Un-bee-lievable
The news has been all abuzz with bees this week, from the North Carolina girl whose “monster in the closet” turned out to be more than 50,000 bees, to the Los Angeles Dodgers game that was delayed 90 minutes due to a swarm, making a hero of the beekeeper who allowed the game to go on. Learn more about these amazing pollinators, as vital as they are varied, with over 20,000 species all across the world.
Amazing Facts About Bees
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Melissa Petruzzello text, Patrick O'Neill Riley art
What Would Happen If All the Bees Died?
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What’s the Difference Between a Bee and a Wasp?
© ex0rzist/Shutterstock.com;AdstockRF
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Strong Dollar Bodes Well for Tourism
If you’re planning to travel internationally this summer, you’re in luck. A strong dollar, driven by the Federal Reserve, which has raised interest rates 11 times since 2022 in an attempt to tame inflation, means it’s cheaper for U.S. tourists to travel overseas. The Fed’s decision Wednesday to maintain rates at current levels, as it has done since July, means the dollars in your wallet will buy more euros, reais, and Canadian dollars than they did last summer.
Weak yen
Japan’s yen, in particular, has struggled against the dollar. Just a few years ago, it took 100 yen to equal a dollar, now it’s closer to 160—and the yen has fallen 10% against the dollar just this year alone. What does that mean for tourists? Cheaper prices. A bowl of ramen that cost $9 in 2019 is now nearly $3 less.
Blame inflation
Japan’s central bank is walking a tightrope as it seeks to keep a lid on prices while not making its exports more expensive than those from other Asian nations, such as South Korea. But it’s the Bank of Japan’s attempt at reining in prices that’s making it cheaper for tourists to buy things in Japan, and here’s why. After years of negative rates, the Bank of Japan in March moved its benchmark interest rate into positive territory to combat rising prices at home. But in doing so, it signaled an end to its policy of yield curve control (YCC), the attempt to manage interest rates along a portion of the yield curve to keep long-term rates from rising.
Exchange rates: The (relative) price of money
The exchange rate between two countries is based primarily on the difference between their interest rates. While YCC worked well when inflation was low in Japan’s economy, rising global prices, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, pushed the Fed to aggressively hike rates. Japan and other nations were much slower to raise rates, and thus the dollar marched higher. And that’s why you’ll spend less on noodles (and so much more) should you travel to Japan this summer.
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