From the Economist Denial or acceptance:

At their most panicky investors shunned all but the safest and most liquid assets: American Treasuries were a favoured comfort blanket. That demand for safe assets prompted a rally in the dollar in the months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.

Headache for countries with floating exchange rates has prompted three responses: direct measures to stop currencies rising; attempts to talk them down; or acceptance of a weak dollar as a fact of life.

Brazil has gone for the direct approach. Foreign capital has flooded in, attracted by the healthy prospects for economic growth and high short-term interest rates. That has pushed up local stock prices, as well as the real, Brazil’s currency. To stem the tide, the government this week reintroduced a tax on foreign purchases of equities and bonds.

Others have resorted to talking their currencies down. In a statement released after its monetary-policy meeting on October 20th, Canada’s central bank said the strength of the Canadian dollar would more than offset all the good news on the economy in the past three months.

Other euro-zone countries are less rattled. “A strong euro reflects the strength of the European economy,” shrugged Walter Bos, the Dutch finance minister. Germany, Europe’s export powerhouse, feels that its firms can just about live with a euro worth $1.50. Its exporters still flourished when the euro last surged to that level, because demand from Asia and the Middle East for its specialist capital goods proved insensitive to price. France, however, struggled. Other euro-area countries such as Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain have at least benefited from the recent revival of risk appetite through lower premiums on their debt.