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In Asia Monday Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.3% and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.9%, buoyed by retail gains in the U.S. over the Thanksgiving weekend. But in China the Shanghai Composite Index slid 0.2% as investors continue to worry about the effects of tightening measures.

For a host of reasons, other countries would love to free their economies from the stranglehold of the U.S. dollar's influence, especially now, when the Fed's stimulus actions are pushing the dollar lower, and everything else higher. Global finance expert Peter Cohan has a simple answer: The Mondo.

For a host of reasons, when the dollar spikes, stocks drop, and when the dollar falls, stocks soar. Right now, with dollar sentiment reaching maximum bearishness, contrarians are preparing for the next shift. If the dollar rises again, stocks could reverse.

Shares in Asia rose Monday, boosted by good news in the U.S. job market. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Index advanced 1.1% and in China the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1%. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index inched up 0.4%.

It's suffered massive recalls and a valuable yen, but Toyota is still selling strong. The company Friday reported a second-quarter profit that more than quadrupled to $1.2 billion on sales of $59.5 billion.

Shares in Asia rose sharply Thursday, thanks to Ben Bernanke's brand new rescue package. In Japan the Nikkei 225 Index climbed 2.2% to close at 9,359 and in China the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.8% to 3,087. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.6% to end the day at 24,536.

In Asia on Tuesday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite inched down 0.3%. and in Japan, the Nikkei 225 crept up 0.1%. Investors are closely monitoring the U.S. midterm elections, with many predicting that if the Democrats lose their majorities in both the House and the Senate, the dollar will continue to slide.

Toyota may build another factory in Mexico to produce small cars as the world's largest automaker shifts more capacity outside Japan to remain competitive. The yen's strength on world markets is said to be prompting the move.

The dollar fell to a 15-year low against the yen and the weakest since January against the euro on speculation that the Federal Reserve will ease monetary policy. The dollar slipped 0.8% to 81.13 yen at 6:37am in New York, from 81.81 yen on Wednesday. Earlier, it fell to 80.89 yen, the weakest...

Japan's ruling Democratic Party proposed yet another economic stimulus package, this one for more than $58 billion, sending the Nikkei climbing 1.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1%, while markets in China remained closed.