The Australian Dollar is a "Commodity Currency". A "Commodity Currency" means that its fortunes are heavily dependent on the prices of Gold, Copper, Nickel, Coal and Wool. All of these commodities are Australia’s main exports.
At present, commodity prices are low, especially gold. Melbourne-based mining consultant Surbiton Associates said exports of Australian gold were in danger of declining if exploration failed to be supported and production declined as a result. The country produces about $5 billion worth of gold each year and over the past 10 years the metal has earned $42 billion in export revenue.
Presently, our dollar has been the weakest in history, comparable to the United States (US) dollar. The record low occurred in early April where it sank to 47.75 US cents. Compared to the US dollar, our Australian dollar buys at present 50.81 US cents. (27 July 2001).
It is unrealistic to determine what started the dollars slide or when it started. In this graph it is visible that the dollar started to drop as far back as April 1997. Although, we can never be sure that the fluctuations are actually fluctuations in the $A or those of the $US.
For that reason the following figure shows the movements in the $A against the trade weighted index (TWI). As its name indicates, the trade weighted index tries to measure the value of the $A against a basket of currencies. Those currencies are chosen to reflect the weight in Australia's trade with the countries issuing the currencies in the index.
At the moment, the US dollar is very strong. This is surprising considering that the American economy is not very strong. Interest rates in the US basically show the situation. Americas interest rates have seen five cuts over the last four months to where it now sits at 3.75%. This was the US governments’ way of trying to kick-start the economy through fiscal policy. This is why many economists believe the US dollar will subside, as there is no backing in the economy.
The “Aussie”, as it is referred to in foreign markets, is believed to be dependent on the performance of the Japanese Yen and the new Eurodollar, with the three currencies tending to move in tandem. This is because of Australia’s importing and exporting relationship with the two other currencies.
Interest Rates
At the moment the interest rate in Australia sits at 5%. In resent times interest rates have been subject to three cuts.
Nearly 10 years after hurricane Katrina ravaged through the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas in southern Louisiana, the city is still struggling to recover from the $108 billion caused by damage. Nominated for Academy and Emmy awards, the captivating documentary Trouble The Water analyzes the consequences played both during and following the disastrous events during hurricane Katrina. Such events are displayed using the sociological perspective —the perspective on human behavior and how it connects to society— to understand how poverty, social class, and racial issues are valued in different areas of the United States, especially in these troubled areas. Trouble the Water explores these issues of race, class, and the relationship of
No technology has had a greater impact on the American life than the automobile. Where we live, how we work, and how we travel, what our landscape looks like, our environment have all been shaped by the automobile. There isn’t a better place that demonstrates the social, geographic, and political changes brought by the industry than Detroit, the motor city. Detroit was situated to be a center of the American automobile industry. All of the material that was needed to build was easily accessible to the city by the great lakes waterways and by rail. The automobile industry helped people with their everyday lives and changed the way people saw the world.
The automobile has made a dramatic impact on many different aspects of American society. The automobile industry has aided in the creation of malls and other large shopping areas, theme parks, hotels and motels, highways, and assorted drive through businesses such as banking and fast food. The vast popularization of cars and other automobiles has also impacted society negatively. Car accidents and other auto related death has increased as well as noise pollution, and the formation of a larger carbon footprint. The popularization of cars has also lead to a greater dependence on fossil fuels and other natural gases (Cohen). The creation of the first automobile had a severe impact on the lives of ordinary people. The automobile created a new lifestyle
Within the last few decades cars have changed the way people travel. Back in the early 1900’s there were no automobiles, there were only horse and carriage. When Henry Ford created the first assembly line for a car, only the rich and famous would have ford cars. Now cars are easy to purchase as long as you can afford one. As time moves on cars continue to evolve and they are now easily accessible for anyone that wants a car, with fluctuating prices and even more customization choices, peoples are saving up their entire lives to buy their dream cars. Compared to the early twentieth century, cars have made it better to travel from place to place within days or hours while back a hundred years ago, it would take months or years to even get to the other side of the country. In conclusion, cars are the most reliable sources of transportation in the twenty-first century and that is why it is such a great contribution to the world.
In the twentieth century, the introduction of the motor vehicle in the United States became not only noteworthy, but also vital in the development of modern American civilization. This technologically complex machine led citizens to vast future dependency on the invention. While mobility was suddenly not limited to alternative, more convoluted options such as railroad stations or bicycles, yet copiously amplified to aid convenience and expanded leisure opportunities. From auto-racing to redesigning infrastructure, motor vehicles allowed progression, digression, and essentially uttermost change to lifestyles of the American people.
The impact of the automobile between 1900 through 1945 was immense. It paved the way for a future dependency on the automobile. To paint a better picture, imagine life without an automobile. Everyday life would be dull, cumbersome, and tedious. An individual's mobility would be very limited. Basically, the life without an automobile could not be fathomed. The importance of the automobile is often taken for granite. Society may not know what appreciate the impact of the automobile and effects it has created. The impact of the automobile had both positive and negative effects on America between 1900 through 1945. Automobile provided an outlet for individuals and spread the freedom of travel among all classes of people. It also helped to introduce rural dwellers to the aspects of urban life and vice versa. One of the negative effects was that automobiles helped to put of big decline in the use of railroads. Over the course of the paper, I will try to expose the huge impact of the automobile an early twentieth century life.
The automobile had changed America in many ways since it has been created in the early 1900’s. When the automobile was first invented it was a thing only the rich could afford. After the invention of the mass production line more and more people were able to buy automobiles because they were being produce and sold for cheaper. A historian once said that Henry ford is the reason why common people have no limitations of their geography.
In the article “What is Popular Culture” by Georgee Lipsitz, his concept about the car is a concept about how the modern car now is something about the use of freedom. As though his ideas are as a paradox in it; they’re very “Edenic” but could also be considered as machines of destruction. Also within his article, he mentioned “The Great Gatsby” multiple times, which similarly shares the same idea of cars being as an enchantment/luxury, cars can also be a type of “addiction.” Along with that, “The Great Gatsby” also deliberates how the car was a certain way of escape for humans, but in the end ends up in a disastrous situation. Though this is all true, we’re not the ones who are in control of the outside functions of the car,
This sort of rapid growth entails exactly why the automobile has impacted many societal norms that people are familiar with in American culture. From its creation, there were sudden changes in societal structures and an increased culture relevance that rushed through American society. To begin with, the automobile was first a luxury only achieved by the wealthy. *Find a source* what a difference a few decades makes. At the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford proudly unveiled the latest edition of MyFord Touch, an in-car communication and entertainment system available in most of its models. An amazing technical achievement, the system can do fun things — like seamlessly integrate a smartphone or mobile media player with the vehicle’s audio system to facilitate hands-free operation.Now, we have roads to drive on everywhere, so an increase infrastructure and travel became a societal norm. Construction of roads made travel easier and faster, and in the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorized the federal Interstate Highway System, which once completed, allowed citizens to take their increasingly stylish and roadworthy cars on long trips to other states or even across the country. The new normal quickly became “driving” and
I agree with this statement because in an inflationary environment, the purchasing power of a U.S. dollar decreases whereas gold appreciates. Gold is actually one of the earliest means of exchange known to humans. Gold symbolizes wealth and has many unique characteristics. At one point, the U.S. dollar was backed by gold. Congress passed the Gold Standard Act in 1934. However, in 1971 President Nixon announced the end of converting U.S into gold in the international markets. Today, the U.S. dollar has no intrinsic value and only has value because the government has declared it legal tender. If the people decided against the U.S. dollar it would lose all its value. According to INVESTOPEDIA, fiat money is based solely on the faith and credit
The automobile changed American life, but the process was gradual. Though historians argue the date and inventor of the first automobile, we can say that Henry Ford’s creation of his Ford Motor Company in 1903 marked perhaps the major milestone of the early twentieth century automobile industry in America and around the world. Five years after the company’s inception, Ford’s legendary Model T of 1908 would revolutionize transportation and the world economy. Before the Model T, automobiles in the US were associated with only the wealthier class. Ford sought to make cars available to every American. His cars would assume the general build that continues to characterize automobiles today, and his innovation and system of production would make him a legend.[i] The automobile led to an extremely advanced system of roads and contributed to an American mentality of freedom to move.[ii] Early drivers saw both benefits and difficulties as the automobile became the standard American mode of transportation.
Cars are a revolution for humans because it offers freedom and independency to their owners. However the book also describes bad sides of the car system. Indeed, this system completely changed the environment landscape through centuries and impact on the nature is frightful. It also describe how dependent people are about their car and how costly it is with roads infrastructures, hospitals, insurances and emotional costs. Furthermore according to Richard Rogers “cars eroded the quality of public spaces and have encouraged suburban sprawl, car has made viable the whole concept of dividing everyday activities”. Indeed ‘After the car’ shows how gradually people added distance from their home to their work and leisure’s and roll away from family
When the automobile came from place, to LA it just exploded. Now cars in LA are a big deal. For example people make groups just to ride together or go to shows to show their car
The stability of currency values plays a significant role for economic and financial stability. It is not difficult to see the exchange rate fluctuations are widely regarded as damaging. As the movements of the exchange rate have significant and large effects on the trade balance, resource allocation, domestic prices, interest rate, national income and other key economic variables. Then can exchange rate movements be predicted by these fundamental economic variables?
...ould be difficult to make a case stating that the modern automobile has not had a large effect on our society in more than one way. It has been shown that the automobile has stimulated the economy by creating jobs and being partly responsible for the increase of women in the workforce. The automobile has revolutionized modern manufacturing by advancing techniques and bringing popularity to producing technologies that are meant for the masses rather than the few. The automobile has also sparked worldwide debate on issues involving air pollution and futuristic energy sources. In order for a technology to have a worldwide impact on culture, history, politics, environment and the economy, it must have two characteristics; it must be available and desired by the masses and it must be adaptable. The modern automobile has been proven to have both of these characteristics.