Zimbabwe's New Quasi-Currency Fails Smell Test

(Reuters Breakingviews) - Zimbabwe's new quasi-currency has a trust issue. That's hardly surprising for a country scarred by hyperinflation. Harare's new “bond notes” could help address its epic economic problems – but it’s a big ask. Zimbabwe’s problem is a lack of U.S. dollars. The sub-Saharan state switched to the greenback after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe printed so much of the local currency in 2007-8 that inflation hit an annual rate of almost 500 billion percent. Over 90 percent of domestic transactions are conducted in the U.S. currency.