Falling dollar a windfall for some

Unless you’re going abroad, the falling dollar can actually be a windfall. Locally, they’re cleaning up. Because the dollar fell to below the Canadian loonie, busloads of Canadians are coming to Maine malls to shop, giving a nice boost to the economy of this less than prosperous state. The Maine Turnpike, which used to give a discount to drivers paying tolls with Canadian currency, has cancelled that discount. Ch-ching!

From the Washington Post:

As Dollar Dips, Canada Exploits Lucrative Loonie

Along the northern border, shopping patterns are reversing. Instead of Americans driving north to get cheap medicine and other goods, Canadians are traveling south for better deals.

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The stock markets soar on the expectation of higher economic growth and lending activity. U.S. tourism expects to get a boost as vacations overseas become more expensive. Big conglomerates such as Boeing, McDonald's and Coca-Cola earn more profit from their overseas divisions because foreign currencies are worth more when converted into dollars.

"When the dollar is weak, it increases the attractiveness of U.S. goods, keeps demand in U.S. domestic industries high, which benefits U.S. companies and jobs," said Kathy Lien, chief currency strategist at DailyFX.com.

Exports and tourism are up, the embattled domestic manufacturing sector is reviving, Made in the U.S.A. is now a coveted label (see the next post for even more reasons) so let the dollar fall for a while and don’t fret. My Horse Sense theory of economics posits that economics is a cyclical phenomenon of fluidity. What goes up must go down, and the reverse is also so. Spend time, not money.

Happy Thanksgiving, all. My gratitude abounds.