I'm very surprised Tuesday's moves by the central banks of South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines haven't made more headlines. In case you missed it, each sold dollars in an effort to prop up their currencies in a clear effort to ward off the inflationary pressures they're feeling so acutely.

Perhaps these were one-off moves.  If, however, they represent the beginning of a trend it would signal a major shift in the thoughts of East Asian economies, which typically undermine their currencies to boost exports. With most of these currencies having already been on the rise in recent years, such a move could signal they no longer fear strength in their own currencies as they have in the past; indeed, it could even mean they realize stronger currencies will not only slow inflationary pressures, but will allow them to more easily acquire the raw materials they're so hungry for.

China, with 40% of its economy devoted to manufacturing, would still be unlikely to increase the pace of its upward currency revaluation for fear of cutting off its biggest customer-- us-- has a more delicate currency game to play, especially since its own internal political stability is part of its balancing act. Still, other central banks seem to be miles ahead of ours with regard to being willing to risk a little growth in the name of damping inflation-- even the ECB has, somewhat amazingly, resisted cutting interest rates this year under an inflation-first umbrella.

Our friend, Larry Kudlow, has in recent weeks been talking of "King Dollar" and the need for our currency to become part of this year's political campaign. Let's hope someone out there is listening, and will miraculously show him or herself willing as President to sacrifice a little debt-induced growth to contain rampant inflation. Sadly, so far no candidate has meaningfully addressed the topic and there is only one consistent voice of reason at the Fed, Dallas President, Richard Fisher.

For now, inflation's ripples [1] continue apace, but keep a close eye on those Asian banks for more such moves; they would have increasingly perilous implications for our dollar, sad as it is to say.