Posts Tagged ‘Money’
Holiday Money Monitor Update: Travel Boom ‘Down Under’ As Sterling Strengthens Against The Australian dollar
London, UK (PRWEB) November 8, 2008
Over the past month sales of the Australian dollar rose to their highest ever level at Post Office® bureau de change branches on the back of a resurgent pound, which is now worth nearly 12 per cent more than a year ago.¹
The Post Office® saw Australian dollar sales peak at a record year-on-year increase of 89 per cent in mid-October and purchases of the currency are currently running around 40 per cent ahead of the same four-week period in 2007 – suggesting that more UK tourists may be heading ‘down under’ this winter.
And, as sterling strengthened by almost 22 per cent to a rate of £1 to Australian $ 2.36 from a low of $ 1.94 in July 2008, the Post Office® revealed that the UK pound is bucking the general trend by registering its highest rate increase since June 2004.
Helen Warburton, Post Office® head of travel said: “Sales of Australian dollars usually peak in November and December as the long haul season gets into its swing – but this year UK tourists seem to have been stocking up much earlier.
“It may be that people who are already planning their trips ‘down under’ have been watching the rate rise and are buying earlier, in case it falls. Equally it may well be that holidaymakers are switching to a destination where they will get more for their travel money.”
This view is supported by travel operator Travelbag², which specialises in tailor-made holidays to Australia. Senior Travel Consultant Lesley Reeves said that with the tightening of belts, Travelbag had seen: “A move towards a single ‘blow out’ holiday, generally of three weeks or more, rather than several shorter ones.”
And, with the exchange rate helping to trim the cost of getting married abroad, more couples are planning a wedding ‘down under’ too. Travelbag said it had seen a significant increase in wedding and honeymoon bookings in recent months as the value of the Australian dollar began to drop.
Despite the doom and gloom caused by sterling’s drop in value against the US dollar in the run up to Christmas, when UK holidaymakers traditionally travel transatlantic to stock up on bargains, there are several other pockets of seasonal cheer.
Tourists will get significantly more South African rand, New Zealand dollars and Turkish lira for their pounds. Each of these currencies has weakened against sterling in recent weeks: the New Zealand dollar by 7 per cent year on year, the Turkish lira by 10 per cent and the South African rand by nearly 27 per cent³.
Helen Warburton said: “There is still good news for holidaymakers who watch the exchange rates carefully and plan their trips accordingly. The Turkish lira is a case in point. It has dropped in value by 22 per cent since August and last week Post Office® bureau de change branches saw annual growth of 52 per cent in lira foreign currency purchases. Like South Africa, Turkey is one of the destinations which have regularly scored as one of the cheapest in our Holiday Costs Barometer monitor of resort prices.”
¹ Post Office® Australian dollar rates:
27th October 2008: 2.3608 (+11.8 per cent year on year and +21.8 per cent compared with July 2008).
27th October 2007: 2.1119
28th July 2008: 1.9375
² Travelbag is one of the UK’s leading long haul specialists (http://www.travelbag.co.uk, 0800 008 7422).
³ Post Office® rates for South African rand, Turkish lira and New Zealand dollar:
27th October 2008: Rand15.7678 (+26.6 per cent year on year).
27th October 2007: Rand 12.459
27th October 2008: Turkish lira 2.5011 (+10 per cent year on year and +22 per cent compared with
August 2008.
27th October 2007: Turkish lira 2.2721
27th August 2008: Turkish lira 2.0478
27th October 2008: NZ dollar 2.6775 (+7 per cent year on year)
27th October 2007: NZ dollar 2.4968
Also, you can buy cheap travel insurance from Post Office®; single trip and annual multi trip travel insurance cover available.
Note to Editors:
For further information please contact:
CBPR
Christine Ball
01798 874177
cball@cballpr.co.uk
Post Office Ltd
Hayley Fowell
020 7250 2417
Hayley.fowell@postoffice.co.uk
http://www.postoffice.co.uk
Post Office Ltd. Registered in England and Wales no: 2154540. Registered Office: 80-86 Old Street, London, EC1V 9NN.
The Post Office and the Post Office symbol are registered trade marks of Post Office Ltd.
Post Office Ltd is an appointed representative of The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, which is authorised by the Irish Financial Regulator and the Financial Services Authority; regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the conduct of UK business. Bank of Ireland, incorporated in the Republic of Ireland with limited liability. Registered in England and Wales with branch number BR000459.
Card Account offered by J.P. Morgan Europe Ltd through Post Office Ltd. J.P. Morgan Europe Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered in England and Wales No. 938937. Registered Office: 125 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5AJ
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Question by hello_loveboo: Spending too much money on my boyfriend for Christmas?
I’m buying him a shaving kit set which was $ 92 and i want to buy him an itouch for $ 170.
but i also want to buy him some small stuff for his stocking like slim jims, condoms 
, razors, lotto scratch tickets, some candy/gum, and a barnes and noble gift card.
I doubt hes getting me anything big or expensive because he’s spending a lot on bills lately and has some debt to pay off…but is it ok if i get him all this?
Do you plan the gifts your giving according to what your spouse/boyfriend is giving you?
Best answer:
Answer by Victim of the Yahoostapo.
Well, I really don’t think giving him shame and embarrassment is a good idea….Lose the shaving kit, that’s kinda worthless anyways. And instead of the b&n gift card maybe you can get him a smaller one for itunes. If you do wind up getting an apology from him for not spending as much just playfully tell him that he can just ‘work it’ off.
Give your answer to this question below!
Be Wise In Investing Your Money Today! Check Out Stock Market Prices Now
Is the recession really over? Almost two years have passed since we first got wind of the potential financial crisis due to the housing brouhaha and the drastic and perhaps innovative measures taken by the Federal Reserve Bank led by Ben Bernake and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to successfully stave off a global depression and despite the initial skepticism from some critics, it seems to have worked. Domestic spending from the traditional thanksgiving to the post Christmas season seems to indicate that people are really spending. Unemployment rates have gone down and there seems to be some confidence in the stock market. Stock Market Prices have shown some significant volumes as more people are getting back to investing their money in Wall Street.
There are lessons to be learned over what has happened over the past two years. The derivatives market which may be the indirect cause of all this has to be regulated. The need and pressure for fund managers and investment bankers to make more money for their clients may have forced them to take unnecessary risks, perhaps taking too many shortcuts in their due diligence in investing. What irked a lot of the main investors, those who had taken their life saving and entrusted them to fund managers, was the huge bonuses and golden parachutes given to the CEO’s even in the midst when those same investment firms were in duress or headed for bankruptcy. Just recently, the Secretary of the Treasury strongly criticized new bonuses given to such CEO’s at the start of 2010. It almost felt like these CEO’s took for granted all the TARP funds given to them.
So what are the good investments to take? Trust your own intuition and gut feel but do the research. The internet has enabled a lot of people to understand how the stock markets work and they get to trade their own money, taking their own risks and reaping their own rewards. Learning the fundamentals of the stock market is simple: buy stocks when they are low and sell them when they are high. With the numerous companies publicly listed, you can settle to companies you already are familiar with or if more daring, take a chance at some new ones breaking grown.
You can also do direct investing. There are a lot of houses that have lost their value and perhaps purchasing them at discounted prices and waiting or the market to go on the upswing is another way of investing your money. You can even go into your own business if you feel the urge to try your hand being your own boss. Whatever you decide, the lessons of the past two years have enriched us to be more knowledgeable about what investments to make through the available data. Be informed.
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AIG stock price.
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