How to Think About the Dollar

From this week's Barron's

So why should the U.S. dollar appreciate in such a horrid environment? As the world's reserve currency, Taylor says, the dollar has become a reverse indicator of the globe's economic health. "Whenever things are good in the world, [the] currency goes down," since there's ample liquidity. But when the rest of the globe is doing poorly, there's no liquidity and therefore the U.S. dollar is worth more. "That is the most important thing to know about foreign exchange nowadays–it is kind of backwards," he says.