1.  For example, the trade bloc is grappling with the idea of adopting a common currency similar to the euro.

2.  Hong Kong has a similar currency system to Argentina, which has pegged its peso at par with the U.S. dollar for more than six years.

3.  Investors also focused heavily on Argentina, which has a similar currency policy to Hong Kong, pegging the peso one-to-one to the U.S. dollar.

4.  That follows similar currency devaluation in Thailand, the Philippines and elsewhere in the region.

5.  Though Malaysia has not followed other Asians in seeking International Monetary Fund help, it has seen similar currency and stock-price plunges.

6.  Argentina already has a confusing number of similar currencies based on bonds issued by cash-strapped provincial governments.

7.  Japan has already concluded similar currency swap agreements, which help countries meet short-term liquidity problems, with South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

8.  Japanese officials said they were negotiating similar currency swap deals with the Philippines and China.

9.  Other Southeast Asian countries are suffering similar currency crises.

10.  The Mexican crisis raised fears that other developing countries, including the Philippines, might be vulnerable to similar currency shocks.