Main Street 9

 
After six years of steady decline, the U.S. currency is on a major upswing, fueled by fears of a global recession and a meltdown in financial markets.
The New York dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s value against the currencies of major trading partners, is up 14% off an all-time low set in the Bear [...]

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Nearly a quarter of U.S. fuel production had been shut down due to the approach of Hurricane Ike, according to a government assessment released Friday.
By 10:00 A.M. ET, 13 of the 26 Texas refineries, representing a production capacity of 3.6 million barrels of fuel a day, had been shut down, the Energy Department said.
Texas accounts [...]

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Oil prices fell Thursday, testing a 5-month low, as the market remained focused on slumping demand and the stronger dollar but also watched the threat that Hurricane Ike poses to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Crude futures traded down 94 cents at $101.64 a barrel, having been as low as $100.18 earlier.
On Wednesday, U.S. light sweet crude [...]

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