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Showing posts from August 20, 2015

Yuan Yawn

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by Jon Markman Dear Constantin, The Chinese yuan dropped in value three straight days until Friday, finishing the week with a 3% loss. Beijing authorities tried to stabilize the situation by saying the currency didn't have much reason to fall further. They also dismissed talk that Beijing was targeting a 10% devaluation, a figure that many Western economists argued is in store. Are they right? Yeah, actually, you know, they might be. This time. For once. U.S. and eurozone analysts are trying to figure out who will be worst hurt by the currency's trip-and-fall, which looked originally like an opening salvo in a mercantilist-style currency war, a last ditch effort to reinvigorate China's sputtering economy by spurring exports. But upon further review, a 3% to 5% deval is not going to help matters all that much. There might be something els