Should have invested in the Loonie...

Or better yet, the Twoonie! Once again, a sad day falls upon American currency. I thought that these images from XE.com were illustrative. If you're familiar with the rate tables at XE, you know that there is something a bit off about the below table (click to enlarge):



What's that little blue question mark next to the rate in the USD/CAD cell? That's not normally there... Well, what happens when you hover over it? Let's see (again, click to enlarge):



Yikes, you know it's bad when XE, a favorite site of professional currency speculators the world over (not to mention Japanese housewives), goes to the trouble to tell you that, yes, you are reading it correctly, the US Dollar is worth less than its Canadian counterpart. Ouch... Just for historical perspective, eight years ago today, one US Dollar was worth about $1.46 Canadian. That's about what the Euro will get you in US Dollars today. Oh how the tables have turned.

It's gotten so bad that everyone's favorite French President has had to give the US Congress a lesson on fiscal responsibility! The shame! A financial lesson from France! What is the nation coming to? What's next, a France backing the US on matters of national defense? Apparently yes.