Forbes (August 22)
Steve Forbes urges India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi to first create a “sound and stable currency” through disciplined monetary policy that initially includes a dollar or euro peg. Among his other tips: “Simplify the tax code with a low-rate flat tax” and “Be extremely cautious in attacking subsidies, especially those that benefit the poor, until the economy is in a true boom.”
Tags: Currency, Dollar, Economy, euro, Flat tax, India, Monetary policy, Narendra Modi, Peg, Poor, Steve Forbes, Subsidies, Tax code
Institutional Investor (July 23)
However you look at it, “positive inflation momentum is apparent” in the U.S. From the top down, unemployment has fallen. As slack lessens, “we may begin to see signs of this tightening appear in the form of wage growth.” And from the bottom up, there were “multiple factors that pushed inflation lower over the past 12 to 18 months: predominantly, disinflation from medical and core goods components.” But these were driven by unique events like the sequester and the strength of the U.S. dollar. “Neither the medical nor the core goods component is likely to be a drag on inflation going forward.”
Tags: Core goods, Disinflation, Dollar, Drag, Inflation, Medical, Momentum, Sequester, Slack, Tightening, U.S., Unemployment, Wage growth
Financial Times (June 9)
For the first time in over four decades, Japan earned more in tourism than it spent. This last happened in 1970 when “the Apollo moon landing was still fresh in the memory, Osaka was hosting Asia’s first World’s Fair and a dollar bought three-and-a-half-times more yen than it does today.” Visitors from Asia have skyrocketed as destinations in Japan have gone from “prohibitively expensive” to reasonable, aided by the drop in the yen and higher disposable incomes elsewhere in Asia.
Tags: Apollo, Asia, Destinations, Dollar, Incomes, Japan, Osaka, Prohibitive, Reasonable, Tourism, Visitors, World’s Fair, Yen
Euromoney (May Issue)
“Dollar-denominated debt capital market volume in Asia reached almost $27 billion in April, the highest monthly volume on record…. These record volumes underline the fact that global investors remain keenly focused on Asia, despite continuing worries about a slowdown in China and India.”
Tags: Asia, Capital, China, DCM, Debt, Dollar, Global, India, Investors, Market, Record, Slowdown, Volume, Worries
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
Washington Post (May 27, 2013)
The U.S. has often benefited from the dollar which serves as the global exchange currency, but this is “turning into an extravagant curse. The United States wants export-led growth. So do most other countries. Not all can succeed…. The dollar’s global role puts the United States at a special disadvantage. It’s one cause of slow U.S. growth and high joblessness.”
Tags: Dollar, Exchange currency, Exports, Growth, Joblessness, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (April 18, 2013)
“Gold’s Plunge Is Cause For Optimism.” Gold investors may not feel the same after watching their asset lose over 15% of its value since February. Still, the plunge could signal a promising trend if capital is redirected from dollar-devaluation hedges “toward investments in what has been called ‘the economy of the mind’—that is, new entrepreneurial endeavors and industries.”
Tags: Devaluation, Dollar, Economy of the mind, Gold, Investors, Plunge, Trend
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
Financial Times (October 8)
“The Federal Reserve’s new round of quantitative easing may stall the dollar’s long term appreciation but it will not reverse it.” The dollar is being driven higher by four fundamentals: 1). The growing U.S. economy 2). The safe-haven status of U.S. bond markets 3). The shale gas revolution reducing U.S. dependence on imported energy 4). The determination of other central bankers not to let their national currencies appreciate. QE3 merely “presents headwinds to the dollar’s favourable fundamentals.”
Tags: Central bankers, Dollar, Economy, Fed, QE3, Safe haven, Shale gas, U.S.
Institutional Investor (June 18)
“The relief rally that followed Sunday’s rather limited victory for euro zone unity in the Greek general election has proved unusually faint-hearted and short-lived, with the euro down sharply against the dollar despite initially climbing to a one-month high.” As if to emphasize that Greece is but one problem confronting Europe, yields on ten-year Spanish bonds rose “to a euro-era record above 7 percent.”
