The Treasury Department once again declined to label China a currency manipulator, despite arguing that the yuan “remains significantly undervalued” and should rise further. They basically patted themselves on the back and tried to show that their policy of engagement with China has worked to this point. China “has substantially reduced the level of official [...]

After Mitt Romney put the issue of Chinese currency manipulation into the Presidential race, economists and analysts rushed to explain that such manipulation isn’t happening, and anyway Romney is dishonest, and his policies, if carried out, would start a trade war. I responded that, even if you accept that China has stopped manipulating their currency, [...]

One of the sections in tonight’s foreign policy debate concerns China, which means that the issue of Chinese trade will come up. In a very real sense, this will trigger a fake debate about the manipulation of Chinese currency. I say fake because, while Mitt Romney will demand such a designation, he has no interest [...]

Reports indicate fresh clashes with riot police inside Tehran, Iran today, but they do not have necessarily the same rationale as the Arab uprising. These stem from the collapse of the Iranian currency, a direct result of international sanctions on the Islamic Republic over their nuclear program. Clashes erupted in the center of the Iranian [...]

Greg Sargent has an interesting by-product of the electoral debate over China, and particularly Chinese currency manipulation. Romney has used this as part of his five-point plan to improve the US economy. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) casually points out that there’s a bill on the table awaiting a vote in the House that would deal [...]

The Republican Party platform includes an endorsement of a commission to study the return of America to the gold standard, a gift to Ron Paul supporters who have steadfastly supported the 19th century-era idea. Drafts of the party platform, which it will adopt at a convention in Tampa Bay, Florida, next week, call for an [...]

Paul Ryan, like all House Republicans, voted against the stimulus package. Then Paul Ryan, like a bunch of House Republicans, wrote letters to federal agencies requesting stimulus funds for his district. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this – if there’s money on the table, you’re not doing your job as a legislator unless you try [...]

The Romney campaign decided to put its new attack dog, Paul Ryan, out on a foreign policy measure today. Specifically, they had him discuss global trade, and Chinese currency manipulation. Ryan, the GOP vice presidential candidate, was speaking in North Canton, Ohio, on Thursday. “We also need trade that works for us. We come from [...]

The Bank of England, People’s Bank of China and the European Central Bank all cut lending rates or added quantitative easing today, a near-global spurt of monetary stimulus designed to increase economic growth. Because the Federal Reserve hasn’t joined in, the dollar is growing stronger, which is bad news for US exports. China and the [...]

The EU has come up with a plan, to be discussed at this week’s summit, to dramatically consolidate fiscal policymaking power in a Eurozone leadership figure, without authorizing the kind of fiscal transfers that would smooth over imbalances and make the currency union a true “United States of Europe.” The EU would gain far-reaching powers [...]

Someone’s a little touchy about being properly blamed for destroying their own economy. José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, lit up at critics at the G20 summit in Mexico: The opening day of the G20 summit was threatening to deteriorate into a fractious row between eurozone countries and other non-European members of [...]