Last week, Argentina’s peso fell by around 20 percent in just a few days, taking year-to-date losses over 50 percent. The central bank frantically hiked interest rates from 45 to 60 percent in an effort to stem the losses, hoping to halt the peso’s spiraling descent. The peso regained a bit of ground, but now trades at over 37 pesos to the dollar, compared to 27 pesos per dollar in early August and 18 pesos at the start of the year. This may seem like a problem for Argentines, but the currency turmoil is indicative of a broader malaise sweeping over emerging markets. A whole range of currencies have lost ground this year, rattling financial markets and forcing central banks to hike interest rates. Another way of saying the same thing is that the dollar has strengthened on the back of rate tightening from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which […]