Making Money from Money: The World of Currencies

Tom Lydon

A dollar doesn’t get what it used to these days. For decades, citizens of the United States who went abroad could eat the finest meals and stay in luxury accommodations, largely on the strength of the U.S. dollar. But those days seem to be over. In recent years, the dollar has become significantly weaker than other major currencies. At one point, US$1 was worth half of £1. After the euro came into being, the weak dollar made traveling to European countries that used the currency an expensive proposition.

But having a strong or weak currency is never uniformly a good or bad thing. You should consider the implications for both circumstances. Imports and exports can suffer when two currencies ...