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Trading foreign currencies is a smart option for investors looking to diversify -- and one that not many years ago, was restricted to big money investors. Now, it's available to the general public -- with a social networking twist.
The Group of Seven countries on Thursday agreed to intervene to reduce the value of the Japanese yen, which has surged to record levels after last week's earthquake and tsunami. A strong yen could cripple the country's exports and further damage its economy.
One would think that with the Mideast crisis, oil prices skyrocketing and U.S. manufacturing rebounding smartly, the buck would be flying high. But no. Why that's so may lie in international perceptions about where interest rates are heading.
Having committed itself to ultralow interest rates and quantitative easing, the Fed is now caught in a double bind: Continue those policies and keep pumping money into speculative, inflation-hiking commodity bets -- or end them and let rates rise, with the harmful economic impact.
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.
China's foreign-exchange reserves jumped by a record 7.5% during the fourth quarter, increasing concerns over the country's inflation, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
They're gearing up for a potentially damaging round of currency interventions to help keep their economies competitive, especially against China. Says Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega: "This is a currency war that is turning into a trade war."
The nation%u2019s manufacturing recovery accelerated in October as factory output jumped 0.5%, the Federal Reserve said. Overall industrial output was flat in the month, but the typical autumn plunge in utilities output skewed the top-line stat lower.
On the eve of an economic summit in South Korea, disturbing signs of discord are emerging over currency valuations and trade between the U.S. and its major trading partners. Failure to achieve an agreement could set off more "currency wars."
China surprised international markets Tuesday by raising key interest rates for the first time in three years. The move sparked a worldwide sell-off on worries that it could cause the Chinese economy to slow down.
The threat of a global currency war is heating up after global leaders failed to resolve their differences at International Monetary Fund talks that ended Saturday.
A bill, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday, would let U.S. companies petition for duties on Chinese imports -- a move that would hurt the global economy if it became law, the Chinese government said.
With its economy growing rapidly even as much of the developed world struggles, tensions are mounting. China has recently crossed Japan and India, in addition to ongoing conflicts with the U.S. Fairly or not, China is being singled out as currency manipulator.
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.
John Fleming, head of Ford's global manufacturing in London, on Thursday says the company sees the economy improving, but calls the strength of the recovery "uneven." He said demand could rise by as much as 10%.
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.
China's global trade surplus ballooned to $28.7 billion in July, a sign that promises to adjust its currency haven't yet begun to bite. That could spell increasing friction with Washington.
China's currency climbed on Friday to its strongest level yet as the country's central bank set its daily official level to new highs against the dollar ahead of the G-20 summit. Beijing had vowed to let the currency fluctuate more, a move that was welcomed by many of the world's large economies.
