Category Archives: Currencies

The Yen May Be Shifting Gears

The yen is up again, and superficially, it looks like a repeat of a predictable sequence: risk perceptions rise, investors start to shed risk, carry trades unwind, yen rallies, everyone calms down, the yen falls and the carry trade resumes. Since the Japanese love a cheap yen and domestic investors are well conditioned to buy […]

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China’s Trade Surplus Grew 48% in 2007 (and Bloomberg’s Rewriting of Its Story)

Forgive us, we are going to be a bit terse tonight. Turns out we got a wee case of food poisoning (likely culprit: shellfish). On the mend, but also behind schedule on various fronts. Bloomberg reports that China’s trade deficit has hit an all time high of $262.7 billion. So much for the idea that […]

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Advisor to the Fed Argues Against Further Rate Cuts (Plus a Wee Rant About Japan)

Ray Dalio, founder and chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates, is no doubt far from alone in being someone whose opinion is solicited by the Fed. Nevertheless, in an interview in today’s Financial Times, he takes a position diametrically opposed to conventional wisdom. He argues that the remedy for our current economic, particularly credit, woes, […]

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Is the Future of the Euro in Doubt?

Many commentators see the euro as the logical successor to the dollar as the reserve currency. Yet the Financial Times’ Lex column points out that most currency unions fail. However, the dollar is the product of of that very type of arrangement. Nevertheless, the piece serves as an important reminder against blindly assuming current trends […]

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"Fatwa Against the Dollar?"

I’m a bit late to the somewhat sensationalistic piece, “Fatwa Against the Dollar” by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard at the Telegraph. The reason I say “somewhat” is that the underlying issue that Evans-Pritchard points to, namely, dollar-peg-induced inflation in our trading partners, is real and becoming more acute. And Evans-Pritchard emphasizes an aspect that gets insufficient play […]

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Brad Setser Parses the Treasury International Capital Report

Brad Setser does his usual thorough job of parsing the latest (October) Treasury International Capital report. On a quick reading, the release is quite a relief. Capital inflows in the last few months had been insufficient to offset our ongoing current account deficits (worse, in August, capital inflows were negative, a real stunner). That’s reversed […]

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Sharp Fall in Current Account Deficit in 3Q Not Enough Yet to Take Pressure Off Dollar

MarketWatch, among others, tells us today that the current account deficit fell in the third quarter to 5.1% of GDP, down from 5.5% in the second quarter. That’s unquestionable progress. However, as the article also points out in a rather anodyne fashion, “Few economists believe a current account deficit of 5% of GDP is sustainable.” […]

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More Worries About the Fragility of the Dollar

Although dollar concerns have retreated for the moment, given its rally against the euro, yen, and yuan, the problem of a weak and potentially weakening greenback is far from resolved. What I found intriguing was the pessimistic underpinnings of a solid “analysis” article by Chris Giles in the Financial Times, “Adjustment or affliction? Why the […]

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