Word: dollar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Trying to cope with the worst dollar disaster yet, the Carter Administration last week seemed in peril of following what has become a distressingly familiar pattern: a portentous roll of publicity drums that builds up to a toot on an uncertain trumpet. Early in the week the dollar came under a concentrated cannonade from some financial Guns of August, and its steady, summer-long retreat turned into a disorderly rout. It fell 4½% against the Swiss franc in a single day, while the price of gold, the ultimate refuge for investors worried lest their dollars become worth much less...
...spoke of his confidence in the U.S.'s "underlying economic strength," expressed hope that a narrowing U.S. trade deficit and a topping out of American inflation this year would eventually strengthen the battered buck-and let it go at that. Even as Carter was speaking, the dollar began sliding again. Though it rose smartly the next day, following an announcement by Blumenthal that there would be "a series of continuing actions" to bolster the dollar in coming weeks, no one could be sure that the decline had been stemmed even temporarily...
...make it clear that it was serious. In background sessions with newsmen, Administration spokesmen outlined a three-pronged program. First, they said, the Federal Reserve Board would be taking steps, in concert with other central banks, to strengthen the greenback, and had already been moving "more actively" in buying dollars to prop up their price. Second, the Administration would step up efforts to get Congress to pass Carter's energy program, which would reduce oil imports and thus stem the drain of dollars out of the U.S. Indeed, Carter personally lobbied House members to work out a compromise...
...hard truths. Unless the geometric growth of some popular and politically "uncontrollable" programs is controlled-Abboud mentions Social Security and veterans benefits-then much deeper deficits lie ahead. Until the Government eases some regulations, managers will spend capital to meet those rules instead of to create jobs. Buying up dollars will not permanently lift America's currency but at least will give the U.S. time to ease the trade and budget deficits that are dragging the dollar down...
Clubby bankers from Zurich to Tokyo have confided to Abboud that Middle Eastern, Latin American and Asian capitalists are poised to invest many billions in the politically stable U.S.-as soon as they become convinced that they will not lose because of further dollar erosion. When these worldly investors plunge in, the stock market will surge, many jobs and business opportunities will be created, and the temporarily groggy champ will start to bounce back...