Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher commented late Tuesday that while the Fed's low rate policy is keeping the dollar down, he didn't think there was a need to change anything yet as inflationary pressures are low. And he wasn't the only one making such comments.

And while inflation is one reason to change rate, stimulating the economy is another, and for now unemployment remains high. According to the World Bank, consistently high joblessness threatens the U.S. economy as it could trigger loan defaults and drag on consumption next year.

Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Geithner said on Wednesday he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the U.S. was determined to get its budget deficit down.

For now, it seems the dollar will stay pressured and gold will get stronger. Gold rose to record highs above $1,115 an ounce on Monday as the dollar slid to 15-month lows and it's poised for further gains, analysts said, as investors want higher yielding assets. Oil prices, though, remained near $79 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors mulled rising U.S. oil inventories and a weaker dollar. Today, at 10:30 a.m., a weekly inventories report is due out.

Overseas, Asian stocks finished flat to higher. China's industrial production and trade surplus climbed in October, indicating a strengthening recovery that's likely to amplify calls to let the yuan appreciate. In Europe, stock markets rose, helped by strong earnings from French bank Credit Agricole SA and a surprise increase in British employment levels. But investors turned pessimistic on the pound for the first time since April on speculation that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at a record low into the second half of 2010, a survey of Bloomberg users showed.

Some stocks in the news include AIG (AIG), whose CEO is threatening to step down due to pay constraints, and UPS (UPS), which is often seen as a bellwether to the economy, and which said it expects 2010 volume growth.