yuan
Chinese Yuan Price History
June 21, 2010
The yuan depreciated 82.6% from 1.5 renminbi per dollar in 1980 to 8.62 per dollar in 1994 and had recovered 4.1% by 1997 when it was pegged at 8.277. Note that China’s currency carries two interchangeable names, the renminbi and the yuan. The yuan remained frozen against the dollar through the launch of the euro […] More
China Unpegs Yuan Against Dollar
June 21, 2010
The yuan is 0.4% firmer against the U.S. currency following Saturday’s announcement by the central bank that “it is desirable to proceed further with reform of the renminbi exchange rate regime and increase the renminbi exchange rate flexibility.” The action was taken one week before a summit of G-20 leaders in Toronto and against the […] More
Many Governments Want a Weak Currency, But Not All Can Make it Happen
June 18, 2010
The euro experienced its best week in many months but was not alone in advancing against the dollar. The euro’s gain was pretty much matched by the New Zealand and Australian dollars and surpassed by the Swiss franc. The U.S. dollar dropped about 2% against the yen and around 1% against the British and Canadian […] More
Twin Focus Persists on Greece and China
April 16, 2010
EU finance ministers, a.k.a. Ecofin, are meeting today in Spain over the Greek debt problems. Greek long-term interest rates remain too high, and the government in Athens is attempting to secure a quick activation of the EUR 45 billion aid package, which remains very unpopular with German voters. A subsequent meeting on April 19 in […] More
Lessening Risk Aversion Amid Receding Concern About Greek Debt Crisis
March 8, 2010
The dollar retreated 0.6% against the kiwi, 0.4% against the Australian dollar, 0.2% relative to the Canadian and Swiss currencies, and 0.1% versus the euro, but the greenback moved 0.2% higher against the yen and firmed 0.1% against sterling. In the Pacific Rim, stocks advanced 2.1% in Japan, 2.0% in Hong Kong, 1.9% in Indonesia […] More
Japanese Growth and Deflation in 4Q09 Exceeded Expectations
February 15, 2010
Holidays in North America, Asia, and South America to dampen activity today: U.S. Presidents Day, Canadian Family Day, Chinese Lunar New Year and Mardi Gras in Brazil. The dollar is narrowly mixed, showing upticks of 0.2% against the euro and 0.1% against the Swiss franc, sterling and the yen but dips of 0.2% relative to […] More
Dollar Outlook Hinges on Risk Preference
January 22, 2010
Twenty years after the self-destruction of communism, democracy faces a crisis of its own, unable to address a multitude of problems. This paralysis of government makes financial markets prone to episodes of risk aversion that favor the dollar and yen and hurt European and commodity-sensitive currencies. The perceived likelihood of a double-dip recession had seemed […] More
All Bets Off on U.S. Recovery If Equities Plunge
January 21, 2010
A very wide dispersion persists among U.S. growth projections. Some analysts expect real GDP to expand more than 4.0% in the year between 3Q09 and 3Q10, and others have penciled in a return to recession. The pessimists tend to stress the temporary nature of factors behind the impressive rebound of activity, namely a favorable turn […] More
Bank of Japan Review
December 18, 2009
Following five hours and 35 minutes of deliberations over two days in its final meeting of 2009, the Bank of Japan Policy Board decided unanimously to leave its target for uncollateralized overnight money at a rate of 0.1% and retained the prior assessments that 1) economic activity is “picking up” and likely to improve at […] More
