Money and Metals

Several US senators have taken an unusual step by working up a bill to penalize China if it doesn't allow it currency to "float" against the dollar within a time window. "A least a dozen US senators are said to have agreed to co-sponsor the bill which would give China "a window of 180 days" to revalue the yuan or face a 27.5 percent tariff on all Chinese manufactured goods entering the United States".

For its part, the Chinese are not pleased by the intervention, "We believe this is not a way to resolve differences," foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a regular briefing.