| Author |
Message |
ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member
Username: Ross
Post Number: 1206
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 12:15 pm: | |
dave, u r on the right track. the rates are actually set by cabal of right wing halliburton board members, who are expressly trying to screw the 'little guy' every time he takes out his wallet, or has a liberal thought, whichever comes first. |
Dave (Maranelloman)
Intermediate Member
Username: Maranelloman
Post Number: 1516
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 11:43 am: | |
Geez. And I thought international exchange rates were determined by the Trilateral Commission, black helicopters, Freemasons, and idiot savants reading sunspots... |
ross koller (Ross)
Intermediate Member
Username: Ross
Post Number: 1201
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 4:46 am: | |
as jason says, but i have found that the best/cheapest cash is gotten using your atm card. they give you the interbank rate of the day plus a small fee. but both the rate and the fee are miles better than what the booths give you. |
Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Member
Username: Jfraser
Post Number: 357
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 13, 2003 - 2:38 am: | |
Michael, stay away from the booths at airports...You will get screwed!!! Also avoid changing money in hotels....Your best bet is to change at a bank....There's a wide variance on CC's....One of the crappy ones is actually Amex (which is suprising given the cards' Int'l flavour)...One of the other tricks that cc's get up to is that they give you what looks like a good exchange rate....only to find that they have an oversees transaction charge....It's really worth finding out how your CC handles overseas transactions |
Michael (Mtabije)
Member
Username: Mtabije
Post Number: 286
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 11:13 pm: | |
Yes, please, Dan, go into detail. |
Dan (Bobafett)
Member
Username: Bobafett
Post Number: 575
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 9:52 pm: | |
Agreed about the rates - although, some CCs aren't that bad. Used my BofA visa in heathrow, their charge was nothing compared to what those Thomas Betts booths ask for...
--Dan |
TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member
Username: Tifosi
Post Number: 3603
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 8:41 pm: | |
BTW, some rates are fixed or pegged to the US dollar like HKD but most float with market supply and demand |
TomD (Tifosi)
Advanced Member
Username: Tifosi
Post Number: 3602
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 8:40 pm: | |
lots of things go into the rate as Dan points out, in my humble opinion those booths rob you blind but if you only need small amounts of cash you are really stuck. A few years ago it ws better to use a credit card over seas because they gave you a real market rate on the exchange but they soon caught on and hit you with fees now. there are many books on FX and related trading |
Dan (Bobafett)
Member
Username: Bobafett
Post Number: 573
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 7:28 pm: | |
They charge a transaction fee for their services - ie they will buy dollars (or whatever other currency) at one price, and sell them to you at another. After all - they need to make money.
In a simplistic view, the interest rates of the two respective countries, plus the expected exchange rate, determine the spot price. For example:
Interest rate on $ = Interest rate on euros + ((Expected exchange rate - real exchange rate)/real exchange rate)).
The latter part of that ((Expected - real)/Real) can also be considered as the expected appreciation of the foreign currency (euros in our example).
I can go into more detail if you like.
--Dan |
Michael (Mtabije)
Member
Username: Mtabije
Post Number: 284
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, May 12, 2003 - 6:36 pm: | |
I was at the airport today and saw a little booth the does Western Union and foreign currency buy/sell. What determines the rate? Why is it different as posted at their booth then what you would see on www.xe.com On the same day? |