The US dollar was the big story in 2007 if you were selling it. Compared to 2001, the value of the dollar has gone down by 40 percent against the euro. And values at the beginning compared to the ending of 2007 were significantly down: the dollar was down about 13 percent versus the euro, 10 percent versus the yen, and 8.5 percent versus the pound sterling. Its value was at such a record low that supermodels and popular rappers made public their preference for getting paid in Euro, no dollars, please. The US dollar did stop skidding towards the end of 2007, but the question now becomes: has the dollar bottomed out or will the slide continue in 2008?
Why the Dollar Weakened in 2007
The dollar seemed so weak in 2007 because the rest of the global economy continued to grow even as US growth stalled, due in part to steady demand from the Middle East, China and India markets. Countries acted more independently, as illustrated by the Australian central banks decision to increase rates to stave off inflation at precisely the time the US Federal Reserve was cutting interest rates. Before December in fact, interest rate cuts happened only in the US. In short, some sort of...