Word: greenback
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Since March, the dollar has lost about 15% of its value against the world's other major currencies. That's a dull way to put it, though, so you're more likely to read or hear that the greenback is "wobbling," "slumping," "plunging" or even "collapsing." Marc Faber, a Hong Kong-based investment guru with a flair for the dramatic, went so far as to declare in a TV interview a few weeks ago that the U.S. currency was on its way "to a value of exactly zero...
...dollar slumped against other major currencies, countless pundits and economists predicted its demise as the global economy's No. 1 currency. The doomsayers seemed vindicated when the U.S. economy descended into the worst recession since the 1930s, with its financial sector in tatters. How could an already weakened greenback maintain its value as American economic prowess withered? But then - surprise! - investors around the world decided the good old greenback was a safe haven in a time of great uncertainty. The dollar was resurrected, reversing years of slow decline...
...That strength turned out to be temporary. A ballooning U.S. budget deficit and escalating government debt has made the dollar currency non grata in many quarters once again. An index that measures the greenback's value against a basket of major currencies, including the euro and yen, has fallen about 15% from a three-year high reached in March and is now hovering near a 14-month low. Economists and analysts expect the dollar to lose a lot more ground. Daisuke Uno, chief strategist at Japan's banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui, believes the Japanese currency could strengthen...
...These sources of support may not last forever. Warren Buffett warned in a New York Times editorial in August that the unrestrained buildup of U.S. government debt - and the likely need to print money as a result - would inevitably undermine the dollar's value. "Unchecked greenback emissions will certainly cause the purchasing power of currency to melt," the sage of Omaha wrote. "The dollar's destiny lies with Congress." Richard Portes, a professor of economics at the London Business School, believes that central banks will increasingly see other currencies, especially the euro, as more reliable storehouses of value. "The idea...
...However, economists and manufacturers are quick to caution that the good news could be short-lived if the Canadian dollar keeps climbing toward parity with the U.S. greenback. The loonie, named after the lake bird engraved on Canada's $1 coin, hit a high of 97 cents this week, its highest level in 12 months and a 24% increase from the low of 78 cents earlier this year...