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Jess Frampton

The dollar is dead, long live the dollar

Every now and then, a story about some country seeking to diversify away from the US dollar kicks off a frenzy about the inevitable collapse of dollar dominance. Lately, there’s been more than a few such headlines, including:

Naturally, these have provided a fertile ground for gold bugs, crypto shills, hyperinflation truthers, techno-libertarians, anti-imperialists (read: anti-US zealots), and run-of-the-mill grifters to stoke fear about the dollar’s imminent death and its supposedly catastrophic consequences for the United States and the global economy.

But even mainstream media outlets and smart, well-meaning analysts have gotten swept into the current wave of hysteria.

Doomsayers offer numerous reasons for the dollar’s demise. They point to everything from China’s meteoric rise to superpower and the emerging multipolarity of the global system, to America’s stagnant productivity growth, chronic fiscal deficits, monetary expansion, growing debt burden, trade wars, financial fragility, and imperial overreach, to challenges from disruptive technologies like central bank digital currencies and crypto-assets.

Yet rumors of the dollar’s death are greatly exaggerated. Going by most usage measures, the dollar remains incontrovertibly dominant in global trade and finance, if a little less so than at its apex.

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Paige Fusco

The Graphic Truth: The 20-year euro vs. US dollar race

On Tuesday, the US dollar reached parity with the euro for the first time in 20 years. The euro's recent slump has a lot to do with high energy prices, fears of a looming EU-wide recession, and the European Central Bank dragging its feet on raising interest rates to tame inflation. Over the past two decades, though, 1 euro has consistently been worth more than 1 dollar because ... that's what the forex market decided, regardless of the strength comparison between the two economies. We take a look at how the euro has performed against the dollar since the EU launched the (physical) single currency on Jan. 1, 2002.

Japan's assertive foreign and economic policy reflect Abe's legacy
Japan To Become More Assertive On Global Stage After PM Abe's Death | World In :60 | GZERO Media

Japan's assertive foreign and economic policy reflect Abe's legacy

Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.

With Japanese people mourning former PM Shinzo Abe, how will his death further influence Japan's politics?

Well, we've already seen a fairly easy majority win by Abe's own Liberal Democratic Party. He had been stumping for them when he was assassinated. His two legacies are things that the Japanese are moving on. One, Abenomics, the three arrows of fiscal policy and monetary policy and growth really underpin the new style of capitalism that Prime Minister Kishida's been talking about. I think that they will more assertively align towards those, even though the BOJ at this point, The Bank of Japan doesn't have a lot of flexibility given the indebtedness levels. But also the Quad, the CPTPP, the desire of the Japanese, the prime minister to go to NATO for the summit a couple weeks ago. I mean, all of these were really kicked off by Abe wanting a more assertive foreign policy, normalizing their defense capabilities. You might even see a move now towards reforming the constitution on the defense side, something Abe wanted to do but didn't have the votes for. Now the LDP does. I expect to see Japan increasingly assertive on the global stage like you've seen Germany under Olaf Scholz.

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Muslims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

REUTERS/Hassan Ali

Hard Numbers: Hajj returns, Italy roasts, euro plunges, Ukraine appeal succeeds

1 million: More than one million pilgrims are expected in Mecca this week to perform the Hajj, an obligation for all Muslims at least once in their lifetimes. This is the first time since the onset of the pandemic Saudi authorities have allowed the annual event to take place.

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