The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, May 1, edition that this year, every major currency has fallen against the U.S. dollar, which could have serious consequences for the global economy. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that two-thirds of about 150 currencies tracked by Bloomberg have weakened against the greenback. Its recent strength stems from a shift in expectations about when and by how much the Federal Reserve may cut its benchmark interest rate, which sits at about a 20-year high. High Fed rates, a response to stubborn inflation, mean that American assets offer better returns than much of the world, and investors need dollars to buy them. In recent months, money has flowed into the United States with a force that is being felt by policy-makers, politicians and people from Brussels to Beijing, Toronto to Tokyo. The dollar index is hovering at levels last seen in the early 2000s (when U.S. interest rates were also similarly high). Moody's Analytics economist Jesse Rogers says, "It has never been truer that the Fed is the world's central bank." A strengthening U.S. currency intensifies inflation abroad. However, a strong dollar benefits exporters that sell to the United States.