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Good morning. Welcome to Axios today. It's Monday, July 11th. I'm Naila Boudou.

Here's what you need to know today. Our immunity against this summer strain of COVID-19.

Plus, President Biden heads to the Middle East. But first, the double-edged sword of a strong

U.S. dollar is today's one big thing. The U.S. dollar has surged to its highest levels

in at least two years against other major currencies. But when you factor in our current inflation

situation, is this good news for Americans? Axios is managing editor for business.

Heavier David joins us now to answer that question. Hi, Heavier. Good day. How are you?

Let's first talk about this concept of the dollar is a safe haven currency. Can you explain

what that means and how we're seeing that increase the current strength of the U.S. dollar?

The basic concept to keep in mind is the dollar is the premier global reserve currency,

and that carries some weight. It means that when times get rough in global markets,

the dollar is the go-to for investors seeking safe haven from all of these

squals that are buffeting global markets. Right now, we're talking about the Russia-Ukraine

conflict. We're talking about inflation. We're talking about an environment of higher interest

rates, and there are little fires everywhere if you look out across the global landscape.

So in times like this and where there's a lot of turmoil, investors don't know where to turn.

The dollar is one asset, primarily because of the Treasury market, which is very deep and

very liquid, and right now is kind of like seeing a surge in yields that makes it attractive for

investors who are kind of like basically looking for both safety and a little bit of a higher return

...