Desperate to maintain or restart growth, the developed world is effectively competing to devalue its money.
Countries are attempting to devalue their weaker currencies in order to make their exports cheaper.
Economists say that to become competitive, Greece needs to devalue by at least 40%.
Without the ability to devalue, the restoration of competitiveness requires painful austerity measures and wage restraint.
In order to truly become Iceland, then, Cyprus is going to need to devalue and default.
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More importantly, in the sovereign race to devalue domestic currencies, the last man standing may be gold.
The latest U.S. stimulus is widely perceived by emerging market policymakers as a means to devalue the dollar.
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One or more weak members (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, perhaps Spain) might leave, presumably to devalue their new currency.
That is mostly because of domestic demand, but also partly thanks to its ability to devalue the zloty.
Unable to devalue against their euro-zone partners, they must restore competitiveness the hard way, by lowering domestic costs.
The most plausible reason is that it would give us the freedom to devalue the dollar even further.
There is also talk the European Central Bank could soon lower its interest rates, in the race to devalue.
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One was to devalue the dollar and raise the price of gold consistent with the increase in the CPI.
The U.S. dollar hit a four-year high versus the yen overnight as the BOJ works to devalue its currency.
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The administration and the IMF urged Thailand last year to devalue the bhat.
If it is to revive the economy, the government may have to decide either to dollarise or to devalue.
Even the central bank, it is said, has advised Mr Mugabe to devalue.
But intervention works best when central banks co-ordinate their purchases, and which country is going to help another to devalue?
Fear of domestic financial problems is why, in the end, many countries with overvalued exchange rates are forced to devalue.
"The fact that we had to devalue by 40% at once means that Malawians are feeling the shock, " Banda says.
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There may be some political pressure from exporters to devalue, but there is none from heavy selling of the currency.
Moreover, the Fed aims to devalue the dollar by about 2% a year, increasing prices 50% over the next 20 years.
This has led to renewed talk of "currency wars" - where countries compete to devalue their currencies to help boost exports.
The European Central Bank has also hinted it may further lower its interest rates in an effort to devalue its currency.
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If Greece had its own currency, it would have been forced to devalue it long ago to reduce its debt burden.
No doubt Brazil was in the thoughts of Chinese leaders when, this week, they reiterated their commitment not to devalue the yuan.
Full currency union seems to remove that margin of discretion, and shore up the credibility of the government's promise not to devalue.
For this sort of austerity requires the ability to devalue the currency and also to be able to control local interest rates.
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But when monetary authorities seek to devalue the money we earn, they create a disharmony with trade, plus they eviscerate our paychecks.
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If everyone else wants to devalue their currency, should we play along?
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