Currencies: Dollar falls on drop in U.S. confidence

[DuctapeFatwa]

NEW YORK The dollar tumbled against the euro on Tuesday after a surprisingly weak reading of U.S. consumer sentiment raised concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economy.
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In late trading, the euro rose to $1.2696 from $1.2555 late Monday. The dollar fell to ¥108.15 from ¥108.41 and to 1.2397 Swiss francs from 1.2569 francs. The pound rose to $1.8918 from $1.8668.
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Waning U.S. consumer confidence gives the Federal Reserve scope to keep its target interest rate at a four-decade low of 1 percent. The European Central Bank's benchmark rate is 2 percent.
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"Any time we have these weak economic numbers people will think perhaps the Fed will wait longer," said Larry Brickman, a currency strategist at Banc of America Securities. "We expect dollar weakness to continue" for a few months.
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The Conference Board index of consumer confidence dropped to 87.3 in February from 96.4 in January.
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Separately, Chinese and U.S. finance officials began talks Tuesday on demands that Beijing let its tightly controlled currency trade freely on world markets, but a Chinese spokesman said the meeting was not expected to produce any immediate shift in exchange-rate policy. (Bloomberg, Reuters, AP) NEW YORK The dollar tumbled against the euro on Tuesday after a surprisingly weak reading of U.S. consumer sentiment raised concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economy.
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In late trading, the euro rose to $1.2696 from $1.2555 late Monday. The dollar fell to ¥108.15 from ¥108.41 and to 1.2397 Swiss francs from 1.2569 francs. The pound rose to $1.8918 from $1.8668.
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Waning U.S. consumer confidence gives the Federal Reserve scope to keep its target interest rate at a four-decade low of 1 percent. The European Central Bank's benchmark rate is 2 percent.

http://www.iht.com/articles/131072.html

[Art_from_Ark]

1. Personally, I think the dollar fell against the yen

on expectations that the Japanese buying won't kick in until the dollar gets closer to the 105 mark.

[dbt]

2. KICK!

Back to the front page with this nasty little breakfast tidbit.

:freak:
dbt

[RainDog]

3. alternate realities

I switched on tv last night and Charlie Rose had some guy on there who was talking about the economy...I never caught his name, though his face was vaguely familiar.

anyway, the guy was saying that Bush was doing great on the economy because interest rates are so low.

I was thinking...am I crazy to see the same thing that he sees and find a different reality?

...or is someone lying, maybe?

or do I just misunderstand all this, because when I look at those low interest rates, I also see the millions and millions of Americans who seem to be nearly maxxed out on personal debt, combined with fewer jobs now in existence in this country than when Bush took office...

and I think, well, yeah, Greenspan is keeping interest rates low because personal economies are being propped up to keep people from totally getting over their heads by not being able to meet their monthly payments on adjustable rate debt.

but maybe that's just me.

the guy talked about Bush inheriting a recession...and that recession is now over.

and I think, well, yeah, the dot com bust did do a number on people, but still there is a net loss of jobs in this country, and according to what I've read, the jobs which are being created are service sector minimum wage jobs..not exactly what that IT person had in mind when he or she took out a mortgage...

Maybe, like those places in the Caribbean, we'll be able to recoup some economic loss because the dollar is so weak that Europeans will be able to come here and buy, buy, buy and stay in good hotels and all that.

Whether or not our nation can survive on tourism...