From what I understand, one reason that the US$ is high is that all the loans being called in by the Banks were originally written in US$, and that's what they are having to be repaid in, consequently, the US$ is at a premium. Sounds like a reasonable explanation.
By the way, has anyone looked at Meade's stock price recently? A couple of days ago it was at 15cents, and in 2000 it was over $35!! Can they hang in? That puts their market capitalisation at less than $5million, about the same value as a block of say 12 units in an average suburb. If you are interested
here are the details. Makes you wonder what the scopes are REALLY worth, doesn't it?