Global Currency Wars Enter New Stage; Brazil Calls Off Truce, South Korea Reviews "All Possibilities", Philippines Threatens "Prudential Limits"

Fighting the Fed has reached a new stage: all out currency wars.

The Fed is desperate to tank the US dollar to stimulate exports and further fuel a stock market that is clearly back in bubble territory. However, central bankers in other countries have had enough.

Japan and Switzerland intervened heavily in the forex markets on Wednesday. Other countries, fed up with Fed policies and a weak dollar now threaten to do the same.

For a recap Wednesday's intervention news, please see

• Quantitative Easing Begins in Switzerland to Counteract Soaring Swiss Franc, Central Bank "Aims to Bring 3-Month LIBOR to 0%"; Gold Soars


• Japan Intervenes, Yen Plunges; What's Next?

What's next is already at hand: Currency Wars Enter ‘New Stage’

“We seem to be entering a new stage of the currency wars where it’s not just the emerging markets that are responding to broad dollar weakness,” said Callum Henderson, global head of currency research at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore, who has written books on currency markets. “Expect much more intervention in the future and further acrimony in terms of how the U.S. dollar is doing.”

Here are some highlights from the article.

Brazil Calls Off Truce, South Korea Reviews "All Possibilities", Philippines Threatens "Prudential Limits"

• Japan sold yen today, causing the currency to weaken as much as 3.1 percent against the dollar after rising 5 percent last month.


• Brazil’s Mantega said Nov. 30 that his nation’s currency was trading at a reasonable level as Europe’s worsening debt crisis brought a “temporary truce” to a global currency war. Since then, the real has gained about 10 percent against the dollar, and Mantega said last month that the so-called “war” was still on.


• South Korea’s government is reviewing “all possibilities” on curbing capital inflows, Finance Minister Bahk Jae Wan told reporters in Seoul today, adding that he’s “closely monitoring” the situation, while declining to comment on the impact of Japan’s intervention.


• The Philippines is prepared to impose controls to cap volatility in the peso after its currency rose to a three-year high this week, central bank Governor Amando Tetangco said in an e-mail late yesterday. The bank “will not go against the fundamental currency trend but will not hesitate to use tools, including imposing prudential limits on certain transactions of banks,” he said.

Asia-Pacific Reversal

Asia-Pacific Equity Markets initially responded to the intervention in a positive manner. That action has now reversed.

Bloomberg reported "Yen Slumps After Japan Intervenes to Curb Rise; Most Asian Stocks Advance" but "Most Asian Stocks Advance" is now missing from the title.

Asia-Pacific Snapshot



Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan are all down well over 1% each. Nothing is up by even .25%. US S&P 500 futures we up over 10 points but are now slightly red although Europe is slightly green.

To update the chart click on Yahoo Finance Major World Indices

Time For Decisive Action

At times like these, there is only one thing to do: Call out Tim Geithner for a reiteration of the "US Strong Dollar Policy".

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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