The Yen and the Dollar Rise on Safety Concerns

“The yen and the dollar strengthened as investors sought the perceived safety of the currencies on concern U.S. budget talks will fail to avert spending cuts that threaten to push the economy into a recession.

The euro pared a weekly advance versus the greenback after House Republican leaders canceled a scheduled vote on Speaker John Boehner’s plan to allow higher tax rates for annual incomes above $1 million. The New Zealand dollar led declines in higher- yielding currencies as a House leadership announcement said members and senators won’t vote on the end-of-year budget issues until after Christmas, giving them less than a week to reach agreement to avert tax increases and spending cuts…”

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