With all the focus on the US Dollar's current free-fall and pundits predicting further weakness for the greenback, a little perspective is in order.

First of all, where have all the pundits been for the last five years? It's not like the dollars fall from grace started yesterday. In fact the dollar's fall has been a result of global growth, not a faltering US economy. The fact is that even with the subprime mess, rising commodity prices and the war in Iraq, the US economy is growing just fine. Could all the doomsayers in the media have a political agenda? Remember, an election is approaching.

Bloomberg News reports that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen refuses to be paid in dollars. In addition to landing undefeated (9-0) New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady -- although that relationship could be on the rocks -- she is one savvy currency trader.

Gisele Bundchen is proving to be a shrewd analyst of the U.S. dollar's weakness. When Bundchen signed a contract in August to represent Pantene hair products for Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), she demanded payment in euros. She'll also get euros for the deal she reached last October with Dolce & Gabbana SpA in Milan to promote the Italian designer's new fragrance.

"Contracts starting now are more attractive in euros because we don't know what will happen to the dollar," Patricia Bundchen, the model's twin sister and manager in Brazil, said in a telephone interview in September from Sao Paulo.

Those Bundchens are smart cookies! Too bad I can't say the same for Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and his strong dollar policy.