Did anyone else find the news today that £1 now buys you $2 US Dollars great news?

For me it is anyway. I’m off on holiday to Indonesia in about 6 weeks and US dollars are normally the best currency to pack for South East Asia. This means I’ll get more from my spending money. Business wise, most of my clients are UK or Europe based and therefore I shouldn’t lose out on the pound being more expensive, in the short term at least anyway. Probably the same story for many small businesses.

It’s not such a bright story for the blue chips or exporters though. Check out the news in the Times today. Essentially if you sell products in the US, or to countries with currencies linked to the US dollar (which many in South East Asia are), your products will become more expensive on the ground and therefore less competitive.

Could it also be a sign of tougher economic times ahead in the UK? The Bank of England is struggling to stifle a rising rate of inflation, soaring house prices and with an election on the not too distant horizon, it could get interesting.

Can your business cope with these bigger macro-economic conditions? Are there things you can do now to better prepare?