Currency wars are back, though this time the goal is to steal inflation, not growth. Brazil Finance Minister Guido Mantegapopularized the term “currency war” in 2010 to describe policies employed at the time by major central banks to boost the competitiveness of their economies through weaker currencies. Now, many see lower exchange rates as a […]
LATEST NEWS : Ebola outbreak 'vastly underestimated,' WHO says
There is evidence the numbers of dead and sickened by Ebola in West Africa may “vastly underestimate the magnitude of the outbreak,” the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency said it was prepared for the crisis to continue for months. With more than 1,060 deaths and 1,975 sickened, the Ebola outbreak is […]
Emerging-Market Shakeout Putting Reserves Into Focus: Currencies
Foreign-exchange reserves are emerging as the latest battleground between traders and developing nations trying to stem the worst rout in their currencies since 2008. Nations with the smallest reserves to fend off currency speculators will continue to see their exchange rates under pressure, options prices show. Of the 31 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, traders […]
World Bank Sees Record Demand for Political Risk Insurance
Investors’ demand for insurance against political risk is on track to match last year’s record as instability persists in the Middle East and disputes in Latin America erode confidence, the World Bank said. Investment insurance for developing economies by a group of the main public, private and multilateral providers reached $45 billion by mid-2013, according to the bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee […]
Iran Agrees to Deal With Powers to Curb Nuclear Work
Iran’s accord with world powers to limit its nuclear program in exchange for as much as $7 billion in relief from sanctions left Presidents Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani the task of selling the deal to critics. By agreeing to curtail its nuclear activities, Iran won an easing of certain sanctions on oil, auto parts, gold and precious metals […]
Obama-Putin Rift Over Syria Widens as G-20 Summit Starts
“The diplomatic dialogue between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin has featured the U.S. president comparing Putin to a bored schoolboy and the Russian leader forcing an irritated Obama to wait a half-hour for a meeting. And that was before warships from the two nations drew near in the Eastern Mediterranean amid a widening rift over […]