NEWS ABOUT: currency exchange
currency exchange stories: 25 news briefs
Greenback set for 17.1% gain against euro
Bloomberg Jun 29, 09 8:24 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The dollar is poised for its biggest advances in 28 years, according to Deutsche Bank, which predicts a 17.1% gain against the euro by the end of the year. Other banks polled by Bloomberg are similarly bullish about the greenback, which has just endured its worst quarter since 2002. Currently trading at $1.40 per euro, it should strengthen to $1.20 by year's end, according to Deutsche.
More »
'Complimentary' monetary systems next big thing, futurist says
Portfolio Apr 14, 09 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Futurist Douglas Rushkoff is trying to talk Craig Newmark into creating “craigbucks,” a specialized currency for trading goods on Craigslist. Rushkoff, who notably predicted the rise of social media, thinks do-it-yourself “complimentary currency” is the future of money, Portfolio reports. Complimentary currencies typically spring up and thrive in nations with unstable or untrustworthy governments, but Rushkoff thinks they’ll soon catch on here, too.
More »
Market woes, weak ruble have chipped away at fortunes
Associated Press Feb 16, 09 10:00 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
The 10 wealthiest Russians have lost two-thirds of their fortunes in the past year, AP reports, based on the magazine Finans' annual list of billionaires. The ranks of billionaires have been cut in half, from 101 to just 49. Last year's richest Russian, Oleg Deripaska, has fallen to eighth on the list, after his fortune skidded 85% to a mere $4.9 billion. Roman Abramovich, who owns the Chelsea Football Club, kept second place, at $13.9 billion, but lost nearly half of his worth.
More »
ANALYSIS
Newsweek Jan 31, 09 7:20 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Japan's economic collapse in the 1990s and its decades of US dependence have left the nation rather timid, Christian Caryl writes in Newsweek . But its strong economy, bold environmental moves, and likely change of government this year will leave it poised to help the world. “The only trick now,” Caryl writes, “is to persuade Tokyo—under its current leaders or its next ones—to take the plunge.”
More »
ANALYSIS
Recession, low interest rates will catch up with buoyant greenback
Reuters Dec 8, 08 5:28 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
The once moribund dollar has soared 20% against foreign currencies since July, one of the few bright spots in a grim financial landscape. The dollar traded against the euro at $1.28 this morning, down from a high of over $1.60 this summer. But the dollar's rally is expected to stall in 2009, as low interest rates and the pain of a recession catch up with the greenback.
More »
Seeking to loosen credit, central banks plan another round of cuts
Washington Post Oct 28, 08 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Central banks worldwide are slashing interest rates, attempting to stem the bleeding in financial markets as investors dump holdings, credit remains tight, and currencies spasm in value, the Washington Post reports. The Federal Reserve is set to cut rates for the second time in as many weeks tomorrow, while the EU plans to do the same next week. South Korea cut three-fourths of a point yesterday.
More »
Lines set up with banks in Australia, Europe to ease credit
Reuters Sep 24, 08 10:00 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The Federal Reserve announced today that it had set up another $30 billion worth of currency swap lines—designed to put more dollars into world markets—in its latest effort to deal with the credit market. The Fed arranged two $10 billion reciprocal circuits with Australia and Sweden’s central banks, and $5 billion lines with Denmark and Norway, Reuters reports.
More »
Plan's huge pricetag undermines
confidence in the buck
Bloomberg Sep 22, 08 6:18 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The US plan to spend up to $700 billion on suspect mortgage-related instruments and a possible additional $400 billion to insure money market mutual funds may stabilize financial markets—but it’s just as likely to send the dollar into a dive, eroding its 3-month rally, reports Bloomberg. “The dollar will get crushed,” predicted one expert.
More »
Greenback climbs higher still after Fannie-Freddie bailout
Reuters Sep 8, 08 8:06 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The dollar rallied to a 1-year high against the world's currencies today, following Treasury's decision to seize control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. After an early hiccup, the greenback advanced to $1.41 against the euro while also climbing against the yen, the pound, and the Swiss franc. While the Fannie-Freddie bailout reassured investors, reports that Asian banks might buy out Lehman Brothers also helped to push up the dollar.
More »
Tourism is up 21% in April alone
MSNBC Jul 26, 08 9:04 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
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 months of 2008, spending $11.6 billion in April alone—21% more than the same month last year.
More »
column
Put bubble markets
to work for you,
writes Joel Stein
Los Angeles Times Jun 20, 08 9:15 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
From tech stocks to real estate, the succession of bubble markets leads Joel Stein to ask himself: How can I exploit other people's bad investment decisions? The Los Angeles Times columnist teams up with a Princeton economist "to figure out where people will idiotically dump their money next." Right now green technology, currency, wine, and art offer a great chance to capitalize on the financial misjudgments of others.
More »
US, Europe team up
to boost gaining greenback
Financial Times (UK) May 8, 08 6:12 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The dollar hit a six-week high against the euro yesterday, leading relieved policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic to hope that the worst is over, reports the Financial Times . Analysts still reckon that Washington will continue its policy of benign neglect: a soft dollar encourages exports and reduces the trade deficit. But one key reason US and European officials are teaming up to help the dollar: a weak American currency has reinforced spiking oil prices.
More »
Feds look into bank's conection with suspect casas de cambio
Wall Street Journal Apr 26, 08 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Federal prosecutors have targeted Wachovia in an investigation into the use of money-exchange houses along the Mexican border to transfer money from US sales to Latin American drug lords, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bank invested heavily in the casas de cambio despite warnings that such firms were often used by drug cartels for money laundering.
More »
Strong words signal desire to keep dollar from the abyss
Wall Street Journal Apr 12, 08 7:26 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The Group of Seven's finance ministers are getting more aggressive about stopping the greenback's decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. In what counts as blunt words for the group, a statement yesterday expressed concern about the plummeting dollar's "possible implications for economic and financial stability." The change in tone since the group's last meeting a year ago is aimed at sending a signal to traders; the ministers stopped short of using G-7 money to buy up dollars to push the currency upward.
More »
Markets in worldwide retreat as dollar drops on subprime worries
Reuters Mar 3, 08 5:42 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
The dollar’s skid accelerated today, taking it to a three-year low against the Japanese yen, and pushing the free-falling greenback to a record bottom against the Swiss franc and other currencies amid worries that subprime woes will worsen, Reuters reports. Worldwide, stocks dove lower on broad concerns about the US economy.
More »
Awash in tourists,
Big Apple
shops welcome
stronger currency
Washington Post Feb 25, 08 11:35 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Wander through the Big Apple these days and you’ll see signs like “Euros accepted!” and even “Euros Only.” The latter is a joke—dollars are accepted, as are British pounds—but many New York City merchants are more than willing to accept visitors' currency, the Washington Post reports. “I need euros,” said one street vendor. “The dollar’s going down.”
More »
Investors wait for latest read on vigor of
US economy
Associated Press Feb 25, 08 5:34 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
European markets saw the US dollar edge higher against the euro, yen and British pound today as traders looked for clues as to whether the US economy would avoid a recession, reports the Associated Press. Today’s report on January sales of existing homes will likely cast some light on whether the subprime virus will continue to drag the economy down.
More »
And that's just the official figure: in reality it's even worse
Daily Telegraph (UK) Feb 21, 08 12:53 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Zimbabwe's inflation rate is running at 100,000%, according to the government's statistics office—but that's not the worst news. Insane as that number may sound, it's probably an underestimation, writes the Telegraph . In Harare, where shelves are bare and money is being printed at breakneck speed, a single cigarette now costs Z$500,000.
More »
Seeks investments to adjust yuan growth;
US official set for talks
Bloomberg Dec 10, 07 7:27 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
China, increasingly being called upon to more rapidly adjust the growth of the yuan against the dollar, is looking to expand its investment in US assets as a way to funnel its powerhouse currency out of the country, Bloomberg reports today. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visits Beijing Wednesday for a third round of strategic trade talks, and will push yuan appreciation as a consumer price control measure.
More »
International travelers arrive with fat wallets, empty suitcases
Time Nov 30, 07 9:46 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Foreigners are taking advantage of the weak US dollar to do their holiday shopping in the States, Time reports in a look at a double-edged trend. Even as American shoppers find the cost of imported goods soaring, international visitors are arriving in droves, and "they're mentioning the exchange rate more often," says one merchant.
More »
