Free Republic

Asian Economies Face Double Whammy Export-dependent Asian economies are suffering from a double problem. One part is the continuing weakness of the U.S. dollar and accompanying depreciation of the Chinese yuan, which is hurting the price competitiveness of products exported by Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The other is that they are being pressured by the international community to reform their economic structures to become more focused on domestic consumption as a way of relieving a perceived imbalance in international trade. China unpegged the yuan from the U.S. dollar in July 2005 and adopted a currency basket system, a more...

The first shipments of Chrysler cars built by China's Chery Automobile Co. could reach the U.S. or Europe within 30 months, Chrysler said on Wednesday, opening the door for Chery to be the first mainland auto maker to do so. "The first product within one year, and then into the United States and western Europe within two to 2- years," Chrysler Group chief executive Tom LaSorda told reporters. The first auto built by Chery Automobile Co. for Chrysler could be exported to North America, but not the United States, said LaSorda, who made the forecast at a Beijing signing ceremony...

The United States is seeking to increase the power of China and other countries within the International Monetary Fund to reflect their growing weight on the world economic stage, an effort that is being resisted by some European countries whose voices could be weakened within the organization.

All Headline News reported that Japanese exporters are trying to take advantage of the rise in the Yen rate. When the dollar spikes, they try to sell it in order to save up for later purchases in the year. The current yen rate hovers around 114 yen = $1. I remember when it was 260 yen = $1. Some of my missionary friends tell me of a time when it was 350 = $1. When Japan started to produce quality products for very affordable prices, everyone started crying 'foul' and 'undervalued,' and then trade imbalances started growing. In the end,...

WASHINGTON -- Over 800 pounds of Mexican bologna smuggled into the U.S. without refrigeration has been destroyed by the Agriculture Department. It was found in suitcases aboard a bus earlier this month north of Las Cruces, N.M. The man who owned it said it was going to be sold at a swap meet or flea market. The man entered the country legally, and is not being charged. The Agriculture Department has approved some imports of Mexican bologna, but it must be refrigerated. Unrefrigerated bologna can create health risks such as Classic Swine Fever.

Insight on the News - National Issue: 05/27/03 Cheap Labor at America's Expense By Kelly Patricia O Meara "Hey, it's good work if you can get it," says New Jersey state Sen. Shirley Turner about the outsourcing of the Garden State's welfare-processing contract. But neither New Jerseyans nor any other Americans are getting the work, so she has introduced legislation that she believes will keep those jobs at home. Turner, a Democrat, filed her proposal after learning that the New Jersey Department of Human Services had contracted with an Arizona-based company to service paperwork for the state's welfare recipients at...