Thanks. I'm truly only asking for travel advice -- currency speculation is not my thing, at least not as an investment, and I'm interested in this only as it comes up for purposes of buying a cheaper RTW.

My odd situation is that I can and intend to make good use of the US segments to make a series of quick stops within the US, and my timing is such that my options are badly limited. In short, I basically have to start the trip in North America.

One possibility -- arriving in my inbox unsolicited today: 1st-air.net's Oneworld RTW fares don't look so bad given the change in exchange rates plus the overhead of currency conversions. See http://1st-air.com.sg/world/fares_owa.html -- with their email to me reflecting $250 off for confirmation by May 13 and a 2% additional discount available for payments by check or wire transfer. Now, I don't recommend 1st-air.net all that favorably -- they've screwed up badly in the past for me. But the prices may be better than any alternative currently available given my other constraints. Hmm.