Strongest Dollar in Years
The dollar is the strongest it’s been since July 2010, but still isn’t at its strongest historically.
Returning to a Stable Dollar
Quotable:
“The appreciation of the dollar against the backdrop of divergent monetary policies may, if persistent, have a profound impact on the global economy, in particular on EMEs. For example, it may expose financial vulnerabilities as many firms in emerging markets have large US dollar-denominated liabilities continued depreciation of the domestic currency against the dollar could reduce the creditworthiness of many firms, potentially inducing a tightening of financial conditions.” – BIS Quarterly Review 2014
“A U.S. dollar is an IOU from the Federal Reserve Bank. It’s a promissory note that doesn’t actually promise anything. It’s not backed by gold or silver.” – P. J. O’Rourke
“The value of a dollar is social, as it is created by society.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We believe in fair exchange rates and Japan doesn’t practice that. They have massive U.S. dollar reserves, and they use them to intervene regularly.” – Rick Wagoner
“I don’t want to see the dollar strong because the rest of the world is crumbling. I would like to see the dollar strong because the Fed has said it wants it to be strong in the future.” – David Malpass
What We’re Reading:
Dollar Surges in Europe (The Wall Street Journal)
ObamaCare’s Threat to Private Practice (The Wall Street Journal)
Steep Slide in Oil Prices Is Blessing for Most (The New York Times)
Why the bottom falling out of oil isn’t all bad (Financial Post)
It’s official: America is now No. 2 (MarketWatch)
Falling Oil Prices Create a Central Banking Conundrum (The New York Times)
