ECONOMICS

U.N. panel: Basket of currencies should replace dollar
Given the economic crisis, this is a good time to replace the U.S. dollar with a shared basket of currencies as a reserve, according a U.N. panel recommendation scheduled for release next week. The U.N. Commission of Experts on International Financial Reform developed the proposal. Reuters (18 Mar.)

Dollar headed for lengthy decline, experts say: By bringing down U.S. bond yields sharply, the Federal Reserve's debt-buying program might send the dollar's value on currency markets into a lengthy plunge, easily lasting six months or longer, experts said. "People no longer want assets in dollars because the yield is so small," said Antonio Sousa, senior currency strategist at Forex Capital Markets. CNNMoney.com (19 Mar.)

Statistics offer little hope of quick recovery in U.S.
The most recent numbers for U.S. manufacturing and labor are not as bad as some analyst expected, but they offer little hope that the economy has entered even a feeble recovery. "We still have a ways to go before the recession is over," said David Wyss, Standard and Poor's chief economist. Forbes (19 Mar.)

Actual U.S. unemployment probably 9.5%, researchers say: The true rate of unemployment in the U.S. is likely about 9.5%, comparable to that of 1982, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research. This makes the current recession the worst since the post-war era. The way unemployment is counted today understates the severity of the problem, given changes in the work force and the way data are gathered, economists at the think tank said. Reuters (19 Mar.)