The collapse of Asian currencies against the dollar grabbed the headlines last year.

In mid-1997, the Asian currencies plunged deeper than the 1971 fall.

That is not easy when Asian currencies are falling in value.

But American manufacturers would welcome a rise in any Asian currency.

Fear will drive Asian currencies down to the level where greed kicks in again to support them.

Then the Asian currencies collapsed and they were unable to pay back their loans.

The weakness of the Asian currencies adds to this effect.

The financial crisis has considerably weakened Asian currencies against the dollar.

One reason is that the dollar buys far more in Asian currency than it did before.

Perceptions of risk had altered, and people began to get nervous about holding any Asian currency.