EconomicsToo

Bitcoin is now worth over $1000 USD, a three year high and it actually outperformed all  r eal  currencies over 20016, literally doubling in value. As a cryptocurrency , it could seem a little strange to some how a currency that doesn't actually exist outside of the digital world can perform better than currencies such as the Chinese yuan, the Russian ruble, although it might not be a surprise that it performed better than any currencies called the 'pound' in 2016 (think of the British and Egyptian pounds!). Image source: Bit4coin This excerpt from the WSJ explains bitcoin well, "...it is a digital currency , maintained by a software program that is run on a decentralized network of computers by the so-called “miners” (for a variety of reasons, the largest miners today are all located in China). No one person or entity controls the currency. Every transaction is recorded in a publicly viewable ledger, although user accounts are encrypted. It was conceived as ...

The pound sterling has had its worst four day performance since June 2016's Brexit vote, having fallen to $1.23 and the expectations from the Bank of England are for it to fall further in the next few weeks. There has been a 19% drop since the referendum. Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37617813 Brexit is clearly responsible for much of this fall. Whilst the falling pound against the dollar has actually been positive for the FTSE 100 as a large percentage of listed companies earn revenue in US dollars and are seeing an increase in their value, what is actually causing this to happen and what will the consequences be? How is Brexit actually causing the fall in value? The value of the pound is seen a judgement on the future growth potential of the UK economy in comparison with the future growth potential of other currencies and economies. So this depreciation does mean that the UK is seen as having less potential growth and that is why demand f...

Originally posted by Year 12 Economist Jia Yi on her blog "Thoughts":  The Malaysian Ringgit: How to salvage a falling currency Before discussing on ways to salvage the plummeting Ringgit, I will provide a brief summary of the Ringgit's valuation in the last 8 months. In the summary, I will contextualise key valuations and dates to give readers a  deeper understanding on the concerns which the Malaysian government (and people!) are facing.  Summary: In 11th of March 2015, the Ringgit traded at RM 3.7105 to the dollar. It was reported that this was the weakest the Malaysian Ringgit has fallen since February 2010, foreshadowing a 'looming crisis', with the value of Ringgit close to  1997 levels (the Asian Economic Crisis). On 6 July 2015, it was reported that the ringgit had dropped to its  lowest level in 16 years , falling to 3.81 to the US dollar. When the ringgit was pegged to the dollar in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, it was ...