Why Mel Gibson’s prospects differ from the Aussie dollar’s

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – In many ways, the Australian dollar and Mel Gibson seem so similar: They both hail from Down Under; they are both seen as somewhat “rugged” players in their respective fields; and both have in the past made millions for their backers, FX traders and Hollywood studios alike.

Of course, the analogy only stretches so far. An actor cannot be traded simultaneously against his major counterparts, as in FX trading, and a currency cannot star in a major feature film. Nor can it allegedly deploy racist slurs in an argument with a girlfriend.

This last point, a reference to the 54-year-old star’s latest PR disaster, when he was named last week as a potential suspect in a domestic violence probe, brings us to an interesting and almost certainly overlooked fact: The Aussie dollar’s ascent in currency trading over recent years is actually an inverse reflection of the Australian actor’s fall from grace.

The last big hit for Gibson, who won an Academy Award in 1995 for directing “Braveheart,” was in 2002 for “Signs.” His reputation and career later nosedived after he made a series of anti-Semitic and sexist remarks during an arrest for suspected drunk driving in 2006.

And now the allegations of domestic abuse and tapes on which Gibson is said to unleash a litany of obscenities at Oksana Grigorieva, his ex-girlfriend, have taken the Lethal Weapon star’s career to a new trough, with his talent agency dumping him as a client.

The Aussie dollar, in contrast, has surged against the greenback since 2002. While it faltered during the global financial crisis in 2008, it soon bounced back up, and looks set to continue its ascent once the euro zone sovereign debt crisis has died down. (However, it should be noted that AUD/USD’s recent rally did stall suspiciously on Thursday, after the domestic violence story broke.)

Ultimately, the currency has the benefit of being strongly linked to Australia’s wealth of natural resources, which help to raise its value when global demand picks up. The only resource on which Mel Gibson can rely, it appears, is his ability to subject his reputation to further damage.

While the Aussie dollar may approach parity with the greenback in the coming years, according to forex analysis, the question remains: How low will the Australian actor take his career?

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