that the exchange rate may tip US$1.50 before Christmas – is being

reported by the media with awe. Internet shoppers and offshore

holidaymakers are revelling in the disparity. But economists take a more

tempered view of the big bucks high that's powered by the commodities

boom. In the long term, the floating dollar may present risks to other

parts of the economy and dampen innovation, they say. And there's the

threat of inflation. James Morley, a professor of economics at the

Australian School of Business, weighs up the likely impact of the

dollar's 30-year high.