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  • Showing only topics with the tag "euro". Back to normal view
    1. Euro reaches parity with dollar

      I didn't find any great links so made this a self post. Here are some just from Google but they mainly just say what's on the tin:...

      I didn't find any great links so made this a self post. Here are some just from Google but they mainly just say what's on the tin:

      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-11/euro-plunges-to-fresh-two-decade-low-as-dollar-runs-rampant

      https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/investing/euro-dollar-parity/index.html

      https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/safe-haven-dollar-stands-tall-inflation-energy-jitters-2022-07-11/

      As of 5:00 pm Eastern on July 11th 2022, if you check the exchange rate, the dollar is now 1:1 with the Euro.


      In terms of effects, it seems complicated. Europe has a decently export heavy economy, unlike the US (for which only 10% of its GDP comes from manufacturing), so a weak Euro will help that.

      However, it will make all imports more expensive. This is another supply shock, as most of continental Europe already faces heavy issues with regards to energy given the sanctions on Russia, one of the primary energy providers.

      So it will certainly make domestic inflation worse (note: domestic inflation and the value of the currency on FX are different things - although they can mutually affect each other). If nothing else, the LNG Europe is buying from the US will be more expensive. The ECB has struggled to raise interest rates to fight inflation given Spain and Italy's high debt levels, and this won't help.

      Winter could potentially be very, very bad.

      For the US, a strong dollar is probably fine. The US is not a heavy export country, and the dollar surge helps cement reserve currency status from which the US gets a number of benefits. A slowdown in exports will also help tamper inflation.

      The pound for the most part has tracked with the Euro, brexit or not.

      17 votes
    2. Trickerion Collector's Edition (and expansion) on Kickstarter

      I play boardgames weekly, mainly what is called euro games that focus on building engines to accumulate points by the end of the game and typically at the heavier end of the gamut too. (The word...

      I play boardgames weekly, mainly what is called euro games that focus on building engines to accumulate points by the end of the game and typically at the heavier end of the gamut too. (The word heavy is used to describe games that have either long, complicated rulesets or complex strategy, or both. It's a somewhat subjective term.)

      Trickerion is one of my top-ten games, if not my favourite. It's very thematic (Victorian era magicians competing for fame by performing tricks), the blind worker assignment mechanism it uses is very tense and it's possible to undermine an opponent's strategy by learning a trick they were clearly aiming for, or removing the materials they need from the marketplace. Best of all, there is this very dramatic end game crescendo as everyone rushes to the theatre to perform their most spectacular tricks.

      That said, the rule-set is pretty heavy and the theatre scoring is a bit fiddly, so I couldn't recommend the game to someone who hasn't played many modern boardgames already. But if you're of a technical/financial disposition or have experience with middle to heavy boardgames already then I'd say dive in there whilst you can.

      The original game was launched on Kickstarter in 2015. The new edition Kickstarter includes options for the expansion, the upgrade kit or the full deal with everything including the original game.

      (I'm not affiliated with the game in any fashion, just enjoy playing it, though I did once witness the designer playtesting the expansion at the London on Board Meetup group and had a short chat with him.)

      4 votes