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Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.
Named Time’s Canadian Newsmaker of the Year for 2007, the loonie reached parity with the U.S. dollar this past September and then surpassed it, climbing to $1.10 U.S. in November. The sharp rise has been attributed to a combination of the strength of the Canadian economy and the weakness of the U.S. dollar, but no one seems to be able to agree whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. To be sure, the rise of the loonie has meant cheaper foreign goods. (We all know about how, frustrated with Canadian companies’ refusal to lower their prices in accordance with the rising loonie, Canucks began heading south for their shopping, even leaving piles of old clothes behind in Buffalo.) But the soaring loonie has also meant an increased cost of Canadian exports, which has resulted in a loss of jobs in manufacturing and natural resources, as well as a decrease in tourism.
In any case, the loonie’s now back down to around $0.98 U.S., so it doesn’t seem like its effects in any direction will be too staggering. The super-loonie may have been short-lived, but our pride continues to soar, making the loonie a hero of 2007.
Photo by merlinprincesse.
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You got the exchange rate backwards. The loonie is at $1.02.
I don't think the exchange rate is incorrect. It is indeed at $1.02 today, but it's not backwards. Rates change daily. On 12/17, the Loonie was at $0.98 USD; follow link:CAD in USD. Since then, the loonie has increased to 1.02, up around $0.04USD or a little over 4% in that period. So while it is back up in the span of a few days, the loonie is still off it's early Nov. high as the USD has gotten mildly stronger. Ben thought he was getting stronger like the loonie when he made his point, but then dropped-off against Pardo when it became clear he needed to check his facts.
Rates change daily, so saying $0.98 is correct makes no more sense than saying it's $1.02, now does it?
What's your point, TRex? Rates do indeed change daily, even intraday, but does that mean that we should never mention them? Rates are important, and even more important are the rate changes; how they move relative to each other over time. I think the point is that Ben seems mistaken that the rate is backwards, because the rate was indeed .98 very recently, quite possibly when the post was written. Ben may in fact be the backwards one, as the inverse rate - usd in cad - was in fact today at .98. More importantly, Ben seems to suggest that the incorrect, or stale exchange rate undermines the last point she makes. This is not the case. As lev says, even though the rate is higher than it was a few days ago, it has still decreased from its highest point a month ago as the us dollar has gained ground and strengthened relative to the looni. This suggests that the looni's surge on the dollar could very well be over. Thus, even though the quoted rate may not have been up to date, Pardo is right when she says that this late '07 surge looks short live and its impact is most likely minimal. Right on pardo
My point, goob, is that he admitted that Ben was right but then said he's wrong because it's changed. Neither amount is right or wrong if you base the 'correct' amount on an arbitrary date in the recent past. And the recent upward or downward trend doesn't make any difference when reporting the current value: you can't say it's lower than actual just because it's slipped over the last 4 weeks.
You are correct in what you say - the data is always live and thus when quoted will immediately be stale. But, my point is that both you, T-Rex, and Ben seem to imply that because the data is stale, the point is incorrect, which is not so. Even though the data quoted was stale, the headline point still stands - she quotes the data to show that while the Looni looked initially strong, it has become weaker more recently. While the data is stale, the trend still stands as correct. Your last point however, is incorrect, I think. It does make sense to talk about trends and is indeed important to do so. The trend is what matters; how it moves over time, which Pardo was expressing when she quoted the data. And though the data was stale, the trend was still in place, and the point was still correct.
My point was that it seemed that Ben and T-Rex were trying to undermine Pardo's point by stating that the data was incorrect - which is not so. Her point is still very correct indeed, as the movement over time is important. At the time she put the post to print, the data was correct, and as time crept on, the current quote changed, which we can't really fault her for. It seems as though both Ben and T-Rex were trying to be critical simply for the sake of being negative.