitigated by other factors on the higher costs side. The bottom line is that the market for goods is set in the country where the product is being sold, not where it's manufactured.
 
Its interesting to see the rise of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, but I think its mostly due to the fall of the US dollar than any other factor. Perhaps I'm just stating the obvious, but its still my opinion :eek:
 
Sort of on-topic, but does anyone know of any sort of savings account where I can save in a foreign currency rather than the USD?

I plan on moving to Canada within 2 years, and if their dollar passes the USD, I'd rather just start saving in the Canadian dollar so I don't get screwed with the exchange rate.
 
haiggy said:
It was at 1.0004 US earlier this morning - so it has been reached already. Crazy news... APPLE LOWER THE CANADIAN PRICING PLEASE. I'm going to have to pay $511 for a touch after taxes, whereas in the US I'd pay like $454. Grrrrrrrrrrr........ an extra $57!
:mad:
Click to expand...

Celine Dion tax. Deal with it. :p

My comapny started selling in Canada several months ago. We are asked all the time why prices are higher there than in the US. Here's the answer. It costs us more money, we had to spend a considerable amount to break into your market and you have too many damn regulations. Other than that, we love your money. :D
 
Kamera RAWr said:
Its interesting to see the rise of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, but I think its mostly due to the fall of the US dollar than any other factor. Perhaps I'm just stating the obvious, but its still my opinion :eek:
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Actually, though the US dollar has fallen against all currencies, it's been particularly weak against the Canadian dollar because the Canadian economy has been doing well since the summer and - especially - rising oil prices have benefited Canadian currency a great deal.

For example, the US Dollar and UK Pound have been very close for some time now, while the Canadian Dollar was less than 80 US cents as recently as this spring.
 
Kamera RAWr said:
Its interesting to see the rise of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar, but I think its mostly due to the fall of the US dollar than any other factor. Perhaps I'm just stating the obvious, but its still my opinion :eek:
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Yes, I stated it some time ago in my forex thread - if the Feds cut rates, the dollar is doomed. The retards cut rates by 50 bps. It's not going to solve the subprime problem, and it's definitely going to affect the US$ really, really bad.

Just last night it was reported that Saudi Arabia may be breaking their currency peg with the US$. If this happens, most banks, investors, etc.. will dump US$ and switch to euros or pounds. So your house in California will probably buy a boat in Canada by then.. lol.

Also, Canadian $ goes up when oil prices go up. So you have a strong canadian $ and a super weak US$ .. I'm going to see if anything more dramatic happens.. I'm already thinking of diversifying my savings into metals such as gold.
 
Music_Producer said:
I'm already thinking of diversifying my savings into metals such as gold.
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IMO a better bet is foreign stock mutual funds. They've done very well over the past few years, and can only do better if the US$ continues to weaken.

The drop in the prime rate was done to stave off a potential recession, not to have much direct impact on the subprime lending market.

The dollar decline is a bummer for those of us who like to travel abroad, but otherwise it won't have any impact on our daily lives unless it turns into a run on the dollar and translates into inflation.
 
dynamicv said:
The UK Pound is worth roughly US$2. It's been that way for quite a while now. At least two or three years.
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I meant the exchange rate has been steady (as you yourself say), not the currency values themselves...



IJ Reilly said:
IMO a better bet is foreign stock mutual funds. They've done very well over the past few years, and can only do better if the US$ continues to weaken.
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I don't know about that - for all the US economy's struggles, it still contributes mightily to foreign company's income.

A weak dollar can still bring down other economies, making foreign stocks not as safe a bet as you'd think.

Granted, in 5-10 years, the US dollar will probably mean very little on a global scale, but as of today it still carries some significance (though it ain't like it used to be...).
 
yeah

my mom just coverted 10grand into american

cause we have a house in florida..and it needs more furnature...we just bought it a month ago
 
Unspeaked said:
I don't know about that - for all the US economy's struggles, it still contributes mightily to foreign company's income.

A weak dollar can still bring down other economies, making foreign stocks not as safe a bet as you'd think.

Granted, in 5-10 years, the US dollar will probably mean very little on a global scale, but as of today it still carries some significance (though it ain't like it used to be...).
Click to expand...

The health of the US economy isn't reliant on exchange rates. In fact US manufacturers generally benefit from a cheap dollar. The major downside risk is inflation. Other economies can be damaged if the dollar drops too far too fast, but before that happens, you'd see the foreign federal banks jumping into the currency exchange markets to prop up the dollar -- and that hasn't happened yet.

And of course, no bet is safe. Precious metals investments sure aren't.
 
remember we are in a world wide market right now. If the US goes into a recession it will take the rest of the world with it.

The US is one of the economic power houses of the world it used to be number one. It might of finally taken off as number 1 to the EU but rememeber the EU is separate countries so it not going to effect the world the same way as teh entire US.

The last recession in the US was in 2001 right after 9/11. Mind you 9/11 was not what caused it. 9/11 was just the finally blow because the US was on the edge of going into a recession. The rest of the world was either in a recession or on the edge and then 9/11 caused it. EU at the time was already in one. If you look at the world shorty afterwards the US finally falling in to a recession took most of the world down with it.

So to the non US people the last thing you all want is the US to go into a recession because it will take you with it. A weak dollar might cause some problems for everyone world wide.
 
The last recession began in March, 2001 and ended in November, 2001. In terms of GDP growth, it bottomed out around the middle of the summer. It was a brief and shallow recession by any historical measurements, but was followed by years of economic growth with little job creation.

Which is all beside point, since it's got nothing really to do with the value of the dollar.
 
Unspeaked said:
That's something that gets brought up in these forums often, and while true, it still doesn't justify product pricing that hasn't changed in years.

Look at magazines from five years ago and today. 90% of them have the same US/Canadian/Euro conversion now as then - you're telling me the huge fluctuations in the currency markets haven't caused those publishers to see bigger profits?
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I wonder what would happen if such a drastic change went the other way. Instead of the Canadian dollar rising from CAD $1.00 = $0.64 USD to C$1 = US $1, what would have happened if the Canadian dollar value dropped drastically, and $1 Canadian was only equivalent to $0.35 US dollars? Do you think bookstores and other products would have stayed at the same price, or do you think stores would have reacted quickly by increasing the price of their products so that they don't go bankrupt?? ;)

I guess it's OK to have unfair pricing, as long as they're not the ones who are losing.

I think stores react as quickly as they want to, and in this case, they never want to make their Canadian prices cheaper. They'll just drag it out for years upon years, giving us some lame excuse.
 
The market for goods is set in the country where the product is being sold, not where it is manufactured. Prices can't be "unfair" unless the seller owns a monopoly.

This is Econ 101, folks.
 
Unspeaked said "Yeah, this screws over Canadians on more than just Apple products."

What I find interesting is how this is being spun by the press. ABC actually did a segment on how good it is for American business because their products will be cheaper on the international market. Just a happy, perky little peace. No mention of all the disadvantages. Besides, just because something is labeled made in USA doesn't necessarily mean all of it was actually made here anyway.

I also find it interesting the news is ending with affluence stories. How there isn't enough champagne to go around in the world because of so many nouveau riche. (Yeah, I am sure the people losing their home want to hear how new Russian millionares can't find champagne.) Today it was the top whatever richest people in the world and how some billionares don't even make the list. The only way that is useful is if the public ever woke up and decided to rebel, they would know who to target. Or at least hit them up for loans when the Federal reserve gets tired of printing money!

The international elite will survive just fine, but the working people in all countries will get you know what as always!
 
Based on the pattern for the last couple of years, Apple is usually fair (using fair exchange rate) when setting price for new products or after product updates. Unfortunately, it never updates price in other countries unless there is change in USD price too (or product update). And with continuing slide of USD it of course works in Apple's favour. :(
 
Duties are designed to protect the local market. Apple's argument would be that it costs money to build support/warranty facilities in Canada and spread these costs over a potential population of 32million Canadians. Taxes are irrelevant as they are federal and state/provincial imposed and just fatten the government coffers.

The question for those of you have used Apple Canada's support services: is that phone support located in Canada, warranty/repair work/parts: are they all from Canada?

If you've purchased an Apple product in another country, will the local country service it if you did not buy AppleCare?
 
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