Word: poundingly
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American tourists have happily profited from the falling pound. Thousands have jetted off to London to snatch up woolens, suits and china at bargain prices. Just before New Year's, Harrods, the stylish department store, took out a full-page ad in the New York Times to attract U.S. customers to its | annual post-Christmas sale...
...latest run on the pound was triggered primarily by concerns about the future of world oil prices. Because of the current glut in crude, petroleum + prices have been sliding for several months. Britain earns nearly $13 billion from the export of oil, and lower prices would be a serious blow to its economy...
...sinking pound was a new and embarrassing political problem for Thatcher. Opposition Leader Neil Kinnock called her handling of the crisis an "epic of bungling indecision." Two weeks ago, Thatcher's press secretary, Bernard Ingham, aggravated the tense situation by telling reporters that they could be "absolutely certain that we are not going to defend" a particular value of the pound. That unfortunate remark helped speed the currency's slide and forced Thatcher to abandon her hands-off policy...
...pound's troubles brought a sense of urgency to a routine meeting in Washington of finance ministers from the U.S., Britain, France, West Germany and Japan. After the session, Treasury Secretary Donald Regan said that the U.S. had eased the conditions under which it would intervene to try to influence prices in the currency markets. Said Regan: "We are willing to undertake coordinated intervention when we agree that it would be helpful." Previously the Administration had said it would buy or sell dollars or other currencies solely to prevent "disorderly" markets. The Government intervened only in such serious situations...
Although Thatcher's action last week stemmed the pound's decline temporarily, the long-term effectiveness of such rescue efforts is questionable. During the past few years, several governments have attempted to intervene unilaterally in world money markets in order to push the value of their currencies up or down. They have had only brief, limited success. Ultimately, the markets determine a currency's value...