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The euro managed to rise 4% against the dollar in 2013, but that trend is not likely to repeat in 2014. The Eurozone economy is simply too weak. It's so weak, in fact, that the European Central Bank (ECB) may will probably have loosen monetary to keep it afloat.
Now, whether or not this is a good thing depends on your perspective.
Generally speaking, a stronger dollar is good for bondholders and savers. It makes it easier/less expensive for the United States to borrow. And it keeps inflation from undermining your savings.
But then there are downsides, as well. A stronger dollar will make U.S. exports more expensive, and acts as a serious headwind to corporate earnings.
So let's take a quick look at who wins and who loses when the dollar strengthens....
The Dollar's Downside
A strong dollar makes things difficult for U.S.-based multinationals, because it hurts overseas demand and erodes the value of foreign currencies.
Take the automotive industry, for example.
Japan is a huge competitor with powerhouses like Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM).
Pretend there are two identical cars manufactured in the United States and Japan. At the end of 2012, the cars cost 1.75 million yen, or $22,000. Well, by the end of 2013, the U.S. made car still costs $22,000, but since the yen fell some 20%, the same 1.75 million yen car now costs $17,500.
As you can see, a stronger dollar makes imported products cheaper in the United States, and U.S. exports more expensive in other countries.
Not only that, U.S. multinationals get pounded when they convert foreign income back into dollars.
For instance, when $1 could buy 87 yen at the beginning of 2013, someone paying 100 yen for a can of Coke was effectively paying $1.15. But now, $1 is worth 103 yen. That means someone paying 100 yen is effectively paying 97 cents for the same can of Coke.
Incidentally, Coke said in its third-quarter earnings statement that currency was a 2% headwind on comparable net revenues and a 5% headwind on comparable operating income during the quarter.
It's not alone.
Companies like Caterpillar (CAT), Deere (DE), Boeing (BA), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and General Electric (GE), all do huge business abroad, and will almost certainly see sales hurt by a stronger dollar. That negative impact will filter into the broader economy, as well, as lost international sales, constrain U.S. GDP growth.
Profits Head North
Conversely, the stronger dollar helps foreign competitors.
I already mentioned how it benefits foreign carmakers, like Honda and Toyota, but that's not all.
The Canadian dollar is nearing its lowest level in more than three years. Many analysts believe the loonie will fall to at least 90 cents this year, providing a nice tailwind to Canadian business.
Energy companies are paid in dollars for their products, so they have they actually receive more Canadian dollars when they repatriate their income. And other Canadian products, priced in loonies, all of the sudden look cheaper.
Furthermore, Canadian oil producers that trade in U.S. dollars, but pay Canadian salaries and expenses get an added bonus.
"If you're an investor, you can buy into this market at an eight per cent discount from what you could when we were at par," Bruce Graham, president and chief executive of Calgary Economic Development, told the Canadian Press "And if you are an exporter, somebody who is trying to move their product abroad into the U.S. market, in particular, you've got a cost advantage that you didn't have six months ago."
That's good news for Suncor Energy (SU), Cameco (CCJ) and other Canadian majors.
The bottom line: Major foreign exporters stand to gain from a stronger dollar, while U.S. companies find treading increasingly difficult.
More to the point, the corresponding hit to earnings could negatively affect U.S. stocks, which surged 25% last year.
Get paid,
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