Japanese Yen

NEW YORK -- For months, Clinton administration official have been publicly giving the thumbs up as the Japanese yen has set record after record in the international currency markets. The idea is that a strong yen will help cut the huge U.S. trade deficit with Japan.But as the yen continues to test new highs against the battered dollar, few think the administration's wishes will come true. In fact, many economists are worried that the strategy will backfire, driving Japan deeper into recession and importing inflation to the United States.

WASHINGTON -- The dollar fell to another record low against the Japanese yen yesterday after the Treasury released a report on exchange rates that suggested that the yen's rise could reduce the U.S. trade deficit with Japan.But at the same time, a senior Treasury official, Lawrence H. Summers, said that devaluing the dollar was not the route to increased American prosperity.The dollar's record-breaking slide continued in early trading this morning in Tokyo despite Japanese government attempts to stabilize the foreign exchange market.

NEW YORK -- The dollar steadied in quiet trading yesterday, but traders said it's poised to set new lows against the German mark and the Japanese yen if a drop in U.S. employment triggers another cut in U.S. interest rates.The dollar closed at 1.4121 marks, little changed from 1.4125 marks, and 120.07 Japanese yen, up from 119.31 yen Tuesday.Investors have knocked down the dollar for two days as they concluded that the September employment report, due out tomorrow, will be bad enough to force the Federal Reserve to trim interest rates again.

NEW YORK -- The dollar slid against the German mark and hit a record low against the Japanese yen yesterday as investors turned their attention back to the poor state of the U.S. economy and the chances of another cut in U.S. interest rates.Within the past two weeks, the dollar's perceived stability and the belief that the Bundesbank might soon cut interest rates to take the heat off the French franc pushed the U.S. currency as high as 1.5315 marks.But now that tensions within the European exchange rate mechanism are subsiding, investors are again focusing on the threadbare condition of the U.S. economy, said Earl Johnson, a vice president at Harris Bankcorp.

NEW YORK -- The dollar slid against the Deutschemark yesterday on more bad news from the U.S. housing sector. There was no intervention by central banks to support the U.S. currency.U.S. housing starts dropped 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.12 million in July after falling a revised 3.8 percent in June.That was weaker than the 1.7 percent gain expected by economists and immediately raised concerns that the Federal Reserve might soon pare interest rates by another 25 basis points, traders said.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- In the 16th century, the Scots taught the world how to play it. In the 20th century, the Americans taught the world how to commercialize it. In the 21st century, will the Japanese tell the world how to buy it?Golf is for sale at a price, at least the fields where the sport is played. The yen men of Japan have the money. America has the golf courses. Fifty years ago the two nations came at each other with bullets. Today they meet over bullion.Since 1988, Japanese corporations have signed checks totaling $1.3 billion in golf shopping sprees in the United States.

The U.S. dollar is on the comeback trail against the world's currencies, turning in dramatic gains in 1991 thanks to some new respect.The frequently humiliated greenback has, for example, risen close to 20 percent in value when compared to the sagging German mark. Smart money is betting the United States will begin to show proof of solid economic punch at the very time many other world economies, such as Great Britain's and Germany's, are stumbling. World markets are already demanding more and more dollars.