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If you are looking for the most nauseating cover possible on Ben Bernanke, please consider the April 2012 issue of the Atlantic. The cover asks the question "Ben Bernanke saved the global economy. So why does everyone hate him?" For starters Ben Bernanke did not save the global economy. Making such a proclamation is like a football fans proclaiming victory at the end of the third quarter with the score 54-24 following a 24 point rally after being down 54-0. Simply put, it is far too early to make a presumption the Fed "saved" anything given the global economy remains...

President Barack Obama continued his efforts to make China stronger and America weaker during last weekend’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hawaii. How? By pressuring Chinese President Hu Jintao to increase the value of the yuan relative to the dollar. If successful, this policy will make Americans poorer relative to the Chinese. The theory behind the Obama Administration’s weak dollar policy is seductive, but wrong. A rise in the value of the yuan relative to the dollar is supposed to make Chinese imports more expensive, and U.S. exports to China less expensive, thereby reducing Chinese imports and increasing U.S....

If our leaders in Washington DC wanted to stop the decline of the dollar, they could. Easily. Therefore, if the dollar is falling — and it is — they want it to fall. The dollar is falling against most major currencies and this decline has been underway, with an occasional rally, for years. Also, as we have seen, the price points for oil, commodities and precious metals have been buoyed by the declining dollar.Here is a chart showing history of the dollar versus major currencies dating back to 1973: Source: Scott Grannis Scott Grannis made an excellent point in...

Coffee prices have topped $3 a pound for the first time in more than 34 years. A drop in supplies of high-grade arabica coffee beans and a growing taste for upmarket coffee among the middle classes of China, Brazil, Indonesia and India are blamed for the sharp rise. Continuing weakness in the dollar has also kept many commodity markets soaring and encouraged a buy-up of arabica beans. New York's July arabica contract hit $3.025 a pound on Wednesday, the highest since 1977. According to the Guardian, coffee futures inched lower to $2.94 on Thursday. Coffee prices have more than doubled...

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who has been an opponent of the government's bailout plan, spoke Friday with CNN's Kiran Chetry on "American Morning." The Texas Republican says the bailout's infusion of government money will lead to inflation, that our current monetary system is coming to end, and the market, not politicians, can best solve the economic crisis.Kiran Chetry: The last time you were with us you explained why you were against the government's bailout plan, why you were voting against it, and you didn't believe focusing on buying these troubled assets was the smart thing to do. Since then, they've...

Given last week's dramatic events — the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the end of Merrill Lynch's independence, and an $85 billion US-government bailout of insurer AIG — most financial institutions are likely to become more sensitive to the state of their net worth. For instance, all it takes for a financial institution that has a net worth of $30 billion and assets of $600 billion to go under is for the value of assets to fall by 5%. In the current financial climate, it can easily happen; hence, most financial institutions are not immune from the potential threat of going...

The U.S. is the new place to go for low-cost manufacturing. As unlikely as it might seem, companies overseas are starting to get that image as they begin sending work to U.S. job shops. “Over the last six months, activity from the U.K. to the U.S. has picked up dramatically. Before that, it was insignificant,” says Mitch Free, owner of Mfg.com, a Web site for sourcing and selling manufacturing services. “We also see work coming back from Canada because the Canadian dollar now has a 28% disadvantage against the U.S. dollar. Canadian manufacturers who get contracts from the U.S. tell...

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” -Thomas Jefferson The Founding Fathers put Congress in control of the the U.S. monetary system. In 1913 Congress relinquished this awesome power and gave it to a private cartel with the passage of the Federal Reserve Act. For almost 100 years, Federal Reserve policy has swindled Americans...

TOKYO, May 1 (Reuters) - The dollar struck a seven-month low against the yen and a one-year low against the euro on Monday, extending a slide as the Federal Reserve appears set to soon end a two-year run of credit tightening. A renewed focus on U.S. deficits after last month's meeting of Group of Seven industrialised powers, worries about Iran's nuclear ambitions and deteriorating technical signals have pummeled the dollar across the board. The yen gained across the board on solid buying by foreign hedge funds and investment banks, while some Japanese players squared positions heading into the country's Golden...

By Caren Bohan and Glenn Somerville 25 minutes ago President George W. Bush looks increasingly likely to replace Treasury Secretary John Snow and is considering former lawmakers and some Wall Street executives to succeed him, Republican sources said on Monday. The Bush administration wants a more compelling figure than Snow to lead its effort to highlight the economy's strength in the hope of bolstering Republican chances in November's congressional elections, the sources said. A Republican in frequent contact with the White House said there have been discussions about trying to attract Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Henry Paulson for the job,...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar hit a 27-month high against the yen on Monday and edged closer to recent two-year lows versus the euro and sterling as greenback buying on yield advantage gathered momentum after a long U.S. weekend. In the absense of major data on Monday, investors, coming back from the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, pushed the dollar higher in anticipation of further rises in U.S. interest rates. The euro kept a low profile as investors awaited European Central Bank speakers including chief Jean-Claude Trichet ahead of a widely-expected 25 basis point rate hike this week. But the outlook beyond...

Technical Overview · British Pound Heads To 1.7000· Swiss Franc Sees 1.3500 In Its Future· New Zealand Dollar Fails To Capture .6900 Traders Corner:Reality or wishful thinking, it’s a very delicate balance when it comes to trading. As a trader I always learned not to let the wishful thinking cloud my judgment. I never let such notions as hopes and dreams distort the reality of the market. At one point when I found myself grasping at straws in a sinking trade I realized that no matter what I think, wish or hope, the market will do what its need to...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar clung close to a two-year high against the euro and a 27-month peak versus the yen on Tuesday as more investors flock to the U.S. currency for its widening yield advantage. The yen came under pressure after Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made a rare comment on central bank policy, saying it was too early for the Bank of Japan to end its ultra-loose "quantitative easing" until deflation is defeated. Koizumi's remarks on Monday added to a chorus of government officials calling for the BOJ, which gained political independence just in 1998, to work with...

Asian Central Banks Target Islamic Bonds By Richard Dean Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) - Some Gulf Arab and Asian governments have begun diversifying reserves into Islamic financial assets, but a shortage of Islamic sovereign bonds will slow the process, a senior banker said on Sunday. Iqbal Khan, Chief Executive of HSBC Amanah Finance, the Islamic banking unit of HSBC Holdings Ltd, said the shift was part of a wider trend among Asian governments to diversify their reserves away from U.S. dollar-based assets. "Central banks in Muslim countries are investing into those (Islamic) instruments that are made available to...

BERLIN, Dec 25 (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Hans Eichel was quoted on Saturday saying the U.S. government would one day realise that the rapid rise of the euro is also endangering the U.S. economy -- and then be ready to act. In an interview with Hessicher Rundfunk radio, Eichel said "and then America will also be ready to take actions" once the U.S. government realises the euro's appreciation is hurting their own economy as well as others. Eichel added in the interview to be broadcast later on Saturday that he expects the U.S. government to take energetic steps against...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A weaker U.S. dollar is fueling pent-up demand for overseas travel to the United States, helping to pad the bottom lines of hotels and tourist attractions. Exchange rates "are having a terrific impact on our business, particularly in east coast cities like New York, Boston and Orlando," Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) spokeswoman K.C. Kavanagh said on Tuesday. "December has been packed with European travelers coming here to Christmas shop." This year the nation is on track to post the first increase in inbound travel since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks,...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar steadied versus the euro and yen on Thursday following sharp gains across the board in the previous session driven by profit-taking on bets against the long suffering U.S. currency.Unexpectedly strong jobs data from Australia appeared to counter the rising market belief the weak dollar was hurting major economies and forcing central banks to stop interest rate hikes, which in turn would bolster the greenback's appeal. Such arguments, driven by Canada's and Australia's decision earlier this week to hold rates unchanged, were seen as triggers for the dollar's rebound from record lows against the euro...

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar rose one percent against the euro and the yen on Wednesday as investors bought the U.S. currency back in the run-up to the year-end and eyed the impact of the dollar's weakness on other economies.Worries about the United States' ability to fund its huge currrent account deficit have led to persistent weakness in the dollar, taking it to fresh record lows against the euro on Tuesday and five-year lows against the yen last week. But investors are looking to take profits on the climb of a broad spectrum of currencies against the dollar, while...

TOKYO (Reuters) - The dollar tumbled to eight-month lows against the euro and six-month troughs versus the yen on Monday as worries persisted about the outlook for the U.S. economy. The dollar also fell sharply to eight-year lows against the Swiss franc and two-month lows versus sterling, with traders citing a close upcoming U.S. presidential election as another reason to sell the currency. "People are talking about all kinds of things that are bad for the dollar," said Mitsuo Imaizumi, deputy general manager of forex and international bonds at Daiwa Securities SMBC. "We have the twin deficits, officials hinting a...

Recent economic reports indicate that the recovery is struggling to move forward. The main barriers are high consumer indebtedness and mediocre corporate earnings. Consequently, neither consumer demand nor business investment is driving the recovery. Interest rates are low, but Federal Reserve easing has not provided the usual stimulus to spending and equity prices. Part of the problem is the reverse wealth effect from the drop in equity values. The wealth effect from the long bull market made consumers comfortable with more debt, which they used to finance second homes and high living. When the market dropped, much wealth disappeared, but...