Growing deficits constrain the use of stimulus efforts to revive the economy, while Serbia's concerns about inflation and exchange rate stability preclude the use of expansionary monetary policy.
South Korea's inflation has relatively contained in recent months, leaving the central bank with scope to cut rates to restore a modicum of exchange-rate stability.
But many Chileans are no longer prepared to ignore what they see as flaws in their hard-won democracy in exchange for political stability and economic growth.
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While they would naturally prefer to have exchange-rate stability with their major trading partners, our weak dollar policy threatens them with price inflation unless they let their currency rise.
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For now, stability of exchange rates has taken priority.
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We managed to bring it back, brought stability to the exchange rate and reduced inflation.
Yet in fact, a flexible exchange rate can offer more stability, partly by providing a safety valve which helps to protect the real economy.
These steps seemed to bring some stability to the exchange rate.
At Amsterdam this week, he even grunted approval of the dreaded stability pact in exchange for a vague assurance that everyone in Europe would together promote growth and jobs.
Never short on ambition, Mr Sarkozy wants the G20 to become the forum for talks about global economic stability and governance, including exchange-rate volatility.
And by allowing individuals to keep what they like or to shop around for new coverage, the public exchange gives Americans the much-needed stability and peace of mind that is currently lacking in our health care system.
The original Bretton Woods deal created financial stability with a system of fixed exchange rates.
The risk is that their desired exchange-rate strategy could conflict with price stability.
As a rule, though, governments would do better to harness the power of markets to boost stability, by demanding transparency, promoting standardisation and exchange-based trading.
When such support is needed, this is precisely when international access is denied, and any attempt to defend the exchange rate, or to pursue targets for inflation or monetary stability, will be difficult to say the least.
Sentiment was underpinned for much of the day on suggestions that the European Central Bank is willing to exchange its holdings in Greek government bonds with the European Financial Stability Facility at a discounted price, which would allow Greece to tap the first tranche of its second bailout.
Asked about the trend for central banks to look less at inflation-targeting and more at policy areas that affect exchange rates, Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, said earlier this month that the exchange rate was very important "as far as growth and stability" were concerned but was not a policy target for the ECB.
From 1944 to 1973 stability was supplied by the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates.
ECB, which has a treaty obligation only to pursue price stability, take much notice of the euro's exchange rate?
The problem, however, is that policymakers may not want to make their domestic monetary policies subject to formal exchange-rate targets for the sake of global currency-market stability.
The credit rating agency referenced the December 3 offer by the Greek government to private investors to participate in a Dutch auction to exchange their sovereign bonds for short-term paper issued by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
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"The exchange rate is not a policy target, but it is important for growth and price stability, " he said.
"The exchange rate is not a policy target, but it is important for growth and price stability, " Mr Draghi said in response to a question.
Though Denmark achieved a measure of stability in the 1970s by joining the European Community (now Union) and its exchange-rate system, in the other Nordic countries inflationary bubbles swelled, then burst in the late 1980s, toppling banks in Sweden, Finland and Norway.
As for the stability pact, it seems perverse to impose artificial constraints on borrowing when both monetary and exchange-rate flexibility have just been removed and greater fiscal flexibility may be needed to compensate.
The United States has benefited as much as any other country from the free exchange of goods, the safety of global sea lanes, the spread of democracy and the great-power stability that have characterized the entire post-World War II era.
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Since the exchange rate is a binary issue, not distorted by an overhang of global liquidity, we take euro-dollar stability and falling gold as rejecting the idea of a Fed rate cut.
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