foreign exchange

China's economy is booming, and Western nations are increasing their demands that its currency be allowed to rise to its natural value. Who knows if that will happen, but if you want to bet that it will, the Bank of China just made it easier: Now, Americans can open renminbi-denominated accounts.

World markets got a boost this week from Japan's pledge to help overly indebted EU nations. What's behind Japan's move? Sure, the spirit of global cooperation is part of it. But much more significant is Tokyo's need to keep pace with Beijing in the influence game.

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.

A Bloomberg.com headline screams Monday: "Dollar Reaches Breaking Point as Banks Shift Reserves." That makes it sound as though the sky is falling, but the real question for U.S. consumers is how will the falling exchange rate of the dollar affects their buying power -- and ultimately,...

China's leaders make no secret of the thinking behind their well-publicized moves to diversify their county's massive foreign exchange reserves away from the U.S. dollar. Being so dependent on the greenback's value is simply imprudent, they say, given the size of their reserves -- some $2.1...

Even though China's exports remain under pressure, its foreign exchange reserves grew to over $2 trillion for the first time. The People's Bank of China reported that reserves increased in value by $178 billion during the April to June period to $2.13 trillion. "With a subdued trade surplus,...

The uncertainty about the value of the dollar during its current tumble raises lots of questions about where to put your cash. You're probably wondering, is there any true safe haven today? You may be thinking the only true safe haven is placing your money under your mattress, but that won't work...