logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2022
39m 42s

Money Talks: Top dollar

The Economist
About this episode

This year, the dollar is up by 15% against the yen, 10% against the pound and 5% against the yuan. In July, it briefly hit parity against the Euro, something that last happened two decades ago. What’s behind the greenback’s rise?


In this week’s show, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Soumaya Keynes examine what the dollar’s strength says about its role as the world’s dominant reserve currency. First, our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch goes in search of lunch to determine if the dollar is overvalued. Then, Eurizon chief executive Stephen Jen tells us why the dollar is smiling. Finally Megan Greene, a senior fellow at Brown University and global chief economist for CRO, explains why efforts to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency have mostly failed.


Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks 


For full access to print, digital and audio editions, subscribe to The Economist at www.economist.com/podcastoffer



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Dec 2021
Money Talks: 2021 unwrapped
From Ever Given to Evergrande, via empty crisp packets and the metaverse, host Henry Tricks leads a brave band of The Economist’s finest through the tribulations and triumphs of the past year in business, finance and economics. The team unpack the data that made their jaws drop, ... Show More
32m 57s
Dec 2021
Money Talks: Meet the cryptokings
Four men hold the keys to a $2trn market. Our finance correspondent Matthieu Favas speaks to some of the most powerful people in the world of cryptocurrencies—the founders of the most important crypto exchanges—to find out what it takes to stay on top in the most volatile market ... Show More
35m 36s
Dec 2021
Money Talks: The not-so-great resignation
The idea that the pandemic has prompted people to quit their jobs en masse fills corporate earnings calls, headlines and social media. But do the data hold up? Host Patrick Lane investigates what is really going on in the labour market. Will the Biden administration usher in a ne ... Show More
28m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Money Talks: Top dollar
This year, the dollar is up by 15% against the yen, 10% against the pound and 5% against the yuan. In July, it briefly hit parity against the Euro, something that last happened two decades ago. What’s behind the greenback’s rise? In this week’s show, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwoo ... Show More
39m 42s
May 2023
Money Talks: Another way, another dollar?
From Alipay’s QR codes to PayPal, it’s never been easier to move money around. Central banks are even considering their own digital currencies. And all that cross-border cashlessness has some wondering about the dollar’s international dominance.On this week’s podcast, hosts Mike ... Show More
42m 35s
Aug 2022
Money Talks: Fragile economies
From Sri Lanka to Pakistan, El Salvador to Ghana, Egypt to Tunisia, some emerging economies are feeling the pain of rising commodity prices, higher interest rates and a strong dollar. Is a wave of historic debt defaults coming for emerging markets? On this week’s episode, hosts S ... Show More
33m 2s
Apr 2022
Money Talks: Breaking the bank? Part two
Thirty years ago, rich-world central banks started winning the fight against inflation. More recently, they have begun to fight new battles, including against climate change or inequality. As the old enemy of inflation returns, in this two-part series, host Soumaya Keynes asks if ... Show More
34m 44s
Sep 2022
Money Talks: The rate shock
The world’s financial markets are going through their most painful adjustment since the global financial crisis. Global stock markets have sold off sharply and bond markets are on course for their worst year since 1949. The British pound briefly fell to its lowest level ever agai ... Show More
33m 51s
May 2024
It’s all about the dollar
The US Supreme Court rejects an existential legal challenge to the country’s top consumer finance watchdog, a $10bn US property fund is running low on liquidity as investors demand their money back, and Russia and China agree to tighten military ties and deepen their economic par ... Show More
10m 42s
Dec 2023
Dollarizing Argentina
Argentina has been on a decades-long search for economic stability, but it always seems to be out of reach. High inflation has been plaguing the country and just surpassed 160% a year. Over the past couple of years, the local currency has collapsed. One U.S. dollar used to be wor ... Show More
24m 12s
Sep 2022
Why Is the U.S. Dollar So Strong? Will It Continue?
What has caused the U.S. dollar's currency exchange rate to be the strongest in twenty years? How a strong dollar leads to slower global economic growth and falling asset prices.Topics covered include:Why a strong dollar is a no-win situation for the rest of the worldWhy have inf ... Show More
30m 29s
Nov 2021
Euro drama in currency markets
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.comhttps://www.ft.com/content/896cc408-68c4-4fd1-960b-85bb18843384 Ford and General Motors said on Thursday that they are improving links with semiconductor manufacturers to improve their supply of electronic chips as the car industry confr ... Show More
10m 21s
Sep 2022
Is a post-dollar world coming?
US inflation is expected to have eased due to falling energy prices and Ukraine has regained momentum fighting back the Russian invasion. Plus, Ruchir Sharma tells us why he thinks the dollar may not be the world’s dominant currency for much longer.  Mentioned in this podcast: Pa ... Show More
9m 1s