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How the Dollar Is Beating Stocks and Bonds and Hurting Big Companies



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These are rocky times for most investments. But it has been a wonderful stretch for the dollar.You may not have noticed if you haven’t traveled abroad and exchanged dollars for euros, yen or nearly any other major currency. But many currency traders, S&P 500 company executives and economists certainly have.The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against six other important currencies, is hovering at levels it hadn’t reached in 20 years. Since the start of the year, it has gained almost 8 percent; in the last 12 months, it has risen more than 13 percent. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar has risen 13 percent this year alone.The Federal Reserve’s latest moves to tighten monetary conditions are likely to spur the dollar further. Fed policymakers decided on Wednesday to raise short-term interest rates half a percentage point and to begin reducing the bonds on …

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