Downward Facing Dollar

The low value of the dollar against the euro and yen is forcing meeting planners to develop a new skill -- foreign currency trading, PCMA member Leigh Wintz, CAE, executive director of Soroptimist International of the Americas, told the New York Times in a story about navigating the dollar's ups and (mostly) downs when planning international meetings. And to act as hedge managers: Gregg Talley, president and CEO of Talley Management Group, Inc., advised event planners to use foreign currency contracts as a way to mitigate the dollar's fluctuations.

The story drew on the expertise of additional PCMA members, including analysis by Michael Payne, executive vice president of SmithBucklin; Phelps Hope, vice president for meetings and expositions for Kellen Meetings; Brenda Anderson, chief executive of SITE; and Brad Weaber, president of Courtesy Associates.