Drab said:
TTJ has a few solid points there, in addition I'll add that that anything made in the Thailand factories is far less dependent on the valuation of the Yen.

Add China, S. Korea to that as well - parts come from everywhere. Thailand is far worse than Japan but China could be interesting to watch for prices. If they continue their path (I fully expect they will) prices will remain steady, but certainly not go down. China's money policies are haphazard for the rest of the world but are in their self interest for their economy, which is also good for our prices on goods.

"Not a good thing. They say when the US economy sneezes, the rest of the world gets pneumonia."

Judging by the recent past, it was the USA that got pneumonia and the rest of the world just got a bad cold - so far that is - it isn't over enough to be confident yet.

There is no upside when it goes bad for a country's economy I reckon, it is just a matter of time before the ripples (or tsunami) reach you.

TTJ has a few solid points there, in addition I'll add that that anything made in the Thailand factories is far less dependent on the valuation of the Yen.

It means very little in the prices we pay in the long run (2yr +) and short term (3mth) but may pay slightly higher in the middle there but not by much (couple of %). Exchanges keep everything in line for the most part for consumers. Companies may get hit and we may see a slowdown in new releases but that would be a company by company impact. Nikon and many other companies re-evaluated many projections and prices recently that move everything a bit higher (as we have all noticed).

"national debt crisis and a massive devaluation of the yen" - all political babble written by an English major reporting on finance. The downgrade was very small in reality - basically the difference is the same if you or I paying 5% interest Vs 4.8% on a 30yr mortgage is all the change is.

Not a good thing, but certainly not any sort of a panic either.

Oh, dear. That is bad news.

Not a good thing. They say when the US economy sneezes, the rest of the world gets pneumonia. If the economy of Japan were to die as the article suggests, the results would make the current world economy look like a picnic. Cameras might be cheap, but you might be just trying to find enough money to feed yourself.

Read this on CNN Money today -

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/27/japan-downgrade-the-beginning-of-the-end/

"While the move came as a surprise to some, a handful of investors and economists saw the downgrade as an acknowledgment of what they have believed for years: Japan is en route to a national debt crisis and a massive devaluation of the yen."

That last part is what has me thinking my dollar will buy me more Nikon gear than currently.