The Atlantic (February 4, 2014)
“Lehman conditioned us to always look for the next domino. But sometimes a falling currency is just a falling currency.” Since last May when then Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned tapering, “emerging market currencies have been in a world of pain.” But fundamentals are much stronger than before the Asian Currency Crisis so this needn’t be a repeat of 1997. “The danger isn’t slumping currencies. The danger is overreacting to slumping currencies.”
Tags: 1997, Asian Currency Crisis, Ben Bernanke, Currency, Emerging markets, Fed, Fundamentals, Lehman, Overreacting, Tapering
Financial Times (December 21, 2013)
The UK is set to adopt “funny money,” abandoning paper currency for polymer. In 2016 the Bank of England “will begin introducing plastic notes that can be wiped clean and are difficult to tear. These are expected to last two-and-a-half times as long as the cotton and linen variety, which can quickly become ragged and soiled.” The UK will be following Australia, where paper currency was eliminated in 1996, resulting in a significant decrease in counterfeiting.
Tags: Australia, Bank of England, Counterfeiting, Currency, Paper, Plastic, UK
The Wall Street Journal (November 28, 2013)
“Investors are piling into bets against the yen.” Based on data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), “wagers that the Japanese currency will slide against the U.S. dollar have surged to the highest amount this year and are within striking distance of levels not seen since 2007.” With the Fed poised to taper and the Bank of Japan set to maintain and possibly expand its already aggressive monetary easing program, some expect the exchange rate to move to 110 yen versus the dollar.
Tags: Bank of Japan, CFTC, Currency, Dollar, Exchange rate, Fed, Investors, Monetary easing, Taper, U.S., Yen
Bloomberg (October 28)
“Foreign investors have boosted South Korean stock holdings for a record 41 straight days, lured by the nation’s current-account surplus, strengthening currency and fastest growth in almost two years.”
Institutional Investor (February Issue)
“Talk of currency wars is once again in the air, making foreign exchange potentially a major component of investment returns.” Last year, “the dollar underperformed all major currencies except the yen.” In 2013, the Norwegian krone, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar are likely to benefit if the dollar’s slide continues.
Tags: Australia, Currency, Dollar, Forex, Investment, Krone, New Zealand, Norway, U.S., Yen
Forbes (September 9)
“There is a country that, more than any other, needs the Federal Reserve to embark on QE3.” A third program of quantitative easing “may not help the U.S., but China certainly stands to gain.” QE3 is expected to weaken the dollar. “A weak American currency means a weak Chinese one, and a weak Chinese currency helps the nation’s struggling exporters on global markets.”
Forbes (June 27)
“The euro is going to survive despite all the crises and the growing punditry consensus that this experiment is doomed to fail. The currency will live on for political reasons—Germany and France want it to.”
“The euro is going to survive despite all the crises and the growing punditry consensus that this experiment is doomed to fail. The currency will live on for political reasons—Germany and France want it to.”
Euromoney (May 21)
As the European currency crisis continues to unfold, the spotlight shifts. “Spain’s economic political future hangs in the balance, as fears over Greece’s exit from the eurozone leave the credibility of its financial stabilization plans in tatters without urgent redress from eurozone policymakers.” And if Spain falls to contagion, there’s no telling where the downward spiral will end, though Italy would probably be the next to fall.
The Economist (May 12)
“Amid growing risk of a Greek exit, the euro zone has yet to face up to the task of saving the single currency itself…. The idea of a chaotic Greek departure from the euro at a time of Franco-German disunion should terrify everyone it touches…. Like some dreadful joke, the euro needs French reform, German extravagance and Italian political maturity.”
Investment Week (January 26, 2012)Investment Week (January 26, 2012)
“The euro needs to see a sharp fall of at least 30%, bringing it into line with the US dollar, or else the eurozone is ‘doomed.’” That warning came from economist Nouriel Roubini. He believes a major drop in the currency is the only way to “restore stability and competitiveness” in Europe.
Investment Week (January 26, 2012)
“The euro needs to see a sharp fall of at least 30%, bringing it into line with the US dollar, or else the eurozone is ‘doomed.’” That warning came from economist Nouriel Roubini. He believes a major drop in the currency is the only way to “restore stability and competitiveness” in Europe.
