As an exodus of money adds to the pressure on a slowing economy, regulators are trying to put the brakes on overseas use of China’s currency by increasing the scrutiny of certain overseas deals. The decision to restrict overseas use of the renminbi represents a setback in China’s long-term drive to turn the currency into a rival to the dollar and euro in the global marketplace.
Beijing had pursued a greater role for the renminbi as a way to increase its economic influence. Part of the renminbi’s appeal in international finance was that most Chinese companies could borrow and spend it overseas while seldom seeking approval from financial regulators in Beijing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

It has been more than three weeks since the government announced its decision to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. There has been a wide-ranging debate on whether the government’s move will indeed succeed in curbing black money hoarding and tax evasion.
Analysts have argued on the short-term and long-term impact of the move. Citizens have stood in queues for hours outside bank branches and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Some have praised and supported the move while others have called it a grave inconvenience, especially for India’s middle classes………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Zimbabwe is issuing a new currency, known as bond notes, that officially are equal to the U.S. dollar. The government has gone ahead with the plan despite warnings the new currency will fuel hyperinflation and worsen the already ailing economy.
On Monday, there were still long queues at most ATMs in Harare, despite the release of the new bond notes, which are intended, in part, to ease long-running cash shortages. he Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe says the new currency will, among other things, increase the country’s exports………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move as “very bold”, China’s official media today said it was a “gamble” that would create a precedent irrespective of whether it succeeds or fails and China will draw lessons from its impact on corruption.
“Modi’s move is very bold. We cannot imagine what would happen in China if the country bans its 50 and 100 yuan notes,” said an editorial in the state-run Global Times titled ‘Modi takes a gamble with money reform’. 100 yuan is China’s highest currency note………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Rush back into US assets leaves range of Asian currencies at record lows. The relentless rise of the dollar scorched emerging market currencies on Thursday, sending China’s renminbi to its weakest level in eight years, while India’s rupee plumbed a record low.
Broad currency weakness against the dollar came as the bond market fully expects policy tightening by the Federal Reserve at its December meeting. Investors are also looking to next year and trying to gauge the extent of further Fed tightening under the proposed fiscal stimulus measures from president-elect Donald Trump………………………………….Full Article: Source

Venezuela’s currency - the so-called “strong bolivar” - is weakening beyond levels that analysts had forecast just a few weeks ago as an expanding money supply chases a limited amount of U.S. dollars.
The currency has lost 45 percent of its value so far this month to trade at 2,753 bolivars per U.S. dollar on Thursday, according to dolartoday.com, a widely-watched website that tracks the exchange rate in Caracas. That’s the biggest monthly decline ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg………………………………….Full Article: Source

As India grapples with massive cash shortages, the government has announced a series of measures to improve the supply of new currency to the vast rural areas that have been worst hit since high value currency bills were scrapped earlier this month.
Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday that the large countrywide network of post offices would be used to distribute money. “The new denomination notes… have been made available in 155,000 post offices across the country to disburse cash, specially to rural people.”………………………………..Full Article: Source

The scramble for cash is well and truly on following the demonetisation of `500 and `1,000 currency notes. But that isn’t a surprise as India is increasingly becoming a currency driven economy.
Despite the huge increase in plastic cards and digital transactions in recent years, the currency in circulation as a proportion of GDP (gross domestic product) in India is the highest among emerging economies. The currency-GDP ratio stood at 10.6% at the end of March this year, the highest in 16 years. In fact, India has the highest currency-GDP ratio among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations…………………………………Full Article: Source

Like everyone else, we were surprised by the dramatic action taken by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to demonetize the existing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. This is by far the most sweeping change in currency policy that has occurred anywhere in the world in decades.
First, it affects notes that are in widespread use, being valued at $7.34 and $14.68, respectively. While it might be argued that because India is much poorer than the United States, $15 in India is equivalent to $100 in the United States, the reality is that most Americans in the top 1 percent of the income distribution do not handle $100 bills on even a weekly basis, whereas 500 rupee notes are very widely used in India………………………………………Full Article: Source

It is a problem of plenty for the banks and currency chests, which store currency notes and coins on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India. With people depositing the demonetised notes of ₹500/1,000 in crores, bank branches and currency chests are overflowing with no room for further storage.
Sources in banking circles confirmed that the RBI has now started the process of mobilising the demonetised currency notes from currency chests to RBI’s regional headquarters. “Currency chests are bursting with loads of demonetised cash bundles. There is no further room to store any more currency. In the last 10 days, there has been no movement to transfer this cash to the RBI………………………………………Full Article: Source

If you were among those making frequent trips to the bank in the last few days, you might have been told by a bank employee that money is on its way from the currency chest. Or you could have heard people say that all the 100 and 50 notes have disappeared from the currency chest.
While these statements might conjure images of a shining golden chest, overflowing with currency notes and coins; the reality is a little dull. What is it? Currency chests are branches of selected banks authorised by the RBI to stock rupee notes and coins. The responsibility for managing the currency in circulation is vested in the RBI…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Investment bank JPMorgan Chase said the yuan is relatively stable against a basket of currencies despite continued drops against the US dollar. Stronger signals pointing toward US interest rate hike in December have put more downward pressure on the yuan, a trend that will persist in the fourth quarter, said Jing Ulrich, managing director and vice chair of Asia Pacific at JPMorgan Chase.
As of Monday, the central parity of the yuan against the dollar weakened to 6.8985, the lowest in more than eight years. But the yuan remained stable relative to other currencies in the basket, as the euro and Japanese yen also tumbled to new lows, Ulrich said…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Billions of dollars in funds exited China’s commodities futures in less than a week, the most since February, as regulators curbed speculative trading in a display of Beijing’s power to swiftly cool markets.
But the large-scale retreat may prove to be temporary as cash-rich Chinese retail investors could soon return to jolt commodities futures, and given China’s size, again cause ripples in global markets. Many of these speculators have little investment experience but have loads of cash to gamble with, a combination that often leads to wild price swings……………………………………Full Article: Source

The government of near-bankrupt Libya faces the threat of a forced devaluation of the country’s currency and an end to fuel subsidies, in a move that could spark a wave of popular anger and the fall of the teetering UN-backed administration in Tripoli.
The credibility of Fayez al-Serraj’s government of national accord (GNA) is waning despite the support of the US, France, Italy and the UK, and its leadership has been unable to unite the country……………………………………Full Article: Source

The government’s shock-and-awe move on November 8 to ban old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes has dominated headlines across the country since. Meant as an attack on black money and forged currency, the move also resulted in long queues outside banks and ATMs to exchange, withdraw and deposit currency.
We spoke to a cross-section of people to understand what they think of the demonetisation, how they have been impacted and whether the government could have handled this game-changer of a move better……………………………………Full Article: Source

The Chinese government is making strategic moves to construct an Asia-based economic bloc based on the Chinese yuan, also known as the renminbi, with the ambition of turning it into a currency capable of replacing the U.S. dollar in the world economy.
But China’s currency strategy under the one-party rule of the Communist Party may have a negative impact on the global community. The Chinese yuan was added to currencies that constitute the special drawing rights of the International Monetary Fund on Oct. 1……………………………………Full Article: Source

Foreign banks in Malaysia on Thursday were trying to work out how to comply with the central bank’s clamp-down on offshore ringgit trading, a move the broader market views as a form of capital controls.
Form letters, sent this week from onshore banks to their offshore counterparts, asked compliance officers to sign commitments to cease trading the ringgit in the NDF markets and then send the letters back to Bank Negara, Reuters reported on Wednesday……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Conversations at public places provide an index of a society’s primary concerns at the moment. In India, it would not be off the mark to say that it is now about money - or more specifically about having currency notes.
The only topic of discussion the past week has centred around ‘exchange…money’ and nothing else. Be it over dinner at home, in public transport, at office or a TV debate for that matter - every conversation has been about currency demonetisation…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Most commodities are denominated in, and therefore pegged to, the U.S. dollar but these days the Chinese yuan is starting to have as much influence on prices.While there were fundamental triggers behind the recent spike and drop in raw materials, it’s becoming clear that Chinese trading was among the main drivers.
Investors in the northeastern city of Dalian have been piling back into commodities in a replay of what happened earlier this year. That’s partly because they’re seeking to protect their global purchasing power as the Chinese currency loses value………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Governments have, for centuries spent a large amount of time and resources in the production of currency in a way that can best serve as the representation of regional and later national pride and interests.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on November 8 to withdraw currency notes of denomination 500 and 1000 and the issue of new notes worth Rs 2000 and Rs 500 clearly left the country in a shock from which it will take a while to recover………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The challenge now is to minimize the pain of currency swap—to the economy as a whole but especially to the informal sector. The serpentine queues outside banks across the country have quite naturally grabbed public attention in the past few days.
The massive task of exchanging old currency notes for new is taking more time than expected. Many economists have begun to worry about the impact of a persistent cash crunch on the Indian economy………………………………………..Full Article: Source

After Narendra Modi voided the largest bank notes, the hoarding of small bills is slowing small-scale commerce. A week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly voided India’s largest bank notes, people across the country are holding on to small bills, a response that is pinching cash-based economic activity and causing some analysts to re-examine their forecasts for output growth.
Modi said on Nov. 8 that invalidating 500- and 1,000-rupee bills ($7.50 and $15) would help flush out tax-evading tycoons and crooked bureaucrats who store illicit income as cash………………………………….Full Article: Source

The impact of the Brexit vote on Scottish consumers has been well documented, with the plummeting pound sending the cost of everything from Walkers Crisps to Birds Eye fish fingers on an upward trend.
But while the inevitable inflationary pressures a weakened currency brings will be bad for householders generally, could one of the unintended consequences be that it makes the case for Scottish independence more appealing?…………………………………Full Article: Source

India’s dramatic move to scrap 500 ($7.60) and 1,000 rupee notes is poor economics, a leading economist says. Kaushik Basu, the former chief economist for the World Bank, says the “collateral damage” is likely to outstrip its benefits.
The overnight ban on the notes last week was intended to crack down on corruption and so-called “black money” or illegal cash holdings. But it sparked scenes of chaos outside banks and ATMs. Low-income Indians, traders and ordinary savers who rely on the cash economy have been badly hit with hordes thronging banks to deposit expired money and withdraw lower denominations……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Ever since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election last week, the dollar has been strengthening against the yen. But many traders doubt the Trump effect will last that much longer. A stronger dollar coupled with higher interest rates could become a drag on the U.S. economy and may push investors to seek haven in the yen.
The Japanese currency started falling in value against the dollar when a Trump victory became clear on Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday night, the yen had plunged from 101 to the dollar to levels close to 107, the lowest in about three and a half months……………………………………..Full Article: Source

A member of parliament and one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top aides has blamed poor planning and execution by the government for the banknote crisis that has engulfed India, with tens of thousands of people queueing up outside banks and empty ATMs following New Delhi’s decision to replace large-denomination notes with new ones.
“I am appalled by the lack of preparation,” said Subramanian Swamy in an exclusive interview to This Week in Asia. A dogged crusader against corruption, who is often called India’s Trump for his campaign against the high and the mighty and serial muckraking, said Modi’s banknote ban was expected as fighting “black money” – as unaccounted wealth is called in India – was the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) key electoral plank…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Just hours after returning from a successful state visit to Japan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to national TV to urge his countrymen to be patient as the government demonetizes the currency of 500 and 1,000 rupee bills. There has been a public backlash against Modi’s “essential” move on November 8 to tackle graft in the country and crack down on unknown sources of income.
“To break the grip of corruption and black [unaccounted for] money, we have decided that the 500 and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight ie 8 November, 2016,” Modi said……………………………………Full Article: Source

China’s currency sank to a six-year low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday as investors weighed what a Donald Trump presidency could mean for trade between the world’s two largest economies.
On the campaign trail, Trump talked tough about China, accusing it of “raping” the U.S. through trade and manipulating its currency, the yuan…………………………………..Full Article: Source

On Tuesday night, in an unusual broadcast to the nation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped 1,000 and 500 rupee notes in a bid to flush out tax evaders. The banknotes that were declared illegal tender represent more than 86% of cash in circulation in India. Economic analyst Vivek Kaul explains the fight against tax evasion.
The notes which have been withdrawn can be deposited in banks as well as post offices until 30 December and the money will be credited into the account of the individual depositing the money. Up to 4,000 rupees can also be exchanged in the bank…………………………………..Full Article: Source

If third time’s the charm, the ban on Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes could finally wipe off corruption in India. Narendra Modi may have shocked the nation with his Nov. 8 announcement, but the prime minister’s move was hardly unprecedented. India has pulled select denominations of its currency twice before.
The first was when Rs1,000, Rs5,000, and Rs10,000 notes were taken out of circulation in January 1946, a year and a half before the country won independence from the British. The Rs10,000 notes were the largest currency denomination ever printed by the Reserve Bank of India, introduced for the first time in 1938. All three notes were reintroduced in 1954………………………………………Full Article: Source

India’s shock move on Tuesday to withdraw large denomination bank notes from circulation to fight corruption and tax evasion has left some overseas citizens high and dry, as money changers in key Asian centres stopped accepting the currency.
In Hong Kong’s Chungking Mansions, home to more than a dozen money changers and a key hub for Indian businesses and traders, the rupee found no takers, with several currency dealers displaying “0.00″ on their counters………………………………………Full Article: Source

India’s highest-denomination currency notes are being withdrawn immediately from circulation, the country’s prime minister said Tuesday night, a surprise announcement designed to fight corruption and target people who have stashed away immense amounts of cash.
As of midnight Tuesday, 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, worth about $7.50 and $15, will have no cash value, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised address. “A few people are spreading corruption for their own benefit,” he said in the speech. “There is a time when you realize that you have to bring some change in society, and this is our time.”……………………………………Full Article: Source

Watching an Indian news channel I was intrigued to see a newsflash that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was about to address the nation. As I am in Delhi to report on the UK Prime Ministers trade mission to India, I assumed it was an announcement in some way connected to the UK and India’s future trade relationship.
It was much much bigger than that. The Indian PM announced the withdrawal of 500 (£6.50) and 1,000 (£13) notes from circulation from midnight tonight. Wow. The waiters at the restaurant where i was enjoying a Mutton Rogan Josh were open mouthed in astonishment - but totally supportive…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for fighting black money and corruption is a bold move. But this sudden move would have implications for the people as well as economy.
A jolt to unorganised economy - The Indian economy has the unique characteristics of a parallel unorganised economy which also contributes to employment , consumption and growth. This economy will receive a big jolt from scrapping of high value notes like Rs 1,000 and Rs 500…………………………………….Full Article: Source

With dominant reserve currencies like the dollar and the euro in decline, the yuan has a great opportunity to be a serious contender. China’s yuan has a great opportunity to achieve super-currency status.
The major currencies have had a torrid time in recent years, raising huge question marks about their future reliability as reserve currencies in the global monetary system. The reputations of the US dollar, Japanese yen, euro and UK sterling have all taken a heavy pounding thanks to recession, deflation, currency debasing and political upheaval since the 2008 financial crash………………………………………Full Article: Source

The dollar’s surge after the Federal Bureau of Investigation absolved Hillary Clinton of committing a crime sent the greenback close to the levels likely to prevail if she won the presidential election.
The U.S. currency rose as much as 1.5 percent versus the yen after the FBI said it’s sticking by the conclusions of the original probe back in July. That took the dollar to within 0.6 percent of the 105.25-yen level that the top 10 currency forecasters see it reaching within 24 hours of a Clinton victory. A majority said the dollar would tumble through 100 yen if Donald Trump won………………………………………Full Article: Source

Egypt has floated its currency in a move that has reduced its value by almost 50% against the dollar. One US dollar is buying around 14 Egyptian pounds, up from the nine Egyptian pounds the central bank was trying to keep it at.
The country’s central bank said the move was one of a list of reforms designed to strengthen confidence in the economy. Egypt’s main stock index jumped by more than 8% on Thursday………………………………………Full Article: Source

The volatility of the U.S. dollar is not only affecting American residents, but also Brazilians and expats who plan to travel abroad during the end-of-year holidays. With the U.S. Presidential elections less than a week away, those in Brazil who have already purchased airline tickets and hotel packages, wonder if they should exchange Brazilian reais for U.S. dollars now or wait.
Brazilian Silvia Neves, who plans on traveling overseas, told The Rio Times, “I wonder if I should not purchase U.S. dollars now, while [Donald] Trump is gaining on Hillary [Clinton] and the dollar is falling (against the Brazilian real).” She added, “If she [Clinton] wins the dollar will surely appreciate again.”……………………………………..Full Article: Source

To gauge whether the global economy is finally picking up, take a look at the performance of the Australian dollar since the end of June. Driven by rising local bond yields and commodity prices, the Aussie is the strongest major developed currency over that period, and some analysts are forecasting further gains to an 18-month high.
Goldman Sachs Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia say inflation in the nation has bottomed, while traders are starting to speculate that policy makers are done with easing. The world’s fifth-most traded currency climbed for a third day on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and said consumer-price gains are likely to pick up…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Zimbabwe’s president has formalized a law allowing the introduction of a new currency this month. The new bond notes, backed by a $200 million Afreximbank bond facility, will be regarded as legal tender for all local transactions.
This southern African nation abandoned its own currency in 2009 after inflation hit 231 million per cent, according to government figures. It has been using a multi-currency system dominated by the U.S. dollar since then…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Venezuela’s currency is so weak, shopkeepers have taken to weighing it. In 2015, the black-market bolivar frequently fell more than 10 percent a month. In the six months through September the black-market currency actually appreciated, even as prices for unregulated goods began to skyrocket.
The calm ended in October, when the bolivar lost almost a third of its value compared to the U.S. dollar in a matter of weeks……………………………………Full Article: Source

Business is grinding to a near-halt in Egypt as companies struggle to keep pace with a rapid slide in the black market value of the pound. Factories are halting production, shops are running low on stocks and a sense of panic is spreading.
Bassem Hussein, whose company imports, processes and packages coffee and spices, stopped buying two weeks ago as the depreciation of the Egyptian currency gathered pace. His goods are still on sale at supermarkets but no more stock is on the way for now……………………………………Full Article: Source

Zimbabwe’s president has formalized a law allowing the introduction of a new currency this month. The new bond notes, backed by a $200 million Afreximbank bond facility, will be regarded as legal tender for all local transactions.
This southern African nation abandoned its own currency in 2009 after inflation hit 231 million percent, according to government figures. It has been using a multi-currency system dominated by the U.S. dollar since then. Severe cash shortages that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe attributes to low exports have hit this once-prosperous country in recent months……………………………………Full Article: Source

Concerns have been rising in Zimbabwe as it emerged that the nation’s reserve bank is rolling out “bond notes”, a form of domestic currency being introduced by President Robert Mugabe’s government on Monday (31 October).
Mugabe has come under pressure over how his government has handled the economy as the nation faces its worst financial crisis in seven years compounded by acute cash shortages and soaring basic food prices…………………………………….Full Article: Source

Sterling was the world’s worst-performing currency this month, trailing behind about 150 peers, as the first signs of how Brexit will look emerged. Sterling headed for its biggest monthly decline versus the dollar since the UK voted in June to leave the European Union (EU), amid speculation that the government is headed for a so-called hard Brexit, where unfettered access to Europe’s single market is sacrificed for immigration controls.
The pound dropped after political headlines and comments from lawmakers and central-bank officials underlined its vulnerability as concern about Britain’s exit from the world’s largest trading bloc intensified…………………………………….Full Article: Source

International investing comes with its fair share of unique challenges, prominent among them, exchange rate fluctuations. While exposure to global currencies provides diversification, it can also affect considerations such as dividend payments.
In this clip from The Motley Fool’s Industry Focus: Healthcare podcast, healthcare analyst Kristine Harjes and Fool Funds portfolio manager Charly Travers discuss how investors should approach currency issues when investing globally……………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australia’s key commodity exports, iron ore and coal, have been on a spectacular rally over the past weeks, yet the dollar is stuck below US77¢ as larger forces hold back the currency.
Since early August, the Aussie has made about a dozen attempts to jump the US77¢-level – the latest last week following a strong headline inflation number – only to be knocked back immediately…………………………………..Full Article: Source

Chinese officials and state-run media stepped up efforts to curb yuan depreciation concerns, talking up the currency as it traded near the weakest level in six years.
The exchange rate isn’t likely to drop much more because a rally in the dollar is close to an end, according to a report Thursday in the Financial News, a central bank publication. The article follows comments from People’s Bank of China Deputy Governor Yi Gang that the nation will keep the exchange rate stable and that there’s no basis for persistent declines……………………………………Full Article: Source

Saudi Arabia’s currency exchange outlets have dropped the Egyptian pound following the currency’s sharp decline in value in recent months, Saudi media reported Thursday.
The decision to halt trading of the pound was made by currency agencies. The Saudi government and commercial banks “are more concerned with the needs of their clients” and “only deal in major global currencies,” Talaat Hafiz, secretary-general of the media and banking awareness committee, told the Saudi Gazette……………………………………Full Article: Source

Commodity Funds are hot as investors try to play catch up with the recent rally. Commodity investors have been rewarded for their patience this year. During the first half of the year, the price of gold rallied hard clocking up the best performance of any asset.
Meanwhile, bullish OPEC rhetoric has sent the price of oil back to $50 a barrel, and China’s actions to curb excess supply in the country’s steel market has squeezed the price of coal higher by more than 100%………………………………….Full Article: Source