Here We Go Again: Zimbabwe Printing New Currency Amid Stress

Is Zimbabwe printing a new currency akin to buying homeowner's insurance as the house fire is raging?

The country best known in financial circles for hyperinflation is Zimbabwe. In February 2007 inflation, driven by a near worthless fiat currency, exceeded 50% per month, or 12,875% per year, Cato Institute Senior Fellow Steven Hanke noted. The country famously once erased 12 zeros from its beleaguered currency during this period, when the denomination was the $100 trillion dollar bill, and is considered the poster child for monetary debasement. Fast forward to 2016 and will history repeat itself? With a trade deficit ballooning and the country gasping for a tradeable currency, Zimbabwe has decided to print its own version of the U.S. dollar.