Word: float
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When currencies were set free to float in 1973, many economists predicted that exchange rates would move slowly and smoothly. Under Bretton Woods, currency values had only changed abruptly after crises sparked wild speculation. In addition, experts argued that with floating rates governments would no longer be forced to restrain their domestic economies just to bolster their currencies...
...Four months later, the U.S. and its major trading partners agreed to an 8.57% dollar devaluation, an action Nixon called "the most significant monetary achievement in the history of the world." But in February 1973 the U.S. devalued again by 10%, and its allies responded by letting their currencies float freely against the dollar. The Bretton Woods era of fixed exchange rates was over...
...Zuckerman last week appeared before the Loan Guarantee Board in Washington and asked the Government to forgo its right to buy the stock. The company, which two weeks ago announced that it was about to repay $400 million of the Government-guaranteed loans, argued that it would have to float a new stock issue to provide the shares for the Government. The result of that action, Chrysler claimed, would be to dilute the value of its existing shares by nearly 13%, which would affect all shareholders, including company officers with large stock options, who feel their reward for turning...
...being paid for the check by the Federal Reserve, a bank may wait several days, or in some cases a couple of weeks, before permitting the customer to use his own money. During that time, the bank invests the money and earns interest, a strategy known as "playing the float." In essence, the customer often unwittingly gives the bank a free loan. Says New York State Senator Franz Leichter: "I think it's the biggest consumer scam going on in America today...
Bankers point out that the check credit granted by the Federal Reserve is only provisional. If the check later proves to be no good, then the Fed takes its money back. Revenues from playing the float, however, can be much higher than losses from bad checks. Lee Falls, a vice president at San Francisco's Bank of America, estimates that his bank earns $3.35 million off the float each day and suffers only about $3 million of bad-check losses during an entire year. But Falls says that the number of bad checks would rise dramatically if the bank...