Once again we are hearing death-of-the-dollar buzz. But is there anything happening in the world that would plausibly dethrone the dollar from its leading position?
As the US grapples with its debt problem,an old idea that at first blush might seem unthinkable has been revived.
Brazil and Argentina have floated the concept of a single South American currency in part to combat the mighty US dollar. It provoked more than a few guffaws around the world.
The Japanese central bank’s “technical” changes to one of its monetary policies has shaken up global bond and currency markets,and might be a preview of what’s in store for investors next year.
There’s “a ways to go” in the battle against inflation,a US Federal Reserve governor tells a Sydney investment conference.
China’s sharemarkets have tumbled and its currency has hit record lows after the Communist Party appointed Xi Jinping loyalists to the centre of power and missing economic figures were released a week later than scheduled.
The weak Australian dollar is a symptom of the worsening global economic environment,and it could add to the pressure on consumer prices.
Was last week’s near financial meltdown in the UK unique to that financial system or a warning signal to the rest of the world about what could be ahead?
The UK had barely emerged from a 10-day period of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth before it was staring down the barrel of a currency crisis.
Widening interest rate differentials and the rapid appreciation of the US dollar is causing turmoil in currency and other financial markets.
Japan’s central bank has intervened to prop up the yen last week for the first time since 1998,but it faces having to abandon decades of economic policies if it wants to arrest the currency’s dive.