dollar value

Several signs seem to point to a downward trend in the value of the dollar, which pundits would have you believe means financial catastrophe for Americans. But it doesn't have to be like that. There are ways to make money if our currency falls. Here are three things to look for.

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."

No matter what Ben Bernanke actually intended, the central bank's latest push to inject money into the economy isn't resulting in a cheaper buck. And Europe's woes aren't all that's conspiring against it -- a slew of other factors are also at play.

Right now, about $360 billion is sitting in money market funds. But surely some of it must be looking at the 62% rise in the S&P 500 since the March 6 low and wondering whether it should go into stocks. Unfortunately, investors holding that cash have no easy answer: There doesn't appear to be...