This year, the dollar is up by 15% against the yen, 10% against the pound and 5% against the yuan. In July, it briefly hit parity against the Euro, something that last happened two decades ago. What’s behind the greenback’s rise? In this week’s show, hosts Mike Bird, Alice Fulwood and Soumaya Keynes examine what the dollar’s strength says about its role as the world’s dominant reserve currency. First, our US economics editor Simon Rabinovitch goes in search of lunch to determine if the dollar is overvalued. Then, Eurizon SLJ Chief Executive Stephen Jen tells us why the dollar is smiling. Finally Megan Greene, a senior fellow at Brown University and global chief economist for CRO, explains why efforts to replace the dollar as the world’s reserve currency have mostly failed. Sign up for our new weekly newsletter dissecting the big themes in markets, business and the economy at www.economist.com/moneytalks

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Money Talks: Top dollar