Thursday, July 24, 2008

Money & Business

Capital Commerce

Ways to Boost the Greenback

January 15, 2008 11:33 AM ET | James Pethokoukis | Permanent Link

Market guru Ed Yardeni of Oak Associates offers a fix for the falling dollar:

So far, the weak dollar hasn't caused the dire consequences predicted by those who (rightly) have been most bearish on the dollar for the past few years. Bond yields haven't soared and neither has inflation. This statement isn't completely accurate. Corporate credit quality spreads are widening significantly and food and energy inflation have risen sharply. The benefits of a weaker dollar should also be put in the balance. US exports have gotten a lift and US profits have gotten a boost from the weak dollar. Those who advocate a stronger dollar mostly endorse policies that would depress domestic demand in the US. These Puritans are basically favoring a recession to purge the US economy of its excesses. So they believe the Fed is making a mistake by lowering interest rates. Most of them are very wealthy individuals, who would remain very wealthy even during a recession. I would prefer to see another round of significant and permanent cuts in marginal tax rates on personal incomes and capital gains, and a big reduction in the corporate tax rates as the best way to lift the economy and the dollar.

Tags: dollar | economy | recession

Tools: Share | | Comments (0)

Add your thoughts

All comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

About the Capital Commerce Blog

Send an E-mail to capcom@usnews.com.

James Pethokoukis is the money and politics blogger for U.S. News & World Report , where he writes the monthly Capital Commerce magazine column. Pethokoukis is also the assistant managing editor of the magazine's Money & Business section. He has written for many publications including the New York Times, the American, USA Today, Investor's Business Daily, and TCS Daily. Pethokoukis is also an official CNBC contributor and appears frequently on that network's Kudlow & Company, Power Lunch, and The Call shows. In addition, he has appeared numerous times on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN, and Nightly Business Report on PBS. A 1989 graduate of Northwestern University where he double majored in Soviet politics and American history and a 1991 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism, Pethokoukis is a 2002 Jeopardy! champion.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

Video

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.