The state of our money

In my moment of temp hiatus, I'm still reading tons of blogs. The news that our currency's starting to falter is understandably concerning and the fact that the chairmen of Bear, who's one of many, who's caused this mess, is actually getting a pay out, this get's a massive WTF. There seems to be no wrong doing, but it's still insane, to make $61 Million when everything is collapsing.

American tourists with dollars turned away from currency exchanges in Amsterdam 

The U.S. dollar's value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands....

That's because the smaller currency exchanges -- despite buy/sell spreads that make it easier for them to make money by exchanging small amounts of currency -- don't want to be caught holding dollars that could be worth less by the time they can sell them.

[Link from Reuters via America Blog]

Bear Stearns Chairman sells everything - pockets $61 million 

Bear Stearns Cos. Chairman James Cayne on Thursday dumped his entire stake in the embattled investment bank for $61 million as it appears closer to a takeover by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Cayne sold 5.66 million shares for exactly $10.84 a share on March 25, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His stake was once valued at about $1 billion when the stock was trading at $171.50 per share.

[Link from MsNBC via AmericaBlog]