Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 13, 2015

Paul Krugman Op-Ed column asserts that dollar’s surging value against euro is bad for United States economy, since strong dollar makes American industry less competitive globally; holds that strong dollar-weak euro dynamic demonstrates that US is tied to Europe’s economic misfortune; urges Federal Reserve to take implications of strong dollar fully into account when crafting economic policy. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

Emerging market economies, once seen as a portfolio staple, are losing luster for investors amid political instability, faltering economies and the steady rise of the American dollar; Turkish lira and Brazilian real have fallen to multiyear lows, and Russian ruble remains deeply unstable following plunge. MORE

Jeff Sommer Strategies column questions advantage of the dollar’s soaring value, trend that has traditionally been sought after by US Treasury secretaries; observes that the improvement of US economy in recent years has been spurred on in part by a weakened dollar that allowed American exports to be more competitive in world markets. MORE

James B Stewart Common Sense column observes that retail prices on imported luxury goods from Europe have not fallen in line with steep decline of euro against the dollar; notes that counterintuitive trend is caused by phenomenon known as ‘incomplete exchange rate pass-through,’ as well as tendency by producers to increase markup to cancel out decline in marginal cost. MORE

Continuing rise of the dollar against the euro and most other currencies has broad implications for the global economy, reflecting strong relative growth in the United States; euro trades below $1.19, lowest level in nine years; trend could present challenges for US importers, boons for US travelers and could lessen inflationary pressure in Europe and Japan. MORE

The Upshot; forces that will shape global economy in 2015 may best be understood by examination of the biggest global market moves that took place in 2014, including epic collapse in oil prices and growing strength of the American dollar. MORE

The dollar extended its new reign as the preferred currency for global investors, helped by healthy data on growth and signals from the Fed that it will soon stop its bond-buying program. MORE

Op-Ed article by policy expert Jared Bernstein calls on government to drop America’s commitment to maintaining the dollar as the world’s reserve currency; argues that what was once seen as a mark of American success has become a burden, undermining job growth, pumping up budget and trade deficits and inflating financial bubbles. MORE

Many enthusiasts are working to see the $2 bill flourish, potentially quixotic labor as Americans overwhelmingly treat $2 notes as keepsakes or remain skeptical of their legitimacy; New Yorker Heather McCabe is on a one-woman mission to revitalize the quirky greenback through deliberate casual use; there are one billion bills in circulation but it has always lagged behind the $1 bill. MORE

Jeff Sommer Strategies column; chronic problems flaring up in financial markets have not damaged exalted status of dollar; familiar pattern is back in currency markets, that being when world’s financial system runs into trouble, position of dollar as most crucial currency becomes more formidable. MORE

Eduardo Porter Economic Scene column observes for all the dysfunction on display in Washington, hand-wringing is overwrought; says it is inevitable that the dollar will gradually lose its position as the world’s monopoly reserve currency, but barring true act of default, it will not happen anytime soon. MORE

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column notes that United States is one of only a few nations with enough credibility to borrow from foreign investors in a currency it can print, and under laws it can change; argues that this key advantage would be jeopardized should United States default on its debt, price that is far too great to pay over health care dispute. MORE

Treasury Department announces that China has made progress in allowing its currency to rise against the dollar, declining to accuse the nation of manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage. MORE

Zimbabwe’s adoption of the United States dollar in 2009 in order to stem inflation has led to the surprising quandary of a shortage of change for dollar bills; due to high shipping costs, Zimbabwe has difficulty importing coins, and because for many Zimbabweans a dollar is a large sum of money, the shortage of coins has become a national headache. MORE

Chinese government announces that it will allow the renminbi to vary more in value against the dollar during each day’s trading, but gives no hint that it will accept the Obama administration’s demands to allow the currency to show a longer-term trend of appreciation against the dollar. MORE

Iran’s currency, the rial, falls to its lowest level ever against the US dollar in unofficial foreign exchange transactions in Tehran. MORE

European debt troubles threaten to slow the momentum of the fragile recovery in the United States; although American financial institutions have taken steps to protect themselves from Europe’s woes, likely slowdown abroad could damage consumer and business confidence in US and strengthen dollar, making US exports less competitive; economists say Europe’s troubles would need to worsen significantly before putting the US economy at risk of a new recession. MORE

Nov. 8, 2011

Eduardo Porter Editorial Observer rejects argument for returning to gold standard championed by many conservatives; suggests that pitch to replace the dollar with gold is driven by ideology and profit, and would not benefit the economy. MORE

House Republican David Schweikert has introduced a bill that would phase out dollar bills for coins; Government Accountability Office study suggests that government could save about $5.5 billion over 30 years if it phased out dollar bills, which last about three years on average, and replaced them with dollar coins, which can circulate for three decades before they become worn out. MORE

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