Exchange rates and currencies

Another great video for revision - exchange rates

The BBC have produced another great short video that could be used for revision. Here they look at the effects of a strong pound.

Click here for the video

Don’t forget the great mnemonic for remember the effects of a strong pound:

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Going on holiday this summer?

So you have booked your holiday, excited about going, you have your spending money all sorted but there is a problem….... how far will it go?
Exchange rates have had a huge impact on peoples spending power when they go abroad on holiday. The weak pound has been welcomed by exporters but holiday makers do not like it. To explain this I am going to use one of my favourite and longest serving mnemonics - WIDEC.

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Great exchange rates video

The BBC have done a great job here and produced a great short video on exchange rates and how they work. There are also short videos on the US and China and their currencies.

Good news if you are going on holiday to Europe

The pound against the euro has strengthen in recent months meaning must needed relief for British holidaymakers going to Europe.

As you can see from the graph the value of the pound has risen from £1=1.125 Euros at the beginning of April 2010 to £1=1.24 Euros at the end of July 2010.

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The pound weakens - video

This is a great video from the BBC explaining why the value of the pound has weakened further this week. It is full of economic concepts making it an excellent revision tool too.

Is a weak pound good?

As some of you may be discovering it isn’t a great time for UK holiday makers to go on holiday in the USA or Europe. As the value of the pound against both the dollar and the euro has weakened it has meant that it is more expensive to buy goods abroad (remember as a tourist going abroad we are an import because the money goes out of the UK and into the foreign country). Could this weak pound be good for the UK economy as a whole?

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25 per cent unemployment in the Canary Islands

Spain is an interesting economy for GCSE students to look at. In Spain tourism accounts for 10% of gross national product and one in eight jobs. Construction is also a very important industry. And both sectors are now struggling with the pain of recession.

Many hotels have temporarily closed even during the summer season and the bars, restaurants, hire cars and airports are being affected by the downturn in demand. Economists have a term for this - a negative multiplier effect.

This BBC news video looks at the Canary Islands where one person in four is unemployed (an unemployment rate of 25% is nearly four times the jobless rate we have here in the UK).