Dollar Watch—The Effects of Our Declining Currency

As our fiat currency’s buying power decreases, so does our nation’s freedom . . .

WEAK DOLLAR PROMPTS RECORD FOREIGN BUYOUTS OF U.S. COMPANIES

10.02.07

BOSTON: European, Asian and Canadian companies are taking advantage of the weaker dollar to buy their U.S. counterparts at a record pace, increasing investment in the United States but also raising fears about a potential loss of jobs and autonomy.Full Story. . .

IRAN BREAKS WITH THE DOLLAR

10.23.07

The process of diversifying Iran’s foreign exchange reserves by converting reserves held in dollars to other currencies is almost complete, Fars news agency quoted Tahmasb Mazaheri, President of the Central Bank of Iran, as having told the American publication, The Emerging Market. Full Story. . .

QATAR & VIETNAM DITCH THE DOLLAR

10.04.07

Announcements on Thursday from the Qatari and Vietnamese governments that they are rapidly divesting in dollar denominated securities will not come as good news to the US government. Overseas investors hold half of America’s $4,400bn of marketable government debt, up from a third in 2001 according to the US Treasury department. Full Story. . .

KUWAIT KICKS SAND ON THE DOLLAR

06.01.07

. . The tiny kingdom wedged between Iraq and Saudi Arabia remains a U.S. ally. So the country wasn’t trying to make any political point. It had simply become too expensive for Kuwait to keep the dinar linked to the dollar. I expect other countries, not tomorrow but soon, to take the same action. And that will be just one more milestone in the decline of the dollar.

You should care about that in the short run because a dollar declining in both price and prestige makes everything from imported goods to home mortgages more expensive in the United States. Full Story. . .

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USD vs CAD — beyond parity, USD vs EUR, USD vs GBP, USD vs CNY (CHINA)