Currencies

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.A European Central Bank survey shows that households in northern Europe have a much lower net wealth than those in southern Europe. Average German net assets per household are just under €200,000, while they are €300,000 in Spain and €670,000 in Cyprus. No, this not a typo. German newspapers screamed that poor Germans are bailing out rich Cypriots. This interpretation is wrong but the truth behind these counter-intuitive findings is even more...

27 March 2013Image caption, Beijing has been trying to push the yuan as an alternative global reserve currencyChina and Brazil have signed a currency swap deal, designed to safeguard against future global financial crises. The pact, first announced last year, will allow their central banks to swap local currencies worth up to 190bn yuan or 60bn reais ($30bn; £20bn). Officials said this will ensure smooth bilateral trade, regardless of global financial conditions.Along with being the world's second-largest economy, China is also Brazil's biggest trading partner."If there were shocks to the...