Iran’s currency in free fall
Iran’s currency, the rial, fell as much as 18% on Monday to a record low against the US dollar, according to media reports. It dropped to as much as 35,000 to the dollar, according to agencies citing currency exchange sites in the country.The currency has reportedly lost 80% of its value since the end of [...]
From Rabbit to Dragon? More Like the Other Way Around. A Review of China in 2011
Last year was the Year of the Rabbit for the Chinese – promising among other things good luck! However, China which came out of the global financial crisis almost unscathed (or at least better off than most major world economies) hit one too many ‘speed-bumps’ in 2011. Last year’s inflation is threatening a significant slow-down [...]
China’s efforts to internationalize its currency
It is a well know fact that China undervalues its currency, by pegging the renminbi (RMB) to the dollar at an artificially low level. This, along with other subsidies and mercantilist trade policies, keeps Chinese exports cheap, and thus more attractive to consumers in the U.S. and Europe. Because China is the manufacturing hub for [...]
China’s response to the downgrade of America’s credit rating should be to diversify and not just criticize
A lot has been said by the major western news sources (WSJ, Bloomberg, FT, NY Times) about China’s reaction to the downgrade of the U.S. creditworthiness. Although there has been no official comment from Beijing since the downgrade, the Xinhua news agency (the official mouth-piece and the usual government ‘attack dog’ for criticizing the U.S.) [...]
International Monetary Fund: western past or Asian future?
Western Europeans demand that the US abide by tradition and allow for the next IMF chief to come from the EU, probably another French national like finance minister Christine Lagarde. Russia, Brazil and South Africa do not want the next IMF chief to come from Europe, but preferably from a developing nation. China and Japan [...]
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