http://newsguru.newsvine.com/_news/2008/02/07/1284502-more-stores-taking-euros In the latest example that the U.S. dollar ain't what it used to be, some shops in New York City have begun accepting euros and other foreign currency as payment for merchandise. "We had decided that money is money and we'll take it and just do the exchange whenever we can with our bank," Robert Chu, owner of East Village Wines, told Reuters television. The increasingly weak U.S. dollar, once considered the king among currencies, has brought waves of European tourists to New York with money to burn and looking to take advantage of hugely favorable exchange rates. "We didn't realize we would take so much in and there were that many people traveling or having euros to bring in. But some days, you'd be surprised at how many euros you get," Chu said. "Now we have to get familiar with other currencies and the (British) pound and the Canadian dollars we take," he said. While shops in many U.S. towns on the Canadian border have long accepted Canadian currency and some stores on the Texas-Mexico border take pesos, the acceptance of foreign money in Manhattan was unheard of until recently. Not far from Chu's downtown wine emporium, Billy Leroy of Billy's Antiques & Props said the vast numbers of Europeans shopping in the neighborhood got him thinking, "My God, I should take euros in at the store." Leroy doesn't even bother to exchange them. "I'm happy if I take in 200 euros, because what I do is keep them," he said. "So when I go back to Paris, I don't have to go through the nightmare of going to an exchange place." honestly don't know if this is a big deal or not
you know the funny thing is that this is a curiousity type story. however a few years ago when a shop (I think pizza shop) started taking pesos because it was located near the border - all hell broke lose and this guy was un-american etc. Of course when we travel to Mexican resorts, or carribbean countries, or europe we like that they take US dollars....
Well, of course. America>everywhere else (including Heaven, even though the USA is Heaven, we're still better, cause USA = #1) USA USA USA!!!
Ever since the democrats took control of Congress, it's been a steep slide for the dollar. Color me unsurprised. Of course, the liberals' incessant talking down of the economy, the country, our foreign policy, our troops, etc, is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Their assault on consumer confidence has apparently been 'successful'.
Thi is too funny. What exactly did the congress do over the last year or so that is so awesome that it took down the value of the dollar?
Actually, all of your negative comments about the Democratic congress have hurt American morale. You have made us all think America is weaker. Thanks for letting the terrorists win. P.S. I also think you've ruined the economy with your anti-American propaganda.
Well at least he finally acknowledges that there is a problem. I'm sure eventually he'll agree Iraq was a mistake and blame the "liberuls" for that too.
let me see, consumers stop buying and dollar goes down? your claim of infinite knowledge of economic principals never ceases to amaze.
lol, are you an intern for The Onion? The dollar decline is mainly due to the horrendous current account deficit, along with a steep budget deficit. In addition the Fed keeps printing money to help put a bandaid on an economy in the midst of a full blown recession. Strike three. You're out.
pgabs, did you study economics at this school? The Derek Zoolander Center for Children Who Can't Read Good
The Democratic Congress should have done a lot more to stop the marketing of subprime mortgage packages until the real risks could be assesed. Congress should have known that allowing Citicorp, Countrywide and Goldman to collect a trillion dollars in fees putting people in homes with no equity interest might be a bad idea.
Facts get in the way of your theory. The decline started in 2002 and dropped substantially more during the GOP Congress than the Dem one.
ah, an insult rather than admitting your silly error don't worry, we've figured it out, you cheated off your daddy texxx.
Nice attempt at spin there, Major. Obviously the attacks of 9-11 and subsequent economic quagmire had a little something to do with 2002 and the years thereafter. Notice how things stabilized immediately preceding the libs' ascent in Congress. And then the bottom fell out. Thanks libs!
Yup, I was being sarcastic. Like this: Greed is good. My point was that 2 trillion dollars has evaporated from the American economy because the rocket scientist at America's largest financial institutions found a way to make outrageous sums of money without either understanding or letting their investors understand the extreme risks. I don't blame the home buyers. They aren't sophisticated, and in general they don't understand the nature of boom and bust cycles or pyramid marketing. But the big banks should have. They should have known that the more leveraged an investment is the more chance of failure it has. I think before this is over, you are going to see Wall Street perp walks on the eveing news so many times you don't even look up at them anymore.
