Word: dollarization
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...more stable arrangement for the global financial system. From the Chinese perspective, it will help relieve the tensions that have been building from its failed "sterilization" tactics?the inability of China to issue enough domestic debt to offset the massive purchases of U.S. Treasuries required by the now abandoned dollar peg. This was leading to excess money and credit creation?underscoring the mounting risks of inflation and asset bubbles. China's coastal property bubble was a manifestation of this risk, which Beijing could no longer afford to ignore. A "managed float" provides China with greater discretion on the sterilization front...
...rest of the world?but with a potentially painful twist. By moving to a currency basket, China will need to diversify its enormous portfolio of foreign-exchange reserves, which totaled some $660 billion at the end of the first quarter. Other Asian countries?also massively overweighted in dollars?should follow China's lead. The near-simultaneous announcement by Malaysia that it would abandon the ringgit's dollar peg in favor of a managed basket float confirms such a possibility. The Bank of Korea has also been itching to diversify out of dollars...
...crew of Palestinian laborers chops the long green stems from Michael Goldschmidt's amaryllis bulbs in his stuffy hothouse. Goldschmidt, 57, sells the bulbs, grown in the Ganei Tal settlement in the Gaza Strip's Gush Katif bloc, for a dollar. After export to the U.S., the plants go for almost $70. With Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza set for next month, Goldschmidt is taking as many of his 300,000 bulbs out of the ground as he can, in spite of his desire to stay in the place he's lived for 28 years. ?I absolutely...
...Will Hong Kong's proposed multibillion-dollar West Kowloon "cultural district" make the city an arts center or just create more opportunities for real estate speculation? Without the sparks that fly from its freedoms, Hong Kong will never translate its cultural hopes into realities that justify bold architectural monuments. Will Hong Kong celebrate its Cantonese roots, foreign influences and its status as home for millions of Overseas Chinese? Or will it instead buy "culture" franchises?importing brands like Centre Pompidou and Guggenheim to bolster its cultural cachet...
...gardeners dig in for a new season of planting, the billion-dollar horticulture industry is finding fresh ways to keep green things healthy and hobbyists happy. Whether you're an apartment dweller with just a couple of window boxes, or have a big backyard to tend, the latest buzz is about ergonomics and style. Here are a few of the coolest green-thumb gadgets...