After years of exhorting China to increase the value of its yuan, the currency is finally rising. Why that's so is the result of the Fed's quantitative easing program. Here's how Bernanke managed to succeed where political wrangling fell short.
As crude prices keep inching upward, the threat to both the U.S. and global economy is clear. While OPEC says don't blame us, the Interational Energy Agencys says: "This is a wake-up call to the oil-consuming countries and to the oil producers."
The G-20 has a second chance to diffuse exchange-rate tensions Friday and Saturday, when finance ministers and central bank governors meet in South Korea. World leaders failed to resolve the currency issue two weeks ago in Washington.
Countries from Japan to Brazil and Mexico to Malaysia are trying to intervene in currency markets to alter the value of their currency. The widespread dependence on exports is the prime reason for these moves, which can be tricky and even backfire.
The Japanese yen on Wednesday eased down a bit from the 15-year and nine-year highs it set against the dollar and the euro respectively on Tuesday. But the market is watching for possible intervention from Tokyo to curb the currency's rise, which threatens Japan's recovery.