In addition, both Singapore and Hong Kong manage their exchange rates against the American dollar.
He has dropped his past opposition to Ecuador's use of the American dollar as its currency.
The outlook for next year depends critically on what happens to the American dollar.
Ironically, this was the logic behind Argentina's currency board, anchored to the American dollar rather than to gold.
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Most Asian countries pegged their currencies in some way to the American dollar.
Indonesia's rupiah was worst hit, as investors sought safety in the American dollar.
Hong Kong keeps its dollar stable by backing each dollar's worth of local money by one American dollar of reserves.
OFFICIALLY, one American dollar will buy you 55 of the Zimbabwean kind.
So even if the American dollar were to slide against the euro or the yen, some Asian currencies might follow it down.
With the Euro still dominating the American dollar, try looking in your own backyard for European flair with a considerably smaller price tag.
On Friday November 14th currency markets ground to a halt after the Zimbabwe dollar tumbled from 14 to one American dollar to 26-to-one.
The model is Hong Kong, which introduced a currency board, tying its dollar tightly to the American dollar, amid a panic in 1983.
At stake are trades in eurodollar futures--bets on short-term interest rates affecting American dollar deposits outside the U.S.--accounting for 53% of the Merc's overall volume.
In the week beginning on December 15th, the Indonesian rupiah, Philippine peso, Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit all touched historic lows against the American dollar.
Hong Kong manages its exchange rate through a currency board, which holds one American dollar to back every 7.8 dollars in Hong Kong's money supply.
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Part of the turmoil can be explained by events outside the region, notably a rout in rich-world stockmarkets, as well as a slide in the American dollar.
Since Zimbabwe's inflation is a tad higher than America's, nobody wishes to surrender hard currency at the official rate of 55 Zimbabwe dollars to one American dollar.
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After all, the countries worst affected have seen the value of their currencies fall by between 35% and 70% against the American dollar since July last year.
The loonie (as it is known) has dropped against the muscle-bound American dollar by nearly 9% in the past year, slipping by 2.5% in the past month alone.
"When all else fails, the American dollar won't, " he advises.
On October 1st alone, the value of the Iranian rial declined by some 17 percent, collapsing to 34, 700 to one American dollar. (It has since reportedly fallen still further).
Local interest rates would then rise to punitive levels, banks would come under intolerable strain, and the link between the American dollar and Hong Kong's dollar would be in jeopardy.
And the price was pegged to the American dollar.
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Indeed, the territory's financial secretary, Antony Leung, gave warning that the Hong Kong dollar's longstanding peg to the American dollar might come under strain if the SARS outbreak is not resolved soon.
The latest conventional wisdom is to argue that the country was badly mistaken to cling for so long to the currency board, which pegged the peso at parity with the American dollar.
Because of the loss of wealth that is itself due to a falling currency, the American dollar-holder can't import as readily as in the past simply because the dollar doesn't buy as much.
The vast banking floor was empty when I arrived to open my bid to make a small fortune in the currency that is bound to appreciate against the American dollar over time.
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Though the price of gold has crept up of late, the value of the rand has risen too, making South African exporters less competitive: since the beginning of 2003, the South African currency has risen by about 30% against the American dollar.
As Gaffney notes, however, even at the high-end this necessary recapitalization of the Nation's defense capability will represent a mere four percent of the gross domestic product - - four cents on the American national dollar for national security.
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The 18-month old, multi-million dollar American Jewish political action committee held its inaugural convention this week in Washington.
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