foreign currency

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Happy 'B-Day,' El Salvador
Happy 'B-Day,' El Salvador
Sep 7, 2021 8:19 AM CDT

Happy 'B-Day,' El Salvador

Starting Tuesday, bitcoin can be used as legal tender nationwide

(Newser) - Earlier this year, El Salvador became the first country to give bitcoin the green light as legal tender. And Tuesday is "B-day," the day that legislation goes into effect, with Salvadorans now able to use the cryptocurrency in any transaction. Residents in the country—which has had the...

Iran's Currency in Free Fall; Ahmadinejad Blames US

He cites 'psychological pressures,' but his critics aren't buying it

(Newser) - People holding Iranian rials, including Iranians themselves, can't seem to get rid of them fast enough. The value of the currency has continued its drop , plummeting 40% against the dollar in the last week alone, reports the New York Times . Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blames "psychological pressures" brought on by...

Canada's New $100 Bill Made of Plastic

Polymer notes last longer, are harder to counterfeit

(Newser) - Starting this week, you can pay with plastic in Canada—without incurring any credit card debt. The Bank of Canada put a new $100 bill made out of polymer into circulation, the Globe and Mail reports, and banks stopped issuing the old paper notes Monday afternoon. Polymer $50 bills are...

Senate Warns China of Sanctions Over Currency

But measure is likely to die on the House

(Newser) - The Senate voted today to threaten China with higher tariffs on Chinese products made cheap through an artificially undervalued currency, which lawmakers blame for destroying American jobs. The House of Representatives, though, is unlikely to take up the bill, which some American businesses warn could trigger a trade war. The...

China Sets Yuan Rate at New High

Central bank hopes worldwide risk-aversion won't hurt at home: expert

(Newser) - China has set the guiding rate for the yuan at its highest yet, despite investors worldwide pushing the currency downward, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move points to China’s central bank’s resolve not to let global economic concerns foil its long upward push for the yuan, a...

'Guidelines,' No Specifics, at G20

Obama slams China over currency manipulation

(Newser) - G20 leaders have agreed to curb “persistently large imbalances” in saving and spending and set “indicative guidelines” against trade imbalances, but more specific decisions on how to identify and fix said imbalances were left until next year, reports the New York Times . The finance minsters are to agree...

House Votes to Sanction China Over Currency

Bill passes with big majority, but Senate prospects unclear

(Newser) - The House has approved legislation that would allow the US to seek trade sanctions against China and other nations for manipulating their currency to gain trade advantages. The 348-79 vote yesterday sends the measure to the Senate, where its prospects are unclear. Senate supporters hope to get a vote on...

China Ditching Dollar for Own 'Redback'

(Newser) - China is speeding up efforts to encourage the use of its currency in international trading, with analysts predicting that the Chinese renminbi will become one of the three top currencies by 2012, reports the Times of London. In recent months Beijing has inked currency-swap deals with central banks from Korea...

Swine Flu Sends Travel Stocks Falling
 Swine Flu Sends 
 Travel Stocks Falling 
MARKETS
Apr 27, 2009 6:39 AM CDT

Swine Flu Sends Travel Stocks Falling

Airlines decline while drugmakers advance; Mexican peso tumbles

(Newser) - Stocks declined worldwide today, with travel companies leading losses as investors gave their first reaction to the outbreak of swine flu. Airlines took a pummeling—Lufthansa fell more than 12%, British Airways 8.7%—and tour operators like Carnival also suffered sharp drops. But pharmaceutical companies did well: drugmaker Roche,...

'Viking Bankers' Pillaged Iceland
 'Viking Bankers' 
 Pillaged Iceland 

glossies
Mar 5, 2009 2:48 AM CST

'Viking Bankers' Pillaged Iceland

How Iceland went from fishing to finance to ruin

(Newser) - The bankers who ruined Iceland’s economy possessed the mentality of its fishermen—daring, aggressive, and devoted to the “lucky catch," Michael Lewis writes in Vanity Fair. It's no surprise—after all, they were the sons of fishermen whose massive profits helped modernize Iceland in the 1970s. But...

Russia's Credit Rating Lowered
 Russia's Credit Rating Lowered 
Dec 9, 2008 1:59 PM CST

Russia's Credit Rating Lowered

Putin in trouble

(Newser) - The plummeting ruble might just bankrupt Russia, the Financial Times reports. Standard and Poor’s has dropped the G8 member’s credit rating from BBB+ to the lowly BBB, warning that the country may have to spend all $200 billion in its sovereign wealth funds to recapitalize the banking system...

Pound Plunges to Record Low Against Euro

Gloomy economic outlook sends British currency tumbling

(Newser) - The British pound has sunk to its lowest level ever against the euro since the European currency was introduced in 1999, the Financial Times reports. The fall follows Chancellor Alistair Darling's dire warning that the outlook for the British economy is the worst in 60 years. The pound dropped to...

Loving Low Dollar, Europeans Come to Shop

Tourism is up 21% in April alone

(Newser) - The weak dollar is forcing Americans to shelve travel plans, but Europeans are flying over to score on stellar exchange rates. With the British pound worth $1.99 and the euro $1.58, tourists are coming to the US to shop: More than 15 million visited in the first 4...

Rosy Q1 for Google
Rosy Q1 for Google 
EARNINGS REPORT
Apr 17, 2008 5:45 PM CDT

Rosy Q1 for Google

Search giant profits up 30% as international ad business takes off

(Newser) - Google reported a 30% increase in first-quarter profits today, bettering analysts’ predictions and sending share prices up 17%, Bloomberg reports. Forecasters had assumed that growth in domestic advertising clicks would slow, but Google said it “remains healthy;” a 55% increase in international ad sales gave the search giant...

Big Apple Opens Arms to Euros
Big Apple Opens Arms to Euros
Feb 7, 2008 12:00 PM CST

Big Apple Opens Arms to Euros

Stores taking foreign currency as weak dollar encourages tourists

(Newser) - The falling dollar has made the US a travel bargain, and some merchants in New York City have flung open their doors—and their tills—to the sudden influx of foreign currencies, Reuters reports. The euro, up 12% against the dollar in the past year, is particularly common. "Money...

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