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The article reports on foreign exchange rate movements for the January 12, 2009 currency trading day. As U.S., Asian and European equity values declined, the Japanese currency reached highs versus the euro and U.S. dollar. In New York, the U.S. dollar declined to 89.09 yen and the euro similarly fell in value to 118.66 yen. The article says that Japanese authorities may take action to slow the yen's appreciation as a too strong yen affects the competitiveness of Japanese exports which contribute significantly to the Japanese economy.

The article reports on the decline in European and Asian stock markets amid concern due to the pace of global growth. There was a 1.4% decline in the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to 314.46. Shares of Swiss bank UBS fell 3.3% in Zurich, Switzerland, while Volkswagen gained 1.6% in Frankfurt, Germany. The Nikkei Stock Average in Japan was down 610.84 points due to the depreciation in the value of dollar against yen.