What effect would it have on the US markets in the near term?
Quote from bone:
Feeble attempt at countering QE 2 or 3 or whatever version Ben is working on. Fed is trying to keep a bid, China is trying to swim upstream on this one. And the Fed has the authority to buy all of China's U.S. paper if they want out. Cantor and BrokerTec will not see it - resting order from the Fed's trading desk.
On January 1, 1994 China devalued it's currency 50% in one day. Think about that. That's where the trade imbalance came from.
They can't do that today - they are in too deep with the G-8. The dollar slide is by design engineered to make U.S. manufacturing exports more attractive.
Quote from psytrade:
That part about Exports from the US - is naive. If you read the article below, you'll see this argument is refuted by Stephen Roach:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/opinion/29roach.html
"Weâve allowed the dollar to fall 23 percent â in inflation-adjusted terms â from its early 2002 peak, against all of our trading partners; we did this in the hopes that a weaker dollar would stimulate exports and domestic production. Yet America continues to struggle with high unemployment and stagnant wages, and now has trade deficits with 90 countries around the world."
Obviously this technique, if it were intentional as you suggest, isn't working...