Free Republic

A strong currency reflects booming commodity exports and sound public finances. But not everyone is cheering. IT HARDLY came as a surprise when, on September 21st, the Canadian dollar crossed a symbolic threshold and overtook its American counterpart in value for the first time since 1976. Since January 2002, when Canadians needed C$1.61 to buy a greenback, the loonie (so nicknamed after the aquatic bird depicted on the dollar coin) has been pushed up by world demand for Canada's commodities. Yet even hard-bitten currency traders cheered out loud as the loonie inched towards parity, and then beyond. David Watt, a...

The current account deficit widened to its highest level ever in January.As the deficits grows, due to loose monetary policy and overspending, so do the worries about the US dollar and economy. Here's an interesting link to a negative economic assesment from respected Swiss economist Dr. Marc Faber ("Dr. Doom"). Dr. Faber is famous for correctly predicting asset bubbles, such as the that led to the 'Asian Flu'.

The Canadian dollar surged to a 13 1/2-year high Monday - gaining almost a full U.S. cent - as a sharp increase in crude oil prices fired up gains against the U.S. greenback. The loonie was trading during the day as high as 85.74 cents US, up 0.9 of a cent from Friday's close of 84.84 cents U.S. It later closed at 85.57 cents US, up 0.73 cent,. "This is the highest we've been since the month of January 1992," said George Davis, chief foreign exchange technical analyst with RBC Capital Markets. "The market is starting to refocus on...

Pound surges to five-year high against US currency. Buffett also said to be betting against greenback ________________________________________________ The pound surged against the dollar yesterday amid speculation that Warren Buffett and George Soros, the world's most famous speculators, are betting the US currency will plummet. Sterling powered to a five-year high against the dollar for a second day as concerns over the US current account deficit continued to outweigh evidence of a rebounding economy. Traders believe selling the dollar is a one-way bet, and some latched on to rumours that speculators were building "short" positions on the dollar - betting it...