Money Daily Brief: Dollar rises broadly
•Dollar rebounds: After a tough month, the dollar rose against a number of currencies, reaching a one-week high against the yen. Some analysts expect the Federal Reserve to signal that the US economy is improving after its meeting this week, preparing the way for an unwinding of some stimulus measures that had caused the dollar to fall.
•Slow US Christmas? An improving US economy is unlikely to lift US consumer spending this holiday season, according to a Deloitte report. Last year, holiday spending fell 2.4 percent.
•British tuition hikes? A yearlong review of a university funding crisis has determined that students should pay higher interest on loans and receive smaller grants. The education task force, set up by the Confederation of British Industry, said taxpayers cannot afford the current system. The changes could raise tuition fees by more than $8,000 per year.
•Inflation fighter: India's central bank will allow the rupee to strengthen to a seven-month high of 47.3 per US dollar by the end of this year. Economists say controlling inflation is critical in a country where 75 percent of the people survive on less than $2 a day.
•In my backyard: The economic crisis put a heavy burden on thousands of expatriate workers in the Gulf during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended Sunday. Traditionally, Muslim workers send extra money to their families overseas for the Eid holiday at the end of Ramadan. But cuts in salaries and overtime pay forced many to cut back for months on basic necessities, such as food, to be able to afford the payments.
-- Tom A. Peter is a Monitor correspondent based in Amman, Jordan. For a look at the safety of money funds, see US no longer insures your money-market fund, but that's good news.
