Re: What does it mean when a "country intervenes in the currency market"?

Intervention always ends up hurting more than it helps... it fakes demand similar to QE and all other forms of manipulation... it will come back to bite. If it moved up too far or down too far.. tough loss your decision to sign plaza accord creating a deflationary spiral for everyone else other than USD.

I think QE is worse then intervention. QE is determined to be long term manipulation and is very difficult and time consuming to unwind. The effects of QE will also not be immediately known.

Intervention on the other hand takes effect immediately and can easily be reversed by intervening in the other direction (or can simply cease intervening)

true... just a form of intervention obviuosly qe is worse or else us would have just done a normal intervention and used profits if any to bail ppl out etc but they needed money right away so.

Currency intervention only works when other countries are not intervening to make their currency weak as well. If that were to happen then the federal reserve would simply be selling euros to the ECB. QE will be necessary when many countries are attempting to intervene in credit markets, although it is much more complicated

Normally, this would mean country who devalue their own currency first benefit the most in the short term. But smart money will leave the country will leave the country who steal from businesses who hold capital.