By Jieying Ding

China has launched an aggressive campaign to internationalize the Yuan since 2008, and its initiatives have included setting up currency swap pacts with other countries and opening up parts of its capital markets. The road to becoming a big player in international trade hasn’t been smooth though, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The overall use of Yuan by global companies has dropped five percent over the past year. The drop is largely due to a weaker Euro because European companies generally prefer a weaker Euro to an expensive Yuan. Although outside the Asia-Pacific area there’s a slightly declining in terms of future usage intent, it still shows that Yuan is becoming part of the global economy.

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April 21, 2015

By Jieying Ding

The rise of the dollar versus the euro and most other currencies sends a strong signal that U.S. economy is doing far better than its counterparts in Europe, achieving a 5 percent GDP growth in the third quarter of 2014, according to the New York Times. While the business community welcomes a stronger U.S. economy, things have gotten a little tough for U.S. exporters. Firms that must pay workers and buy raw materials in now depreciated currencies are saving money without having to cut pay, an advantage U.S. exporters don’t have. Although U.S. exporters are not complaining now, it’s likely that if the appreciation continues, they’ll pressure for diplomatic action to help reverse the trend. 

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February 06, 2015

By Sam Obenhaus

On Wednesday, November 20, the European Central Bank took a major step towards integrating the euro zone’s financial markets when it nominated Danièle Nouy to serve as the first “Single Supervisor” for major banks across the continent. If confirmed by the European Parliament, she will lead one of the world’s most important start-ups.  The Single Supervisor’s office is still in the process of hiring staff and it does not gain the legal authority to start regulating banks until the end of next year.

The task facing Nouy is hugely important for the future of the euro zone.  One of the chief criticisms of the zone is that oversight of its banking system remains balkanized.  The hope is that installation of a Single Supervisor, along with the first set of stress tests that subject the zone’s banks to the same set of standards, will address this persistent criticism.

The New York Times has more on this story.

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November 26, 2013

By Aliza Kempner

The United States is pointing fingers for the continued economic depression and the Germans don’t like it at all. 

The U.S. Treasury report on foreign economic and currency policies asserts that Germany’s huge surplus on current account has created “a deflationary bias for the euro area, as well as for the world economy.” 

While European debtor nations have responded with harsh austerity measures, Germany hasn’t made any adjustments. The New York Times explores the repercussions of Germany’s asymmetrical approach to the trade surplus. 

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November 12, 2013