Foreign Exchange News

By Chisa Fujioka BEIJING (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki told his Chinese counterpart on Saturday that a more flexible currency exchange policy would be a boon to China's economy. In a three-hour meeting, Tanigaki and Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renqing also discussed the need to strengthen economic ties between their two countries despite political relations being at th ...

By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. software firms are looking for watershed progress in combating Chinese piracy at trade talks just days before Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington in April, an industry official said on Friday. Chinese officials will release data on execution of specific anti-piracy pledges they made at the 2005 U.S.-China Joint Commission o ...

The dollar slumped against the euro and the yen Friday, after a weaker- than-expected housing report made investors more cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting next week. The dollar surrendered early gains after data showed sales of new homes in the United States fell 10.5% to the lowest level since May 2003. It was the largest percentage decrease in almost nine years.  ...

By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai and Chris Swann in Washington Published: March 24 2006 18:06 | Last updated: March 24 2006 18:06Advocates of free trade were hopeful on Friday that a more conciliatory stance by two US senators who have threatened draconian legislation against China would help cool anger in Congress over China’s trade policies. // Senators Charles Schumer of New York and Lindsey Graham o ...

The US dollar bounced this week, recovering its losses of the previous five days, as traders once again revised up expectations for the peak in US interest rates. // Ben Bernanke, the new chairman of the Federal Reserve, played his part in the dollar’s recovery, taking over from predecessor Alan Greenspan as a cheerleader for the US economy and by extension the currency. Mr Bernanke delivered a broadly upbeat assessment of the world’s largest economy, playing down fears that the flat US yield  ...

The dollar extended gains against the yen, rising to an almost two-week high early Friday, with traders cautiously awaiting the Federal Reserve policy meeting early next week. The U.S. currency initially dipped after a report showed that excluding transportation, durable goods orders fell in February, the first decline in four months. But the dollar quickly recovered as investors shifted attent ...

The New Zealand dollar, which has already fallen 10 per cent this year, is expected to come under fresh downward pressure after official figures showed that the country’s current account deficit ballooned to a record NZ$13.7bn in 2005. // Statistics New Zealand said that last year’s figure, up from a deficit of NZ$9.8bn in 2004, equaled 8.9 per cent of gross domestic product, its highest ratio for 20 years, and double its long-term average. The figures were in line with expectations and the ki ...

The dollar rose to one-week highs against the euro and the yen Thursday, after a much stronger-than-expected housing report bolstered the market's view that the U.S. economy remains in good shape. Resales of U.S. homes unexpectedly increased 5.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.91 million, the National Association of Realtors said. Economists were expecting sales of ab ...

Malaysia said on Thursday said it would partly lift its ban on short-selling of shares, introduced during the 1998 Asian financial crisis, to attract more liquidity to the country’s sluggish stock market. // The ban on short-selling was one of the first measures Malaysia introduced in 1998 to help curb an outflow of capital. Then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad had accused speculators of being “r ...

The dollar rose to one-week highs against the euro and the yen Thursday, after a much stronger-than-expected housing report bolstered the market's view that the U.S. economy remains in good shape. Resales of U.S. homes unexpectedly increased 5.2% in February to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 6.91 million, the National Association of Realtors said. Economists were expecting sales of ab ...