Latvia will adopt the euro as its currency to become the 18^thmember of the common currency eurozone. The country has a population of just 2 million and on Wednesday becomes the newest member of the region. Opponents of the switch to the common currency outnumber supporters by a margin of two to one, as the public expects an acceleration in inflation.

Residents also are bracing for the acceptance of new responsibilities in the new common currency union. One shop owner in the capital city of Riga said he expected prices to rise with the new euro. In fact, said the shop owner, Latvia is going to help pay for other euro member country’s debt after adopting it.

The adoption of the euro caps a journey for Latvia of over two decades for one of the former republics in the Soviet Union, which is now the fourth former member of the Soviet communist bloc to join the common currency zone following Estonia, Slovenia and Slovakia.

The government of Latvia and Valdis Dombrovskis, which spearheaded the change, pushed through a number of austerity measures that equaled 16% of the GDP as a requirement of its bailout program that helped its finances and kept its currency tied to the euro.

The country’s economy shrank between 2008 and 2009 by 20%, but is now growing at the European Union’s fastest pace in 2013.

Concern over inflation accelerating, even following the drop in consumer prices by 0.4% during November from the same month the previous year, marking the sixth consecutive month without an increase, continues in the country.

The Finance Ministry has estimated that prices would rise 2.3% in 2014, as the economy grows by 4.2%. Close to 83% of the people in Latvia fear the common currency will trigger price increases that are unwarranted, said the European Commission in a report from December 3.

However, the government in Latvia is focusing on potential benefits the currency brings. It says that by adopting the euro more investment will be attracted and the country can better promote its export industry, which would allow the economy to grow quicker and raise the welfare.

However, 50% of the country is still not convinced. Opposition for the adoption of the euro is at 50%, according to a report released this week, compared to over 58% opposition in October.

The United States along with another 11 nations negotiating a possible free trade zone that stretches from Japan to Chile were not able to reach a final deal in their Singapore talks, but did indicate a landmark deal was near.

The agreement led by the U.S. is a big part of the foreign policy shift by President Obama toward Asia. However, it has been hit with snags by disagreements between nations on market access, in particular for intellectual property, environmental protections and agricultural products.

Washington said it had hoped the agreement would have been completed prior to the end of 2014.

After meetings lasting four days in Singapore, trade ministers issued a Tuesday statement that said there has been substantial progress made in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The statement also said they identified the potential landing zones for the majority of outstanding issues and a meeting was scheduled for January of 2014.

One person close to the situation said the statement’s tone tends to suggest that negotiators have quite a clear understanding of how the final agreement will read. The insider believes that the final deal will be reached sometime in March.

Negotiators from the group of 12 countries aim to lower the tariffs applied to goods and services to nearly zero. They also want to ensure that foreign businesses operating in the area of the agreement have an even playing field with businesses that are state owned, and that their products do not become counterfeited.

The group includes developing nations with their large industries that are state owned such as Malaysia and Vietnam and rich nations that included Japan and the United States.

The new trade agreement would cover close to one third of all world trade and over 800 million people. Those in favor of the agreement said it would lead to more economic growth.

The U.S. Congress would have to approve any deal and they might demand that changes be made to its contents.

NGO’s have been also seeking to put their influence on the agreement so the poor receive a better deal. They are worried that costs of medications will rise in poor countries like Vietnam.

The news that U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to nominate Janet Yellen to chair the Federal Reserve helped to lift the dollar and eased fears over the current budget deadlock Wednesday. Nevertheless, world stocks dropped for the third consecutive session.

An official from the White House said that Obama would be nominating Yellen, who is currently the Fed’s deputy chief. Her nomination is expected later on Wednesday.

Most observers feel Yellen will lead the Fed’s policy on a similar path of Ben Bernanke her predecessor, including staying with the commitment by the bank to the bond purchasing stimulus program until the economy has recovered and is back on track.

However, most participants in the market, expected that the positive impact of the nomination of Yellen to be short, given the little progress being made in Washington that could lead the U.S. to default on its debt obligations as soon as next week.

Those worries caused shares in Europe to fall to a new low of one month Wednesday just one day after Wall Street saw a sharp selloff.

Futures for stocks in the U.S. pointed to a slight recovery for Wall Street when the session opens on Wednesday, where much attention will be focused on a new round of corporate earnings. The season for corporate earnings started Tuesday afternoon with Alcoa reporting first.

The dovish stance for Yellen on policy implied her appointment was previously set as a net negative for the currency of the U.S., but the budget problem seems to have changed that temporarily.

The dollar was up over 0.5% to 97.3 yen, which took it off a low of two-months of 96.55 it had hit on Tuesday. The dollar was also higher by 0.5% on the Swiss franc.

Congress only has nine more days to act prior to the deadline for the debt ceiling of October 17. Little or no movement has been made in negotiations between the two political parties.

As tensions over Syria increased, so did the price of gold. The price of the precious metal is close to 20% higher from its low of 34 months on June 27. As of 11:00 am ET on Wednesday gold was selling at $1,433, an increase of 1.3%.

The rise in the price of the precious metal can be attributed to the widespread speculation about the possible attack by Western forces against the country of Syria, causing investors to find a safe haven for their assets. Silver was also up hitting a high of four months on Wednesday morning.

If Gold can reach $1,440 and close there it would be at its highest price since mid May and 20% higher than is near three year low, which would make it a bull market.

Silver climbed on the day by 2.6% and is now at $25.10 an ounce, which is its highest price since mid April.

Any military response would focus on the weapons capabilities of Syria and would not be aimed at the deposing of current President Bashar al-Assad, insisted officials from the UK and U.S.

David Cameron the Prime Minister of the UK said that even though no decision has been taken on what course of action to proceed with, it would be proportionate and legal.

Increasing demand for bars, coins and jewelry in Asia has helped prices of gold rally over 19% since last June.

Bullion is set to have its first annual decrease in more than 13 years after many investors started losing faith in the precious metal, which spurred the mining industry to have over $26 billion in write downs and huge losses for hedge fund manager billionaire John Paulson.