| Rescuing the dollar - the debate heats up David Ellis Could the dollar be next in line for a bailout? That question has been the subject of discussion among currency experts after the greenback suffered a steep decline against a host of different currencies in recent weeks. But it's one thing to talk about a rescue. It's another to pull one off. "Given all the forces waging against the dollar at the moment, the question of success is another matter entirely," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon. Fears of further fallout in financial markets last week sent the greenback cascading to successive historic lows against the euro and levels against the yen not seen since 1995.
That only gave credence to speculation that foreign central banks could step in and buy the dollar to help prop up its value. Stephen Jen, Morgan Stanley's head of foreign exchange research, said last week that the dollar is on "intervention watch" because of its recent weakness. But hurdles to a bailout remain. For one, the world's central banks are not on the same page when it comes to monetary policy. The Federal Reserve, trying to keep the U.S. economy from tipping into a recession, is cutting interest rates. On Tuesday, it lowered rates by three-quarters of a percentage point to 2.25% - its sixth cut in six months.
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