Falling dollar to make Christmas expensive

I got up early on Sunday morning, and called my 96-year-old father in England. "Have you lost any money in the economic meltdown?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "It's all in bank deposits and government bonds."

I assured him that we, too, had not suffered in any way - yet.

Then, this afternoon, I found the catalogue of Christmas gifts from Egertons, an English company, waiting for me in my PO box. And as I opened it, to see what I could order for my parents before December, I was struck by the realization that I will have to spend a lot more than I did last year.

For a start, the prices have gone up. They always do. But this year, for the first time in several years, the kiwi dollar has gone down - precipitously. Earlier this year, it was around US80c; today it was at US59.80c at 5pm, down from US60.19c at 8am. Last Monday morning, it was buying US66c.

So as soon as I start buying overseas, as I must before long, I will begin to feel the consequences of the current economic turmoil.