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To: Alex who wrote (16655)	8/26/1998 4:18:00 PM
From: Ahda	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116764

And one observer here says that if Americans start snapping up Canadian assets, that'll force the government here to look at propping up the Canadian dollar to protect economic sovereignty. Howard Green, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Toronto. Alex was that wa a bop on the nose for me vbg. One little Home in Canada Geees

To: Alex who wrote (16655)	8/26/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116764

Australian dlr hounded to lows as funds turn feral 03:51 a.m. Aug 26, 1998 Eastern By Wayne Cole SYDNEY, Aug 26 (Reuters) - The Australian dollar suffered a new 12-year low for its third session in a row on Wednesday as investors worldwide trampled commodity-related currencies in the rush for supposedly safer destinations. Traders said a wave of early selling from U.S. funds carried the currency to a $0.5730 trough, which was dangerously close to its all-time low around $0.5715. Exporter bids, and caution in case the Reserve Bank of Australia was provoked to intervene, provided some support but all felt historic levels were only a trade away. ''There is a clear and present danger of the A$ falling to 55 cents,'' said Craig James, chief economist at Colonial Bank. By 5.00 p.m. (0700 GMT) the dollar had been harried to $0.5729/34 from an early $0.5773/78 and $0.5800/05 late on Tuesday. The retreat brought losses since mid-July, when the latest downtrend began, to a frightening 9.5 percent making the A$ the worst performing currency in the entire Asian region. The sense of near panic in the market was aptly illustrated by rumours a U.S. hedge fund was near collapse because of a huge A$ position, and was desperately dumping dollars as a result. There was also talk a bank was selling aggressively with the aim of triggering a big knock-out option at $0.5725, from which it was set to profit mightily, while another was defending it. And it was no longer just hedge funds selling, as the chaos in Russia and Latin America had lent legitimacy to speculation of global deflation and encouraged a host of mainstream fund managers to exit Australian assets. ''The selling of commodity-based currencies is occurring on the risk of global recession, rather than current supply-demand dynamics,'' said James. ''Given recent developments, the bearish view on the global economy is more easily embraced.'' Against such a fervid background, domestic fundamentals were of no matter even if they were as positive for a currency as those in Australia at the moment. ''Australia has resilient growth, sustained low inflation, solid corporate profits results and a sound, well-regulated banking system,'' argued Stephen Koukoulas, chief economist at Citibank Australia. ''There's even evidence the current account deficit will not hit the crisis levels everyone had expected.'' He noted that since February the A$ had fallen against all the problem Asian currencies bar the Indonesian rupiah, even though the relative outlook for Australia was far better than for its Asia-Pacific neighbours. ''The A$ is in a classic overshoot on the downside; it's just blind selling,'' Koukoulas said. The A$ ended at a two-month low of 83.97/07 yen having slid from 83.65/75 Tuesday, and dealers warned a break of key support under 83.00 could see a test of 2- year lows around 81.80. Against the Kiwi it eased to NZ$1.1631/58 from NZ$1.1760/80. The dollar also made record lows on the pound at 0.3496/01 after falling from 0.3545/50 late Tuesday and sagged to 54.3 on its trade weighted index, the lowest reading since January 1996. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.