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Global Markets Stressed After China Devalues Currency

A teller counts yuan banknotes in a bank in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province on August 11, 2015. China's central bank on August 11 devalued its yuan currency by nearly two percent against the US dollar, as authorities seek to push market reforms and bolster the world's second-largest economy. (STR/Getty Images)
A teller counts yuan banknotes in a bank in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu province on August 11, 2015. China's central bank on August 11 devalued its yuan currency by nearly two percent against the US dollar, as authorities seek to push market reforms and bolster the world's second-largest economy. (STR/Getty Images)

China devalued its currency on Tuesday, surprising global investors and worrying economists. The move was the most significant devaluation to the yuan since 1994 and the Chinese currency proceeded to drop nearly two percent in trading against the U.S. dollar.

Similarly, stock markets around the world tumbled, as investors worried about what a weaker Chinese currency means about the country’s struggling economy and global growth. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Financial Times senior investment correspondent John Authers to discuss the significance of China devaluing the yuan.

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