Dollar Slides To Record Lows Again
FRANKFURT, Germany - The dollar's plunge continued unabated Thursday,
striking record lows after the European Central Bank kept its benchmark
rate
on hold and the U.S. released another batch of dour economic re****ts.
The euro fetched a record $1.5370 in European morning trading before
falling
back to $1.5360. The European currency closed at $1.5262 Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the British pound broke through $2 again after the Bank of
England also decided to keep its key refinancing rate unchanged at 5.25
percent.
The British pound traded as high as $2.0057 before falling back to
$2.0027.
"Inflationary pressures similarly remain something of a high-profile
concern
of the Bank of England, but speculation continues to point toward a
quarter
point cut during the second quarter," said James Hughes of CMC Markets.
The dollar drifted lower to 103.11 Japanese yen from 103.87 yen.
As central banks in Britain and Europe stand pat on rates, the U.S.
Federal
Reserve Bank has slashed interest rates to 3 percent and investors expect
more cuts as the economy continues to fizzle.
The latest record for the euro drew a new round of criticism in Europe,
particularly from trade unions worried about ex****ts to the U.S.
"An excessively expensive euro will cost European jobs, coming as it does
on
top of other setbacks to growth _ the subprime financial crisis and credit
squeeze, the U.S. recession, and the end of the construction boom in
several
EU countries," the European Trade Union Confederation warned.
European Union businesses said they were starting to feel the pinch, too,
notably from U.S.-based buyers who pay for goods from Europe.
"We said when the euro was above $1.40 that we feel the pain. When the
euro
is above $1.50, it is alarming," said Ernest-Antoine Sillier, president of
the EU employers' group BusinessEurope.
The euro has been bolstered by a string of downbeat U.S. economic re****ts,
too, that has driven the dollar lower and lower as fears of a U.S.
recession
mount.
On Wednesday, re****ts showed that U.S. factories saw demand for their
products drop sharply in January, while the country's service sector
contracted last month. That provided new evidence of weakness in an
economy
hit by housing and credit crises _ weakness that has raised expectations
that the Fed is not done with its interest rate campaign.
Speculation has mounted that the Fed might cut rates by as much as
three-fourths of a percentage point this month. Lower interest rates can
jump-start a nation's economy. But they can also weaken its currency as
traders transfer funds to countries where they can earn higher returns.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/07/dollar-slides-to-record-l_n_90351.html
How can anyone be a Republican and think that George W. Bush is anything
but
the worst President in this country's history. If you sup****t Bush by
ranting against the left wing then you're simply a ****ing idiot with your
head up your ass.
3..... 2.....1...... just counting the days the dollar
collapses............
The People had a chance to correct their appointed mistake in 2004 but
they
chose not to; they're getting exactly what they deserve, now eat bullets
and
drink jet fuel. Osama bin Ladin WON!
|
