The US dollar sank to a four-and-a-half-year low against the euro this week after President Donald Trump said the weakened currency was doing “great.”While US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent backed a strong dollar the very next day, market watchers viewed Trump’s remark as the latest sign the president sees a lower greenback as connected to goals of lowering the trade deficit and boosting US manufacturing.A lower dollar brings mixed effects, boosting the competitiveness of US exporters but inflicting higher prices on cash-strapped consumers for imported goods.- How weak is the US dollar? -The US currency has fallen about 12 percent since Trump took office in January 2025 based on the dollar index, which measures the greenback against the euro, the yen and four other currencies.But that pullback came after the US currency had rallied almost six percent between Trump’s Election Day win in November 2024 and his inauguration.Moreover, the US currency is not especially weak on an historic basis. The euro on Tuesday night breached $1.20 for the first time since 2021. But that is still well below the all-time of more than $1.60 in July 2008. – Why has the dollar declined under Trump? -The greenback moved sharply lower Tuesday after Trump was asked if he thought it had dropped too much.”No, I think it’s great,” Trump said in Iowa. “Look at the business we’re doing.”While the remark was somewhat impactful, it came after “the biggest move in the dollar had already happened,” said Francesco Pesole, a foreign exchange strategist at ING.Pesole ties the dollar’s recent bout of weakness to a renewal of the “sell America” trade following Trump’s threats of new tariffs on Europe over Greenland. Much as with the aggressive “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in April, Trump eventually backed off the Greenland-related levies.But the episode highlighted the unpredictability of US policy under the 79-year-old president.Another factor is the impending appointment of a new head of the Federal Reserve to replace Jerome Powell, whom Trump has lambasted for not cutting interest rates sufficiently.Powell’s replacement by a Fed chair who favors significantly lower interest rates would lend further downward pressure on the dollar.- How does a weaker dollar affect the US economy? -A cheaper dollar means US exports become more competitive in overseas markets. That dynamic can help boost US manufacturing production while reducing the country’s trade deficit — two Trump administration priorities.Other benefits include lifting the financial results for US companies that report profits overseas and incentivizing foreign tourism to the United States.While presidents from both parties say they want a strong dollar, “under the surface -– sometimes they say it outright, sometimes they don’t say it outright –- they’ll be looking for a weaker currency to help them achieve their economic agenda,” said Oren Klachkin, an economist at Nationwide.In a November 2024 paper, Stephan Miran, Trump’s Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors and a Federal Reserve board member, argued that addressing the “persistent dollar overvaluation” was essential to revamping global trade.But a downside of a cheap dollar is to increase the prices US consumers face on imported goods, said ForexLive’s Adam Button, who argues the US is “playing with fire.””The risk of a falling dollar is that that inflation re-accelerates,” said Button, who sees a risk that investors will view a declining dollar as a sign other US assets should be avoided.”If you have the rest of the world investing trillions in the US bond market, that’s keeping borrowing rates in the US low,” said Button.”The rest of the world is subsidizing American deficits, and that is a tremendous benefit to everything in the US. But that is not a guarantee forever.”

Two Somali-American co-workers have created a network to provide medical house calls to community members afraid to go outside in the face of the massive immigration operation underway in Minnesota.The paranoia and fear fomented by the sweeping immigration crackdown in the Midwestern state has led many migrants — both those with legal status and those without — to shelter at home, campaigners say.Members of migrant communities have avoided medical treatment, been unable to purchase essentials, lost jobs and even taken their children out of school to avoid venturing outside where they are more vulnerable to immigration checks.Hafsa, a mental health student, was spurred to act after an acquaintance delayed seeking medical help for their child, meaning the youth’s condition deteriorated by the time they sought help. “I got a call from a mom that that’s a immigrant and she was afraid to go to the hospital, and her child is now in the Intensive Care Unit,” said the Somali-born American who, like all of the St. Paul-based volunteers, gave only their first name for fear of retaliation.Somalis have been at the forefront of Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant campaign, with the US president branding the community “garbage,” questioning its intelligence and calling for deportations to intensify.Immigration officers have been seen at hospitals and clinics, waiting for patients and questioning them about their legal status, according to a recent article in the American Journal of Managed Care.That has led to a surge in “healthcare avoidance” in the Somali and Hispanic communities, it reported.Beyond connecting people in St. Paul, which along with Minneapolis makes up the Twin Cities, to health care workers willing to make house calls, the volunteers also devote resources to vetting the medical staff themselves.”It is a lot of work because you want to make sure that whoever you’re sending to that person’s house is somebody who doesn’t have any ill intentions. So you’re making a lot of calls,” said Hafsa, 25.Care is taken to ensure the travelling health workers are not followed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they drive to migrants’ homes.The small, informal team of volunteers spends upwards of 12 hours daily answering calls, matching community members to care, and onboarding the professionals.”You get their skills, and then… there might be an intake form where they can list all that and their availability,” said volunteer Cass, 43, a compliance officer in health care. “It’s project management 101,” she added.- ‘Word of mouth’ -Beyond the slick, computerized tools, the volunteers rely on community contacts to raise awareness and receive referrals.”It’s just word of mouth,” said Musab, 34, an entrepreneur. He pointed to one of the women supporting the service and said she was “locked in with every single community member.””We’re a very collective community, so we know about each other’s statuses. So somebody would just call and say ‘Hey, this person is sick or whatever’.”Hafsa likened the community response in the face of the unprecedented immigration crackdown to giving first aid to a wounded patient.”We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds,” she said.After receiving an urgent call, Musab rose and put on his heavy down coat to fend off the bitterly cold conditions.”This brother actually works with people in recovery… So I think one of the kids might be sick, so I’m about to just go see kind of what I can help them out with and what they need,” he said heading out.The volunteers’ staging space, an events center in St. Paul, has been volunteered by a Somali businesswoman who made sweetened tea for the team.A room set aside for brides-to-be has been converted into a storeroom for the medical supplies and cold weather gear being donated from across the United States.Hafsa said the well-wishes that have accompanied the donations arriving in Amazon packages were helping to keep her going.”I cry from gratitude,” she said.

A man dressed as Batman berated officials in the California city set to host the Super Bowl next month over claims they could let ICE officers patrol the NFL championship game.The Caped Crusader took to the mic during the public comments section of Santa Clara city’s council meeting on Tuesday.He kicked things off with a “Ker-pow!” any superhero would be proud of, dropping an f-bomb as he slammed his fist into the lectern and demanded “what… are we doing here?””You have had months to prepare for this upcoming event,” he said of the game that will see the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks battle it out for American football supremacy on February 8.”People are dying on our streets every single day in this country because we allow this federal government to walk all over you.”The outburst came with tensions running high in the United States over the deaths this month of two protesters in Minneapolis, both shot dead by federal agents in operations run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.”You need to affirm that no city resources will go to ICE, that no cooperation will be given to them.”The man’s real name was not known, but he was identifed as “Batman” on the clock counting down his speaking time.Santa Clara City did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.The involvement of ICE in Super Bowl 60 emerged as an issue when Corey Lewandowski, an adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, criticized the choice of Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny — a US citizen — as the star of the halftime show.”It’s so shameful that they’ve decided to pick somebody who just seems to hate America so much,” Lewandowski said in September.”There is nowhere that you can provide safe haven to people in this country illegally,” he added. “Not the Super Bowl and nowhere else.”Tickets for the gridiron finale start at around $6,000, making them out of reach for the vast majority of undocumented people, who tend to work in low-paying jobs.