Good News, Bad News

This week was a good news/bad news kind of week in Paris for the U.S.

The good news? The U.S. is now the most admired country across the globe, according to a new poll. In France, approval of America rose to 75 percent—a rather significant leap from the rather anemic 42 percent numbers seen in 2008. It’s not any great mystery why we Americans are once again back en vogue. While he may not have been able to bring the Olympics to Chicago, President Obama has clearly brought hope to the world—and was rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Whether or not you, the reader, feels that President Obama was a worthy recipient of this esteemed honor is not the point. What is notable, however, is that this recognition is as much about America’s place in the world as it is about the man himself.

So Americans can once again travel the world and know that they are liked. But now that the dollar has sunk to an all-time low against the Euro, who the heck can afford to travel the world?

And that’s the bad news.

One Euro is now the equivalent of $1.50. That means that €150 budget hotel room will cost you $225.50 a night. The €525 bargain Chanel handbag isn’t such a steal at $789. Look at it cumulatively. Two Thanksgivings ago, six nights in a €150 hotel room would have equaled $1143 after an exchange rate of roughly $1.27. This Thanksgiving, that same room will cost you $1353, or $210 more.

The weak dollar is bad news for Americans traveling to Paris (or anywhere in Europe), and it’s bad news for the French. They want a stronger dollar as much as the rest of us, if only to keep tourists coming and exports going.

But at least the French like us again. Right?

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