But the currency can also strengthen when the world's largest economy is in the doldrums, since a depressed American economy is a threat to global financial stability.
There, in the doldrums, the air didn't actually stop moving, it just headed upwards, heat rising to make way for the denser air flowing in from both sides.
It's going to be cold for a while, but you can still look hot. Consider the ways you can brighten your face and distract yourself from the doldrums of a long winter.
That latter point, it would be one thing if the Fed had done the 500 basis points, also known as five percentage points of rate hikes, and we were now in the economic doldrums.
Winning the Olympic bid three years ago was supposed to be Japan's badly needed comeback after years in the economic doldrums and the disasters in March of 2011 that killed thousands and shook Japan to the core.