The U.S. currency yesterday plunged

March 15 (Bloomberg) — The dollar sank below 99 yen, to the weakest in 12 years, and slumped to a record low versus the euro after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the New York Federal Reserve bailed out Bear Stearns Cos., as credit market losses widen.

The U.S. currency yesterday also plunged to below one Swiss franc for the first time as traders speculated the Fed will slash interest rates one percentage point next week to avert a recession. The dollar set record lows against the euro the past four days as investor confidence tumbled, sending U.S. stocks lower for a third straight week and driving gold to a record high of $1,009 an ounce.

“What you have here is a crisis of confidence,” said Jeff Gladstein, global head of foreign-exchange trading at AIG Financial Products in Wilton, Connecticut, in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. “It’s more of a sell-the-U.S. type of mentality going on, more so than just bash the greenback.”