Half Priced America On Sale

For people visiting America from overseas, especially Europe, the has not been a better time like now. The dollar is trading at all time lows against most of the major currencies and retailers are slashing prices in a bid to clear inventory.

A few weeks ago a friend of mine travelling from Europe for business arrived with only his hand luggage and left with 2 new suitcases filled with clothes and other stuff. In addition to spending his evenings at the mall, he even extended his stay in the US for two days so that he can buy as much as possible.

Take for example the price of a digital SLR camera. In the US, the Sony DSLR A700 12.2 Mega pixel camera with zoom lens retails for $1,599.98 plus tax at Best Buy. In the UK, you will pay £1,099.99 for an almost similar camera from Jessops. At the current exchange rate, you'll be paying almost $600 more for the camera in the UK. With the $600 that you'll save in the US, you will be able to add a tripod, memory card and other accessories to go with your purchase.

And it's not just the tourists who are having a ball. Investors too have joined the fray to pick up niceties. In Manhattan, the Russians and Arabs are out-bidding New Yorkers in the Real Estate markets. Sovereign Wealth Funds are also having an easy time acquiring stakes in major US firms. With stock prices and the dollar still on the decline, you can be sure that foreign ownership of US companies will continue.

As we await the Tax Stimulus Package signed into law last month, the joke in town is that we are borrowing money from the Chinese so that we can continue to buy their wares. It's no wonder that the budget deficit seems to be widening in the name of economic prosperity which has kicked millions of Americans where it hurts. In their homes. The economy may be slowing down but not the rate of foreclosures. In states like Nevada, 1 in every 30 homes will be foreclosed this year.

Not wanting to be left behind, Canadians are also falling over themselves in the West as the shop for second homes in these parts of the country that are famed for warm weathers throughout the season. And if the trend is to continue, Americans all over the nation will soon be paying rents to foreign landlords who are snapping up properties that Americans can't afford to own.

With the Fed set to cut rates once more later this month, you can expect foreign investors to take more advantage of the financial turmoils hitting the US economy. A few years ago, such moves would have been met with wild uproars as was the case when the US blocked Chinese oil company CNOOC's bid for Unocal. Left at the mercy of a slowing economy, American politicians are now overlooking the increasing foreign ownership of US assets. Times like these call for pretence rather than prudence.

Addendum; Fasten your financial seat belts as UBS estimates that the credit crunch losses will balloon to $600 billion. So far, losses of $160 billion have been reported and a lot on institutions are sitting on rotten eggs hoping the nightmare will resolve. Not even SWF will be willing to plug this losses in resulting from financial engineering by banks.

Now, where is my stimulus package? Lets have the government up it to match the new figures.