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Weak currency makes Florida trip looney
© St. Petersburg Times, Will a lower loonie deter Canada's snowbirds? The loonie, also known as the Canadian dollar, on Thursday hit a record low against the U.S. greenback. Add that to the troubled U.S. economy and the threat of terrorism, and Florida is sure to welcome fewer Canadians this winter. A weak loonie makes Canadian purchases in Florida all the more expensive. How low did the loonie go? One loonie was briefly worth 62.74 U.S. cents. Or, put another way, one U.S. greenback was worth $1.59 in Canadian currency. Before this week, the previous low for the loonie was 63.09 cents, set on Aug. 18, 1998, during the Russian debt crisis. The limp loonie has struggled for years. But it fell under heavy selling pressure after Sept. 11. This week's statistics confirming that the United States' longest sustained economic expansion since World War II has ended seemed to push the loonie over the edge. Hence the Canadian dollar's plummet to its lowest level since its creation in 1858. Should Florida's already staggered tourist business hit (another) panic button? Not likely. Canadian snowbirds are a hearty bunch with a strong yearning for Florida sunshine in the winter season. But there's a bigger problem. Some experts say the Canadian dollar has a chronic case of depreciation. Against its U.S. counterpart, the loonie has lost almost 30 percent of its value in the past 10 years. "It's on a long-term decline," says Marc Levesque, a senior economist at Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank. If Canadians' purchasing power continues to dwindle, that's bad news for Florida. Remember, Canadians make up Florida's largest international tourist market. Nearly 2-million northern visitors descended here in 2000 compared with 1.69-million the year before. This winter, Florida will need Canadian spenders more than ever. Short takesGAG THAT ATM: Bank of America installed its first talking automated teller machines in the Tampa Bay area late last year as part of a three-year rollout of 2,500 machines. The talking ATMs deliver audible instructions to blind or hard-to-see users through headsets. But now the bank says it has dropped the recorded human voice, supplied by Christie Smith, and replaced her mellow tones with an artificial voice. Bank of America switched after Smith demanded a royalty payment and threatened an injunction prohibiting the bank from using her voice . . WHO BUYS THIS STUFF? Beginning Monday, eBay hosts an auction for the center court section of Los Angeles' Great Western Forum. Minimum bid: $100,000. The section was used by the Lakers from 1967 to 1991 (and comes with a chance to play one-on-one with former Lakers star Magic Johnson.) Here's an idea. How about selling the baseballs from all the winning games this year by Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitching aces Wilson Alvarez and Juan Guzman. Gotcha. They did not win any . . . SO WHO'S CHEAPEST? A survey of the six wireless telephone service providers in the Tampa Bay area shows Alltel boasts the lowest average price. The Econ One Research survey in September indicates Alltel charged an average of $34.95 a month (based on averaging the combined prices charged for 30, 150, 300 and 600 minutes of usage per month). Alltel was also cheapest for 30 and 150 minutes per month. Verizon was cheapest for 300 minutes and Voicestream was cheapest for 600 minutes. Verizon charged the most for 30 minutes ($5.05 more than Alltel) of service a month. The other highest-priced services: Voicestream (150 minutes); Cingular and Sprint PCS tied (300 minutes) and Sprint PCS (600 minutes). The survey did not address differences in the quality of wireless services. . . -- Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8405.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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Times columns today Howard Troxler Jan Glidewell Ernest Hooper Robert Trigaux John Romano From the Times Business desk |
