A reverse currency war is underway, with central banks around the world struggling to keep pace with an aggressive Fed and a soaring dollar that's climbing like it's got somewhere better to be. Rather than trying to devalue currencies like in traditional "currency wars," policymakers are doing the reverse in trying to engineer gains. The thinking behind a reverse currency war goes something like this: Central banks want to make their currencies stronger — via monetary policy tightening — so that the US dollar doesn't leave them in the dust. And with central banks focused on monetary tightening, these reverse currency wars raise the odds of a widespread economic downturn. Last week's rate-hike blitz showed that central banks will trigger a downturn, the asset manager said.

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