Exchange rate blues
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Exchange rate blues
well now, just when we thought the days of old people talking of when one Rand bought two Dollars...we all have to swallow hard and think again.
Seems the rand is holding strong and smiling. the gold price is up and there are many elections(USA and SA) comming in 2004...
This thread is to debate whats gonna happen to the Rand and what the guys earing foreign money but living in SA are gonna do about it.
Lets not get into a 'my compnay is paying peanuts and i hate it' debate.
There are many contract pilots working outside SA for reputable companies. Some companies are south african and some arent. But most these guys still live in SA. ie live in rands.
Bottom line is that they are all earning at least only two thrids of what they used to earn, maybe even less.
Should these guys get more $$$ ???
ok off to the cafe to get a hotdog, coke, 3 chappies and a scope for R3.55.
Rand$
Seems the rand is holding strong and smiling. the gold price is up and there are many elections(USA and SA) comming in 2004...
This thread is to debate whats gonna happen to the Rand and what the guys earing foreign money but living in SA are gonna do about it.
Lets not get into a 'my compnay is paying peanuts and i hate it' debate.
There are many contract pilots working outside SA for reputable companies. Some companies are south african and some arent. But most these guys still live in SA. ie live in rands.
Bottom line is that they are all earning at least only two thrids of what they used to earn, maybe even less.
Should these guys get more $$$ ???
ok off to the cafe to get a hotdog, coke, 3 chappies and a scope for R3.55.
Rand$
Gatvol
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Some of us spend a few months every year in SA and the Rand at 12/1 on the dollar was great. Now is down to 6/1 roughly and its still OK, we just are not as rich anymore..... Just a few years ago I was there at 3/1 and had a great time.
Now is the time for my friends from SA to visit the states as Im sure , given a little time and some Government folks with deep pockets, the Rand will head to the roof.
Either way Im coming back......SA is the worlds best kept secret for tourism....
Now is the time for my friends from SA to visit the states as Im sure , given a little time and some Government folks with deep pockets, the Rand will head to the roof.
Either way Im coming back......SA is the worlds best kept secret for tourism....
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All good and well wanting to visit the US, Bert, but them bugga's aren't too generous with their visa's!!
No problem for me as I'm here already, but they refused a family member of mine wanting to come and visit!!! Eeeesh. Although knowing my family, they were probably pretty smart not to issue the visa!
As for the rand/$........ all I know is there must be a lot of contract operators who are hurting in SA, having bought aircraft at 12-1 and now having to pay them back earning 6-1!
No problem for me as I'm here already, but they refused a family member of mine wanting to come and visit!!! Eeeesh. Although knowing my family, they were probably pretty smart not to issue the visa!
As for the rand/$........ all I know is there must be a lot of contract operators who are hurting in SA, having bought aircraft at 12-1 and now having to pay them back earning 6-1!
Gatvol
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nomoneynowek writes:
"All good and well wanting to visit the US, Bert, but them bugga's aren't too generous with their visa's!!
No problem for me as I'm here already, but they refused a family member of mine wanting to come and visit!!! "
I have to say since I have seen how they work, U.S. Immigration is probably THE WORST U.S. Government agency that we have. 12 million plus or minus illegals here and they will not give Visas to honest folks......They have no F
ing clue.
I have a few of these folks on my Personal Sh1t list and am waiting to see what happens next year for HAI. Any Problems and I know how to end some careers with Pen and Ink.
"All good and well wanting to visit the US, Bert, but them bugga's aren't too generous with their visa's!!
No problem for me as I'm here already, but they refused a family member of mine wanting to come and visit!!! "
I have to say since I have seen how they work, U.S. Immigration is probably THE WORST U.S. Government agency that we have. 12 million plus or minus illegals here and they will not give Visas to honest folks......They have no F
ing clue.I have a few of these folks on my Personal Sh1t list and am waiting to see what happens next year for HAI. Any Problems and I know how to end some careers with Pen and Ink.
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nostalgic
thanks guys.
seems that when the going gets tough, the only thing we can all do is get nostalgic.
YES SA is lekka but hey the deal here is....why sit in the middle of risky Africa trying to earn decent $$$ when the Rand is so strong that actaully we could be earning more at home.
Couldnt agree more about oprators suffering. Imagine for instance going to buy a new King Air now for $7 mil (guess). that used to be R70 mil on a good day and R56 mil on an average day. But today its only R42 mil.
That could hurt SA aviation badly
Thing is that what evver happens, people still have to live and pay bills and buy new toys
Just like nobody will sell the new aircraft at R6 to the $. Why should those pilots get a salary at R6 to the $???
any suggestions as to what they should get???
and cents.
seems that when the going gets tough, the only thing we can all do is get nostalgic.
YES SA is lekka but hey the deal here is....why sit in the middle of risky Africa trying to earn decent $$$ when the Rand is so strong that actaully we could be earning more at home.
Couldnt agree more about oprators suffering. Imagine for instance going to buy a new King Air now for $7 mil (guess). that used to be R70 mil on a good day and R56 mil on an average day. But today its only R42 mil.
That could hurt SA aviation badly
Thing is that what evver happens, people still have to live and pay bills and buy new toys
Just like nobody will sell the new aircraft at R6 to the $. Why should those pilots get a salary at R6 to the $???
any suggestions as to what they should get???
and cents.
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I dont think the current highs of the Rand are a long term trend. Many exporters in SA are feeling the pinch and the downward trend for interests rates should see the currency devalue a bit. But with George Bush's economic madness -i.e. massive hole in the public finances - I don't think the $ will ever be so strong again.
So all in all I think that those dollar based contracts might not be the cushy number they once were.
So all in all I think that those dollar based contracts might not be the cushy number they once were.
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Long ago and far away.........
Well been there done it,... started when the $ was going for R3.65.
Seen R13.60 for a dollar, and watched it slide to 6.08 as well.
Lets look at it in a more holistic approach.
Who wants dollar and who doesnt want dollar, is the real issue.
Lets say for example:
I buy a couple of fighter jets and a couple of tubs with flingwings on them to partol my coastline and play navy navy. The people who sell these toys, wants dollars( if the dollar is strong) for their dollar offshore accounts, from where they pay them selves and their suppliers(mostly yank). So they send me the bill in dollar. But because they and I know, that the bill is a stiff one they give me a nice grace period because there is always honour amongst thieves!
Once I get my ships, and flingwings and jets, I want dollar to pay for them big fat invoices. I look at my buget and at the exchangerate and realise that for every 1 dollar I owe I need to spend R10! My buget will run short by quite a couple of bob. However if I can manage to influence a couple of people that have influence over a couple of other to make sure that the value of the rand increases, which inturn makes the dollar comparitavely worth 30% less, my buget shortfall suddenly dissarpeares.
The way I do it is this, I encourage all the peasants and other gulliables in the land,to sell, all kinds of things, gold and silver baubles and other shiny things outside my land and whisper in their ears to insist to be paid in dollar.
In a short space of time everyone has many bags of dollar that he needs to sell, to pay for the water and lights and Klipdrift and coke in rands,and for the cleaning lady that refuses to be paid in dollar!
But we have a problem,and the problem is that there is so many dollar about that there is not nearly enough rands to be had!
I then, every night, count all the rand in the land, and there by decide how much, am I prepared to pay for one dollar(because I want a lot I want a special price!). Suddenly my rands increase in value because everyone wants a couple.
I start buying dollar, to pay for my ships and things,( that buzz and stings) cheaply, very cheaply! I pay my bill and voila! It cost me not much after all!
Now because I have bought all the dollar in the land( or nearly all because the cafe owner I sell mine to is still sitting on his) there is not enought dollar to go around, and you will have to fork out a lot of rand for one measely dollar, and every one starts selling outside the land again, wagons, goats, cabbages, and shiny baubles, and the peasants that werent are planting to do so are planting again......
and so the story continues................
The time to start doing contracts is now because you just cannot get a slot if the rand is bad! Then ever airline pilots are doing contracts on leave. My advise is get your self hired now because in March April its going to be a different story
...." the time has come the walrus said,
to speak of many things.
Of pirate ships and sealing wax,
and cabbages and kings."
Seen R13.60 for a dollar, and watched it slide to 6.08 as well.
Lets look at it in a more holistic approach.
Who wants dollar and who doesnt want dollar, is the real issue.
Lets say for example:
I buy a couple of fighter jets and a couple of tubs with flingwings on them to partol my coastline and play navy navy. The people who sell these toys, wants dollars( if the dollar is strong) for their dollar offshore accounts, from where they pay them selves and their suppliers(mostly yank). So they send me the bill in dollar. But because they and I know, that the bill is a stiff one they give me a nice grace period because there is always honour amongst thieves!
Once I get my ships, and flingwings and jets, I want dollar to pay for them big fat invoices. I look at my buget and at the exchangerate and realise that for every 1 dollar I owe I need to spend R10! My buget will run short by quite a couple of bob. However if I can manage to influence a couple of people that have influence over a couple of other to make sure that the value of the rand increases, which inturn makes the dollar comparitavely worth 30% less, my buget shortfall suddenly dissarpeares.
The way I do it is this, I encourage all the peasants and other gulliables in the land,to sell, all kinds of things, gold and silver baubles and other shiny things outside my land and whisper in their ears to insist to be paid in dollar.
In a short space of time everyone has many bags of dollar that he needs to sell, to pay for the water and lights and Klipdrift and coke in rands,and for the cleaning lady that refuses to be paid in dollar!
But we have a problem,and the problem is that there is so many dollar about that there is not nearly enough rands to be had!
I then, every night, count all the rand in the land, and there by decide how much, am I prepared to pay for one dollar(because I want a lot I want a special price!). Suddenly my rands increase in value because everyone wants a couple.
I start buying dollar, to pay for my ships and things,( that buzz and stings) cheaply, very cheaply! I pay my bill and voila! It cost me not much after all!
Now because I have bought all the dollar in the land( or nearly all because the cafe owner I sell mine to is still sitting on his) there is not enought dollar to go around, and you will have to fork out a lot of rand for one measely dollar, and every one starts selling outside the land again, wagons, goats, cabbages, and shiny baubles, and the peasants that werent are planting to do so are planting again......
and so the story continues................
The time to start doing contracts is now because you just cannot get a slot if the rand is bad! Then ever airline pilots are doing contracts on leave. My advise is get your self hired now because in March April its going to be a different story
...." the time has come the walrus said,
to speak of many things.
Of pirate ships and sealing wax,
and cabbages and kings."
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The only upside to this scenario that I can see is that while we are on contract,we dont feel to guilty spending the dollars,where as before you tried as hard as possible to save every $ possible to take home to exchange.I know a couple of places back home where you pay R14 a beer,so hey,hears to being on contract and drinking lots of beer and only feeeling very bad the next day for other reasons
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no blue's here....
so this isnt exatcly on the thread but it is close enough.
funny how these emails just seem to get fowarded around the place so fast. here's an interesting excert:
''I really need one paper where you have to declare
that the money that you payed me in cash at asmara was
about my salary(like a contract pilot of NAC -$12000
for the payment of my salary of september and
october)becose,the french police believe that I am a
dealer of drogs(NOT A JOKE!After to be passing for a
french spy in eritrea it's great...)''
lets not belittle this man. some may know him and its not for telling.
now that my friends is either Bull t or my captain mates are being shafted very long and hard this year.
and as for being a french WHAT???? thought paperwork was enough to keep pilots out of other business.
comments?
and cents.
funny how these emails just seem to get fowarded around the place so fast. here's an interesting excert:
''I really need one paper where you have to declare
that the money that you payed me in cash at asmara was
about my salary(like a contract pilot of NAC -$12000
for the payment of my salary of september and
october)becose,the french police believe that I am a
dealer of drogs(NOT A JOKE!After to be passing for a
french spy in eritrea it's great...)''
lets not belittle this man. some may know him and its not for telling.
now that my friends is either Bull
t or my captain mates are being shafted very long and hard this year. and as for being a french WHAT???? thought paperwork was enough to keep pilots out of other business.
comments?
and cents.
