The holiday week saw the dollar consolidate against most of the major currencies. The yen was the main exception as its losses were extended under the aggressive signals coming from the new Japanese government. At the end of the week, the other key consideration, the US fiscal cliff made its presence felt. The recent pattern remained intact. News that gives the participants a sense that the cliff may be averted encourages risk taking, which means in the foreign exchange market, the sale of dollars and yen. News that makes participants more fearful that the political dysfunction failed to avert the cliff and send the ... (full story)