On Saturday, the U.S. government, European Commission, and five major nations issued a statement on financial sanctions against Russia which targets some of the largest Russian banks and drastically reduces the ability of the Russian central bank to support the value of the ruble currency by restricting their access to their reserves held outside Russia.…
Capital flow management is coming back into vogue among economists, government officials in other countries and in international institutions. As international capital flows continue to grow to tens or even hundreds of trillions of dollars per year, washing around unpredictably between countries and financial institutions, officials are increasingly looking at ways to put some sort…
A new CPA study, using widely accepted methodology and IMF data, shows that for the world’s major economies to achieve fair currency values and eliminate global imbalances, large adjustments in major currencies would be required. The dollar would need to fall by 16.6%, while the Chinese yuan would need to rise against the dollar by…
Global capital flows are the driving force behind the rise of the dollar, which rose 3.9% in 2021. In the last ten years, the dollar is up 25.5%[1]. The US attracts capital for many reasons, including tax avoidance, speculative trading, and a relatively small amount of genuine investment. The deregulation of financial markets in the…
Background When inflation threatens America’s stability and economic growth, the Fed raises the Federal Funds Rate (FFR). This reduces domestic demand for borrowed funds, and that reduces the growth of domestic money in circulation and thus the rate of inflation. This approach worked reasonably well from the 1930s when the FFR became an official policy…
The trade deficit grew so much in September thanks to Asia imports that the U.S. will import the equivalent of the entire Mexican economy in 2021. A strong dollar is adding to the trade imbalances with Europe, Mexico, China and southeast Asia.
Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has provided an early signal of the Biden administration’s approach on currencies and currency manipulation. The US apparently has little intention of using currencies to address US economic problems, including slow growth, huge trade deficits, pervasive inequality, and a lack of good jobs. The economic analysis in the new…
We all remember the famous line by Bill Clinton’s campaign advisor James Carville: “It’s the economy, stupid,” he said about what mattered most to voters. The economy still matters, of course, but one of the major fundamentals of the economy is the dollar and it’s non-competitive with the rest of the world. It’s too strong.…