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July 07, 2025
 

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CURRENCIES

China is preparing to counter the rising threat of U.S.-backed digital dollars by leveraging its powerful e-commerce firms and Hong Kong’s crypto-friendly financial system to promote stablecoins tied to local currencies.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2025
China is more than ready for U.S. stablecoins
E-commerce prowess and Hong Kong’s financial chops can ward off the threat from digital dollars.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda announces the start of the circulation of new banknotes on July 3, 2024.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025
Japan’s new banknotes see slow adoption one year after launch
Roughly 5 billion new banknotes were in circulation as of the end of May, accounting for just 28.8% of all notes in use.
A teller sorts U.S. banknotes inside the cashier's booth at a foreign exchange bureau in downtown Nairobi in 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 24, 2025
Under shadow of Trump warning, Africa pioneers non-dollar payment systems
The move by Africa to create payments systems that do not rely on the greenback mirrors a push by China to develop financial systems independent of Western institutions.
Despite doubts and talk of alternatives in Asia and beyond, the dollar remains dominant because there are no viable rivals and it continues to serve as the world’s key safe asset.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2025
The problem with Asia's ‘sell America’ moment
The region’s currencies are enjoying a healthy rally. History warns against anti-dollar triumphalism.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato has said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart Scott Bessent this week.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 19, 2025
Hedge funds reload long yen trades ahead of Kato-Bessent meeting
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said he will seek an opportunity for currency talks with his U.S. counterpart, Scott Bessent, this week.
Facing a new round of U.S. tariffs, China may devalue the yuan — possibly by as much as 20% — if fiscal stimulus falls short, risking a global currency war as it fights to meet its growth target.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 16, 2025
When will China start to devalue the yuan?
One way to think about China’s currency policy is its fiscal stance. Unless Beijing brings out the stimulus bazooka, devaluing the yuan might be the most expedient option.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Argentinian President Javier Milei talk pose for a photo during a Group of Seven summit in Borgo Egnazia, Italy, last June.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 12, 2025
Argentina lands $20 billion IMF agreement and eases FX rules
Negotiations dragged on for months as stakes remain high for a successful program after the past two went off the rails in the crisis-prone nation.
The greenback’s share of global reserves dropped to 58% last year from over 70% two decades ago, reflecting its declining dominance in international trade and finance.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2025
Why buy the dollar if the U.S. becomes an economic island?
The greenback’s share of global reserves dropped to 58% last year from over 70% two decades ago, reflecting its declining dominance in international trade and finance.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions are rekindling long-simmering discussions about whether overseas governments will accelerate efforts to rely less on the dollar.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Mar 29, 2025
Trump is eroding the dollar’s dominance in world markets
The U.S. president's escalating fusillade of tariffs and bid to roll back decades of globalization is shaking confidence in the U.S. currency.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this month establishing the 'Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.'
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2025
Trump's bitcoin reserve to be a 'digital Fort Knox'
The reserve is funded by about 200,000 bitcoins — worth nearly $17 billion — that have been seized in the U.S. as a result of civil and criminal cases.
China’s overnight and seven-day repo rates surged in February, while bond investors took losses from a sharp rise in yields.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 10, 2025
‘Impossible trinity’ conundrum has caused a cash crunch in Asia
Countries can’t simultaneously control their currencies, independently set interest rates and allow capital to move freely across borders — something will break or give way.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that if Japan and China try to weaken their currencies and put the United States "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could impose fresh tariffs on them.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2025
Trump, claiming Japan guiding yen lower, hints at fresh tariffs
Trump said that if Tokyo tries to weaken its currency and put the U.S. "at a very unfair disadvantage," he could unleash more measures.
Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato holds a virtual meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 2, 2025
Japan to closely monitor impact on yen of Trump tariffs, Kato says
Kato spoke as the world braces for first salvo in Trump's tariff war, with general levies of 25% on Canada and Mexico and 10% on China.
Because of the U.S. dollar peg, Hong Kong can no longer be Asia’s go-to fundraising platform, eroding a key selling point for the financial center.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2025
Hong Kong-dollar peg makes less sense than ever
It’s increasingly clear that the currency regime, which inevitably ties the city’s lending rates to those of the U.S., is outdated and needs a revamp.
Donald Trump could weaken the dollar, but whether it would boost U.S. exports or improve America's trade balance with other countries is uncertain.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2025
Can Trump dump the dollar?
Donald Trump could weaken the dollar, but whether it would boost U.S. exports or improve the trade balance remains uncertain.
A stack of ¥10,000 bills equivalent to the year-end balance of banknotes in circulation would be 1,240 kilometers high, or about 328 times higher than the 3,776-meter Mount Fuji.
BUSINESS
Dec 31, 2024
Japan's year-end banknote balance down for second straight year
The drop resulted from people increasingly opting for cashless payments.
Customers queue at a bank ATM in Lagos. Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation sits outside of banks.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024
Nigeria’s dying ATMs leave a cash-shaped hole filled by agents
Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation — or 4 trillion naira ($2.6 billion) — sits outside of banks as of September.
Paul McCartney's new coin references the psychedelic "magic piano" featured in the 1967 "Magical Mystery Tour" film.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 6, 2024
Beatles legend Paul McCartney stars in new U.K. coin collection
The 82-year-old musician helped design the coins, which nod to the psychedelic "magic piano" featured in the 1967 "Magical Mystery Tour" film.
PayPay Bank is competing for funds as rates rise.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2024
PayPay Bank paying big to attract deposits, with offer of 2% on dollars and yen
The offer is many times the rates advertised by competing banks and applies to yen deposits of up to ¥5 million, with no limit for dollar deposits.
People walk past a board displaying currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and Euro against Russian ruble in Moscow on Nov. 27.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 4, 2024
Why the euro is closing in on parity with the U.S. dollar again
Hitting parity is psychologically significant for investors and policymakers and could spur a period of volatility for the euro.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Heatstroke alert issued for 19 prefectures as Japan enters 'once-in-a-decade' heat wave
Japan will experience a heat wave through mid-July on a “level only seen once in a decade,” the Meteorological Agency said on June 30.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
Tokyo and Kyoto feature among top ‘noctourism’ destinations
Tokyo ranked second after New York and ahead of Dubai and Singapore in a ranking of the top global cities for nighttime tourism.
Global matcha 'obsession' drinks Japan's tea farms dry
Matcha is added to beverages on offer at Kettl Tea in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 20.
Ainu land rights in crosshairs as Hokkaido communities debate nuclear waste
A street in Suttsu, Hokkaido, with a sign put up by an anti-nuclear organization. The small community is considering hosting a facility that would hold nuclear waste.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.

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