Oops!

Geithner's Dollar Slip-Up

Clarifies comment after currency’s value plummets.

Secretary Timothy Geithner has apparently tripped over a stumbling block familiar to his predecessors. The value of the dollar plummeted this morning after Geithner said that China’s call to replace the dollar as a global reserve currency “deserves some consideration.” Later in the day, Geithner said “the dollar remains the world’s dominant reserve currency” and its value recovered. The whole thing could have been avoided, however, if Geithner had learned from his predecessors’ errors: In 2002, former Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill had to back off comments after his questioning of the strong dollar policy wreaked havoc on its value.