[entaifsfets]

That is the "Price Of Prostitures"Index! I am still getting all I want for between 3 and 4 hundred pesos."They",have not increased their prices at all! In fact,due to decreased demand,girls who were once getting 1 to 2 thousand pesos a "POP" from ignorant Tourists at the Jaragua Hotel,are now at "Fire Sale" prices,and even offering "TwoFers"(Get 2 girls,pay for 1!)Former dancers at the, now just a "memory","Le Petit Chautoe"(I can't spell in English,forget French!) "Lapsus Niare calling me with their bargain basement offers!"Snatch Is On Sale!!!"SSoooooooooooo,at 27 to 1,it still only costs about $15 US for "15 minutes of Fame"!!!!! What a Country! CCCris CCCCCCCCCCCColon

[IrrettelatWet]

Can you imagine going to a Dominican ATM to get some pesos at this year's end. If you are drawing from a U.S. account the machine will not hold enough Peso bills to dispense for a US$20 transaction. Regards PJT

[velichay]

Yesterday evening I drove past a certain fast food establishment on the corner of Churchill and Sarasota. The price advertised for the Big Mac was RD$69. Using the current conversion rate of RD$27 = US$1, that means that the cost of a Big Mac in Santo Domingo is equivalent to over US$2.50, much closer to the price golo quotes for the US (US$2.71).

Chiri

[eliniaguilefp7m]

Originally posted by PJT
Can you imagine going to a Dominican ATM to get some pesos at this year's end. If you are drawing from a U.S. account the machine will not hold enough Peso bills to dispense for a US$20 transaction. Regards PJT Sure it will. When I was in Venezuela a couple of years ago, the rate of exchange was about 600 to 1 and I got all my money from ATMs. If I were there now I would be doing the same even though the rate of exchange is more than 1700 to 1.

What happens as the local currency decreases in value is that bigger denomination bills get printed and the lowest are phased out. For example, at the time I was in Venezuela we had 10,000 bills and I'm sure they now have bills of 20,000 or more.

[inilbowly]

And the tragedy is even USD is doing badly. So imagine if it gets stronger sometime in future.

With peso deposit rates at 24%-28% and still no buyers for the government bonds, meaning they expect depreciation of at least that much in 1 year (almost).

It is really simple, there is Top Line (Revenue, dropping in real terms), Cost Line (Expenses rising) and if you subtract it is Bottom Line, which plainly sucks.

[Ganoshenko]

I haven't eaten a burger for so long that I was curious at the price too. Here in Guelph it's 3.26 cnd for a big mac and 5.79 cnd for a combo.

So at about 1cnd=18 pesos it's about 55 pesos for only a big mac.
Does that make sense? If it doesn't never mind.

[ArrichMer]

Regarding His Baldness' trip to Washington, here's the question:

Is Hippo's going along with the "coalition of the willing" and EVERY other imperialistic (I can't believe I used that word, but, strangely, it now seems to apply) foreign policy initiative (military, environmental, anti-terrorist, drug, etc.) of Bush worth a $2B bailout (through grants, projects and manipulation of the IMF/World Bank and other "aid" banks) of the Dominican Republic??? The world wants to know.

[entaifsfets]

The peso is already at 27! You won't have to wait nearly that long to see 30.It could be 40,50,60 or more by December!Cris

[viagraman]

Im living in the Netherlands (Europe) and we have the Euro (1 € = 30 Pesos) if im going on vacation to the DR it is very cheap. But im not happy for the country after Hipolito is managing the country we need a strong Peso i hope for the Caribbean Dollars because the economy of the DR is going down if the USD will be higher and higher.

I have checked for my grandma she want a vacation to us here in the Netherlands the Travel Agent have qouted

(Fares? normal to Europe is 13.000 till 18000/20000 pesos what is now the price ) 30.000 pesos with Martinair (cheapest fare)

I hope Leonel get back but we need to realise the world crisis its not easy to manage an country with now the WORLD CRISIS.

Hipolito i expected more but i now why?

[velichay]

At the risk of being mistaken for a McDonalds connaisseur, I would guess that the 99c is for a normal burger.

Chiri

[Noxassope]

Originally posted by Samana1
How can the Peso get back to USD 1 = 16 DOP

currently = 1 USD - 26 DOP last summer was it 1 USD 16/17/18 peso

Some body now how this work?

Can somebody help me? Direct military intervention by the US

Followed by years of US occupation. Even with that after the US leaves it Peso will crash again

[Noxassope]

TW,

I don't know what this guy is talking about. A Big Mac costs $0.99 here in Miami. So using his formula the Peso is overvalued by about 100%!

[BebopVT]

do not be surprise if you see the peso hit 27-30 by month end.

DR is only borrowing money and not worrying about the future. Hippo figures he will not be in power and/or dead by the time people open their eyes and see the mess he has created.

[velichay]

I am a fan of the 'Big Mac' index myself, although for many years now I have not been a fan of its namesake. The variables here though are the running costs for a fast food joint, in the Dominican case very low pay for workers which brings down the price of the item. Also taken into account is the customers' purchasing power I guess. So its not just a clear case of 'in Santo Domingo a Big Mac costs the equivalent of US$2.00 compared to over $4.50 in Zurich'. In Zurich the franchisees are having to pay a higher wage to their workers and are dealing with customers with higher incomes.

Chiri

[BebopVT]

correct, it was month end.

now Hippo is in DC. what do you think he is doing there?

I bet he is trying to get more money which will in turn create more of a mess. What amazes me is how the people have not made a bigger stink out of all this. But it's like Criss said, a lot of people are not aware of what's going on.

[Nzmoafzn]

Please double check that again. The $70 Big Mac quoted to me in two locations is a COMBO. The one used for the PPP is a single hamburger patty with its own trimmings, without fries and drink.

TW

[entaifsfets]

They don't know what the hell is going on with their own Government! "Borrow & Spend" is bad enough,but "Borrow and Spend and Steal"is even worse! Samana1,your government has borrowed billions of dollars in the World Bond Market.They can't pay it back! If you think that 27 to 1 is bad,hang on Pardner,you ain't seen nothing yet!Now that Baninter has "Disappeared" another 2 billion US dollars things can only get worse! Cris Colon

[Lydiaswingert]

Guillermo when to the cambio this morning to change his tip money from US to pesos and he was told by the person behind the glass wall, that the peso will gain strength very soon! Exchange rate was 27.4 pesos to $1 US and the person who worked at the cambio insisted that it will drop soon.

Cambio was in Puerto Plata, right next to the bus terminal.

I laughed.
Ciao!

[topbonusescod]

Sounds like the D.R. may turn into Italy, where spaghetti and wine will cost 60,000 pesos instead of lira. Good Lord.

Hey sonny, can you shine my shoes? Sure mister, that will be 8,000 pesos.

[topbonusescod]

The problem is twofold. Mindless borrowing of staggering dollar amounts and reckless spending on projects that have a poor return on investment. The other is pervasive corruption at nearly all business levels in the D.R which has a destabilizing effect on the entire country. A $2 billion embezzlement loss of deposits by corrupt Baninter executives for a small country like the D.R. is a gigantic financial blow. Criss is right. I don't think we have seen anything yet, unless Hippo is able to get U.S. assistance to bail out the depeciating peso like we did with Brazil and Mexico.