Word: yen
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Other skitcom graduates, like Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy, had profitably accommodated their TV personalities to the big screen. But Robin Williams was not allowing himself to be Robin Williams. It made for a dispiriting spectacle, like watching a great juggler hold, just hold, a lemon. Williams traces his yen for straight roles to Manhattan's Juilliard School, where he studied acting. 'I had my Juilliard training -- ((highbrow accent:)) 'I'm an actor here' -- and then I do comedy on the side. It's this Jekyll-and-Jessel thing -- ((stentorian voice:)) 'Actor during the day; at night, strange...
...rallies since the crash suddenly fizzled when the Government announced that the U.S. trade deficit had hit a record $17.6 billion in October, up 25% from September. The news threw the world's currency traders into a frenzy, and the dollar plummeted to its lowest levels against the Japanese yen and the West German mark since the 1940s. The turmoil could not help pushing urgent questions into the minds of every reader of the financial pages: What is going on with the U.S. economy, and what is going to happen in the new year...
Only if the dollar's descent slows down will the U.S. at last enjoy an improvement in the trade deficit. Most of the economists surveyed said the dollar would indeed become more stable. Their median forecast has the dollar drifting down only 2.3% next year against the yen and 1.8% against the mark. At the same time, they predicted, the trade deficit will fall nearly 15%, from a record $175 billion this year to about $150 billion...
...making American goods more competitive but also that propping up the currency would force the U.S. to keep interest rates too high just when a recession became possible. In the past month or so, the dollar has dropped 7% against the West German mark and 5% vs. the Japanese yen, which comes on top of an almost 40% fall during the past two years...
...contrast, countries with strong currencies have been able to boost their living standards. The mighty mark and yen have been putting a burden on West German and Japanese exporters, but they have responded by holding down costs and becoming more efficient. One reason they can do so is that many of their imported raw materials and components are priced in dollars and have become cheaper. With greater price stability, Japan and Germany face less pressure for wage increases. Despite the strong mark, Germany has become the world's leading exporter. Japan is openly contemptuous of the notion that...