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hokum6 I am one can short of a six-pack!
Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Total posts: 842 Location: Location Location Gender: Unknown |
 Posted: 16-01-2006 15:20 Post subject: |
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Could someone explain why switching to the Euro could cause the US economy to collapse? All this economics stuff is so far over my head it's in orbit.
| Electric_Monk wrote: |
If I'm looking at the right thing, I'm quite amused. Who does the World owe $12,700,000,000,000 to? The moon?  |
I don't get it either. Can't every country just agree to drop their debt, setting everyone back to 0? |
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| Jerry_B Great Old One Joined: 15 Apr 2002 Total posts: 8265 |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 15:31 Post subject: |
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Debt between countries arises from various economic ties and agreements - plus the fact any country which lends money to another also makes money from interest that has to be paid. You might as well ask why any high street banks don't simply just write off all debts owed to them by everyone  |
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| hokum6 I am one can short of a six-pack!
Joined: 22 Apr 2005 Total posts: 842 Location: Location Location Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 16:03 Post subject: |
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Well, why not?  |
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| Mighty_Emperor Divine Wind
Joined: 18 Aug 2002 Total posts: 19943 Location: Mongo Age: 42 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 16:57 Post subject: |
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| hokum6 wrote: | | Could someone explain why switching to the Euro could cause the US economy to collapse? All this economics stuff is so far over my head it's in orbit. |
The petrodollar cycle was explained thusly:
Japan wants dollars to buy oil. They sell a car to America and take the dollars and use it to buy oil. The Saudis then take the money and put it back into the US Federal Reserve. So its effectively costing them nothing.
Or something like that - I've heard a number of explanations along those lines which boil down to as long as oil is traded in dollars and the US can keep printing dollars oil (and other stuff?) basically costs them nothing.
I have to say I'm not 100% convinced by ths but.... |
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| Jerry_B Great Old One Joined: 15 Apr 2002 Total posts: 8265 |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 18:19 Post subject: |
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| Another factor is that the perceived value of the dollar as a commodity is tied into it's link to global oil prices. If the Euro were to become the standard denomination in which oil is traded, or the more dominant one, that would boost the perceived value of that currency as a commodity - to the detriment of the dollar. After all, money is as much a traded commodity as any other. This could mean that the dollar lessens in value, which in turn devalues the US economy on which it's based. Other countries may then decide not to trade in US dollars and go for the Euro, as it's worth more. If the dollar becomes devalued, it means that more dollars will have to be spent to buy imports. Likewise, US exports will be devalued and the knock-on effect from that is US-made commodities will be worth less and US comapanies will be making less money from selling them on an international market. If they make less money, they won't be able to afford as many workers, in order to sustain profits and keep things viable for any shareholders (if any are involved). This could result in larger unemployment, which in turn means less tax revenue for the State. You can hopefully see where all that could possibly lead - more and more problems. |
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| techybloke666 Mad for Golf
Great Old One Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Total posts: 3671 Age: 49 Gender: Male |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 20:34 Post subject: |
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yep jerry that about sums it up.
plus forty percent of the US debt is tied to China !!!!!
ooooops |
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| coldelephant |
| Posted: 16-01-2006 21:04 Post subject: |
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| Jerry_B wrote: |
That depends on whether you mean that a tenner will have the same value now as it will in future but that any given product will rise in value. That's not how it tends to work And inflationary price rises aren't pegged to the value of any commodity but to the value and amount of any given currency that's in circulation. If a currency becomes too devalued (i.e. via inflation), you need more of it to buy any given commodity. |
Yeah - but you and I both know that every year prices go up and they always have done, at least as far back as you or I will be likely to remember.
Thing is - that will ultimately probably have to lead to a crisis of some sort, and things will have to be revalued.
If things become so expensive that money becomes worth less than the paper it's printed on (and this has happened in some countries before); then something will need to be done. |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 25-11-2006 22:09 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Frantic day's trading sends dollar into freefall
Ashley Seager
Saturday November 25, 2006
The Guardian
The pound rose to its highest level in nearly two years yesterday against a broadly falling dollar, threatening to choke off British exports just as firms had been reporting strong demand from abroad.
In frantic morning trading, sterling came close to a two-year high, hitting $1.935 and promising cheap holidays in the United States for bargain-hungry Britons. Dealers said the reason was not inherent strength in the pound but that the dollar was in freefall against many major currencies. The greenback fell to a 19-month low of $1.31 to the euro during the trading session.
Howard Archer, economist at research firm Global Insight, said: "The dollar has been hurt recently by some softer US economic activity and inflation data, which have raised expectations that the Federal Reserve could start to trim interest rates in the first half of 2007. Thin trading over the US Thanksgiving break has also probably helped the euro to appreciate strongly at the end of the week."
Derek Halpenny, currency economist at the far eastern bank BTM-UFJ, said the market was sensing the potential for a big move in the dollar before the end of the year. "I think the market is happy to build or extend dollar short positions with the potential for a big move ... We could easily see the market not really looking at fundamentals and just pushing the dollar weaker now that we've broken $1.30."
Julian Jessop, analyst at consultancy Capital Economics, said the dollar may also have been undermined by a report that the Chinese, who have kept the yuan artificially low by buying dollars, could be considering selling them instead. But he added: "The fact that the dollar appears to have been undermined by such flimsy arguments is an indication of a much more fundamental lack of support for the currency. The bottom line is that the US's huge current account deficit leaves the dollar vulnerable to all sorts of scare stories," he said.
All of which would mean that the dollar may soon breach $2 to a pound, last seen fleetingly in the early 1990s.
Separately, the Office for National Statistics left its estimate of economic growth in Britain for the third quarter steady at 0.7% compared with the second quarter, a rate now seen for four quarters in a row. The data showed stronger business investment spending was compensating for weaker consumer spending, pointing to a long-awaited rebalancing of the economy.
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1956683,00.html
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| many_angled_one Haunter of the Dark Joined: 18 Jan 2002 Total posts: 439 Location: Glasgow, Scotland Gender: Male |
| Posted: 22-12-2006 12:41 Post subject: |
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And so it begins...
| Quote: |
Dollar dropped in Iran asset move
The move could have implications for the oil market
Iran is to shift its foreign currency reserves from dollar to euro and use the euro for oil deals in response to US-led pressure on its economy.
In a widely expected move, Tehran said it would use the euro for all future commercial transactions overseas.
The US, which accuses Tehran of supporting terrorism and trying to obtain nuclear weapons, has sought to limit the flow of dollars into Iran.
It wants the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Iran.
Dollar squeeze
Analysts said Tehran had been steadily shifting its foreign-held assets out of dollars since 2003 and that Monday's announcement was unlikely to affect the value of the dollar, which has weakened significantly in recent months.
There will be no reliance on dollars
Gholam-Hussein Elham, Iranian spokesman
An Iranian spokesman said all its foreign exchange transactions would be conducted in euros and its national budget would also be calculated in euros as well as its own currency.
"There will be no reliance on dollars," said Gholam-Hussein Elham.
"This change is already being made in the currency reserves abroad."
The currency move will apply to oil sales although it is expected that Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, will still accept oil payments in dollars.
Nuclear trigger
Washington has sought to exert financial pressure on Iran, which it accuses of flouting international law by trying to acquire nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies this, saying its nuclear research is for purely geared towards civilian uses.
Most international banks have stopped dollar transactions with Iran and some firms have ceased trading with Iran altogether in anticipation of possible future sanctions.
The dollar slipped slightly against the euro in New York trading although analysts said they did not expect the reaction to be too severe.
"It is something they have been saying they are going to do for quite a long time now, so I wouldn't expect any market reaction," said Ian Stannard, an economist with BNP Paribas.
The BBC's Tehran correspondent Frances Harrison said Iranian businessmen were complaining about delays in securing letters of credit and saw current conditions as a prelude to the imposition of sanctions.
Tehran has urged Iranian businesses to open letters of credit in euros in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6190865.stm
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| Mr_Nemo Joined: 10 May 2006 Total posts: 525 |
| Posted: 23-12-2006 19:32 Post subject: |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6202791.stm
Venezuela has expressed interest in an Iranian move to ask buyers to pay for oil in euros rather than US dollars.
The oil-rich nation said it planned to see if a similar scheme could be introduced to its crude exports.
Iran, the world's fourth-biggest oil producer, has already asked customers to pay for its oil in euros because of the current weakness of the dollar.
Although the dollar is the currency in which oil is usually traded, it has been falling in value against the euro.
Strained relations
The US currency tumbled to 20-month lows against the single European currency earlier this month.
Iran still prices its oil in dollars, but currently receives payment for 57% of its crude exports in euros, according to the National Iranian Oil Company.
Venezuela's energy minister Rafael Ramirez described the Iranian scheme as "very interesting".
Venezuela and Iran, which have strained political relations with Washington, are both members of oil producers' cartel Opec.
(C) BBC '06 |
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 19-09-2007 22:35 Post subject: |
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Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Last Updated: 7:29pm BST 19/09/2007
Saudi Arabia has refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve for the first time, signalling that the oil-rich Gulf kingdom is preparing to break the dollar currency peg in a move that risks setting off a stampede out of the dollar across the Middle East.
"This is a very dangerous situation for the dollar," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas.
"Saudi Arabia has $800bn (£400bn) in their future generation fund, and the entire region has $3,500bn under management. They face an inflationary threat and do not want to import an interest rate policy set for the recessionary conditions in the United States," he said.
The Saudi central bank said today that it would take "appropriate measures" to halt huge capital inflows into the country, but analysts say this policy is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to the collapse of the dollar peg.
As a close ally of the US, Riyadh has so far tried to stick to the peg, but the link is now destabilising its own economy.
The Fed's dramatic half point cut to 4.75pc yesterday has already caused a plunge in the world dollar index to a fifteen year low, touching with weakest level ever against the mighty euro at just under $1.40.
There is now a growing danger that global investors will start to shun the US bond markets. The latest US government data on foreign holdings released this week show a collapse in purchases of US bonds from $97bn to just $19bn in July, with outright net sales of US Treasuries.
The danger is that this could now accelerate as the yield gap between the United States and the rest of the world narrows rapidly, leaving America starved of foreign capital flows needed to cover its current account deficit -- expected to reach $850bn this year, or 6.5pc of GDP.
Mr Redeker said foreign investors have been gradually pulling out of the long-term US debt markets, leaving the dollar dependent on short-term funding. Foreigners have funded 25pc to 30pc of America's credit and short-term paper markets over the last two years.
"They were willing to provide the money when rates were paying nicely, but why bear the risk in these dramatically changed circumstances? We think that a fall in dollar to $1.50 against the euro is not out of the question at all by the first quarter of 2008," he said.
"This is nothing like the situation in 1998 when the crisis was in Asia, but the US was booming. This time the US itself is the problem," he said.
Mr Redeker said the biggest danger for the dollar is that falling US rates will at some point trigger a reversal yen "carry trade", causing massive flows from the US back to Japan.
Jim Rogers, the commodity king and former partner of George Soros, said the Federal Reserve was playing with fire by cutting rates so aggressively at a time when the dollar was already under pressure.
The risk is that flight from US bonds could push up the long-term yields that form the base price of credit for most mortgages, the driving the property market into even deeper crisis.
"If Ben Bernanke starts running those printing presses even faster than he's already doing, we are going to have a serious recession. The dollar's going to collapse, the bond market's going to collapse. There's going to be a lot of problems," he said.
The Federal Reserve, however, clearly calculates the risk of a sudden downturn is now so great that the it outweighs dangers of a dollar slide.
Former Fed chief Alan Greenspan said this week that house prices may fall by "double digits" as the subprime crisis bites harder, prompting households to cut back sharply on spending.
For Saudi Arabia, the dollar peg has clearly become a liability. Inflation has risen to 4pc and the M3 broad money supply is surging at 22pc.
The pressures are even worse in other parts of the Gulf. The United Arab Emirates now faces inflation of 9.3pc, a 20-year high. In Qatar it has reached 13pc.
Kuwait became the first of the oil sheikhdoms to break its dollar peg in May, a move that has begun to rein in rampant money supply growth.
http://tinyurl.com/2q29tq
rynner's beanbag philosophy of economics vindicated
- what goes around, comes around
- you win some, you lose some
- etc, etc |
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| lopaka3 Great Old One Joined: 17 Sep 2001 Total posts: 2154 Location: Near the corner of a Big Continent Gender: Male |
| Posted: 15-11-2007 13:31 Post subject: |
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Quite impressive, really, how in four years this managed to go from the fringe at blackcommentator.com to The Telegraph to mainstream economic analysis at Bloomberg (not to mention, in the wonderfully circular way the world can work, to being expressed in hip-hop videos).
| Quote: |
American Gangster's Wad of Euros Signals Losing U.S. Confidence
2007-11-14 00:14 ( New York )
By James G. Neuger and Simon Kennedy
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- ``It may be our currency, but it's
your problem'' was Treasury Secretary John Connally's taunt when
the U.S. unhooked the dollar from the gold standard in 1971,
unilaterally rewriting the rules of world business in America 's
favor.
Now the world is taunting back. Almost four decades after
the U.S. tore up the monetary arrangements that governed the
post-World War II international economy, the dollar's fall from
grace amounts to a tectonic shift in the global hierarchy. This
time, the U.S. currency and the capitalism it represents are on
the losing side.
After declining in five of the last six years, the weakest
dollar in the era of floating currencies reflects a period of
diminished U.S. political and economic hegemony. Whoever wins
the White House next year will confront two unpopular choices:
Accept the fall in U.S. clout and the rise of new rivals, or
rein in record public and consumer debt that the rest of the
world no longer wants to bankroll.
``What we're seeing is a very broad rebalancing of economic
and political power in the world,'' says Jeffrey Garten, a Yale
School of Business professor who was the Commerce Department's
undersecretary for international trade in the Clinton
administration. ``The scales are moving, and they're moving
quite fast.''
The dollar blues have migrated from the halls of central
banks to images of rap musicians.
In a video for the movie ``American Gangster,'' hip-hop
maestro Jay-Z thumbs through a wad of 500-euro notes on a night
of cruising through the concrete canyons of New York , a city
where the euro isn't legal tender.
Nixon Genesis
The latest tailspin was triggered by the ascendance of
China and India , growing confidence in Europe 's common currency,
record American debt and trade gaps, London 's challenge to New
York as a financial center and a two-year housing recession in
the U.S. For the first time, economists are raising the once-
improbable specter that the dollar's monopoly as the world's
dominant reserve currency is under threat.
Like the British pound, its predecessor as the world
currency, the dollar has fallen victim to widening burdens
overseas and economic stresses at home. The slippage began in
1971 when President Richard Nixon, in a stopgap move to cope
with the inflationary financing of the Vietnam War, halted the
exchange of dollars for gold.
Since then, currency markets have ebbed and flowed. High
Federal Reserve interest rates and a flood of Japanese capital
to finance Ronald Reagan's deficits bred the ``superdollar'' of
the mid-1980s. The Internet-led productivity boom lured
investment to the U.S. in the late 1990s. The most recent period
reflects a world awash in other options.
Permanent Depreciation
``Part of the depreciation is permanent,'' says Harvard
University professor Kenneth Froot, who has been a consultant to
the Fed. ``There is no doubt that the dollar must sink against
periphery currencies to reflect their increase in
competitiveness and productivity.''
The Fed's trade-weighted major currency index bottomed at
71.11 on Nov. 7, the lowest since the era of free-floating
currencies started in 1971. Against the yen and European
currencies, the dollar is now worth about a third of what it was
in the days of fixed rates.
One of the main U.S. exports since then has been the dollar
itself, in exchange for foreign capital to finance trade
deficits and a national debt of more than $9 trillion. While the
current-account deficit is narrowing from last year's record
$811.5 billion, the U.S. still requires $2.1 billion a day of
other people's money.
`Unstable Situation'
``We're getting into a very unstable situation,'' says
Richard Duncan, a partner at Blackhorse Asset Management in
Singapore and author of the 2005 book ``The Dollar Crisis:
Causes, Consequences, Cures.''
Such a prospect unsettles U.S. allies, and concerns are
mounting that the flight from the dollar is feeding on itself
and threatening a crisis of confidence that the next president
will have to address.
Kuwait , freed by the U.S. from Saddam Hussein's army in
1991, unhinged its currency from the dollar in May, and pressure
is building for Gulf Arab neighbors to follow suit. Qatar 's
prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim bin Jaber al-Thani,
complained Nov. 11 that the dollar's drop is cutting oil and gas
income, leaving less to invest abroad. The United Arab Emirates
may drop the dirham's peg to the dollar, analysts said.
The central bank in Iraq , a country the U.S. military has
occupied since 2003, last month said it, too, wants to diversify
reserves away from mostly dollars.
Korean Shipbuilders
Korea 's central bank this week urged shipbuilders to issue
invoices in won, the Korean currency, and take out more hedging
policies to guard against a weakened dollar.
The dollar's share of global central banks' currency
portfolios slid to 64.8 percent in the second quarter from 71
percent in 1999, the year the euro debuted, the International
Monetary Fund says. The euro, used in 13 countries, now accounts
for 25.6 percent.
``The global reserve system is fraying; it's falling
apart,'' said Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel-laureate economist at
Columbia University , at a Bloomberg seminar last month in Tokyo .
``The change in mindset about the use of the dollar in reserves
and the movement of the dollar out of reserves will continue to
exert downward pressure.''
Economic Dry Spell
To be sure, the latest slump -- 6.6 percent against the
euro since the end of August, 4.7 percent against the yen --
partly reflects an economic dry spell. Credit-market turmoil led
banks to cut consumer lending, bruising the U.S. economy's main
engine.
``I don't think this is a lasting phenomenon, but it will
come to a halt especially when America in a few months or at the
start of next year gets over the financial crisis,'' says Theo
Waigel, Germany's finance minister in the 1990s and an architect
of the euro.
For now, the U.S. economy is a drag on the rest of the
world. When the IMF last month trimmed its global growth
prediction for 2008 to 4.8 percent from 5.2 percent, it blamed
the U.S. , whose forecast was cut to 1.9 percent from 2.8
percent.
Two Fed rate cuts, to 4.5 percent, have tilted the trading
odds against the dollar in the near term. While the European
Central Bank has put a planned increase in its benchmark 4
percent rate on hold, investors still see European rates going
up and U.S. rates going down.
Asia Diversifies
``I wouldn't bet against the U.S. as the world's reserve
currency,'' says former Treasury Secretary John Snow, now
chairman of Cerberus Capital Management in New York . ``The
dollar markets are so deep and so liquid and the American
economy is so fundamentally advanced.''
Central banks in Asia are hedging that bet. Buoyed by the
fastest growth of any major economy and putting tight limits on
the appreciation of its exchange rate, China has piled up the
world's biggest stash of foreign currencies, worth $1.4 trillion
at the end of September.
Cash-rich governments are discovering the profit motive,
adding to pressure on the dollar as they comb the world's
markets for investments that pay more than the current 4.25
percent return on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds.
Economists at Merrill Lynch & Co. estimate as much as $1.2
trillion in dollar holdings will shift to other currencies in
the next five years.
A warning by Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the National
People's Congress, that China will invest in stronger currencies
triggered a recent stampede out of the dollar. China doesn't
have to dump dollars to depress the U.S. currency, economists at
UBS AG say. Accumulating them at a slower pace will have the
same effect.
G-7 Action
Ultimately, if the dollar's swoon depresses U.S. stocks or
threatens global growth, Group of Seven major industrial nations
may have to do more than issue communiqu‚s.
The last concerted international maneuver to rearrange
currency rates was in September 2000, when the G-7 sold dollars
to prop up the then-stumbling euro in a U.S. presidential
election year.
For the moment, policy makers are just talking. ECB
President Jean-Claude Trichet last week called the euro's
record-setting rise ``brutal.''
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson trotted out the 1990s
mantra that a ``strong dollar is in our nation's interest'' --
as long as markets determine its rate. For the first time,
Paulson had to rebut concerns about the dollar's supremacy as a
reserve currency.
``At this moment I don't think that the Americans are very
disturbed,'' says former Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm, one
of the euro's founding fathers. ``Until now, the developments
are gradual with little effect on the stock exchange or long
term capital-market rates.''
``There is a loss of confidence in both the dollar and the
U.S.,'' said Riordan Roett, a professor at Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore . ``It may only reflect the widespread
dismay with the Bush administration, but it is obvious that the
next administration, of either party, will have a steep uphill
struggle.''
--With reporting by Kim Kyoungwha in Seoul , Kevin Carmichael in
Washington, Kathleen Hays in New York , Massoud A. Derhally and
Will McSheehy in Dubai , and Stanley White and Kazumi Miura in
Tokyo. Editor: Murray (djm/rls)
To contact the reporters on this story:
James G. Neuger in Brussels at +32-2-285-4300, or
jneuger@bloomberg.net;
Simon Kennedy in Paris at +33-1-5530-6290 or
skennedy4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Riad Hamade at +49-69-92041-214, or rhamade@bloomberg.net;
Eddie Buckle at +49-30-700106-225, or ebuckle@bloomberg.net.
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| rynner Location: Still above sea level Gender: Male |
| Posted: 17-11-2007 02:18 Post subject: |
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Dollars no good for the Taj Mahal
By Jyotsna Singh
BBC News, Delhi
Foreign tourists to many of India's most famous landmarks will no longer be able to pay the entrance fee in dollars, the government says.
The ruling is aimed at safeguarding tourism revenues following the recent falls in the dollar.
Until now, foreign tourists to sites such at the Taj Mahal have had the option of paying in dollars or rupees.
The ruling will affect nearly 120 sites of interest run by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Of these, at least 27 are World Heritage sites, including the Taj Mahal.
'International practices'
The ruling is due to be implemented next week. Entrance fees to the sites in question will be either 250 rupees ($6.35) or 100 rupees ($2.54).
"These rates have been fixed in line with international practices, and in order to take care of the fluctuation in the dollar rates," a spokesman for the Ministry of Tourism told the BBC.
Officials say the ministry wanted to act fast so that the revenues are not hit.
Indians only pay 20 or 10 rupees to enter ASI sites, a difference often questioned by foreign tourists.
But officials say there is nothing wrong with this because most Indians earn far less than the foreign visitors.
"The uniform rate applied by most foreign countries are often too high for most Indians anyway," the tourism ministry official told the BBC .
However, the Indian government has also decided that nationals from the regional South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation will not have to pay the higher rate.
Nor will people holding a government-issued People of Indian Origin (PIO) card.
India earned more than $6.5m in foreign exchange from more than four million foreign tourists to the country last year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7098370.stm |
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| Pietro_Mercurios Heuristically Challenged
Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 22-03-2008 14:00 Post subject: |
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Saudi Arabia tightens its grip on America's nuts?
| Quote: | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7308509.stm
Cheney in oil talks with Saudis
BBC News Online. 22 March 2008
US Vice-President Dick Cheney has met Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to discuss ways of stabilising the oil market.
US officials said there was "a lot of commonality" in the talks in Riyadh on the way to move forward in the global energy market.
Oil prices have risen about 16% this year, but the oil producers' cartel, Opec, has declined to raise output.
On Thursday, Mr Cheney held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, urging greater Nato commitment.
Mr Cheney's Middle East tour also took him to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, five years after the US-led invasion.
He will also visit Israel, the West Bank and Turkey before returning to Washington.
Market volatility
In meetings that also included Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, US officials said there was a "very thorough" discussion of short, medium and long-term goals for the oil market.
"There was I think a lot of commonality in their assessment about the structural problems confronted by the global energy market now and some discussion of probably the way forward," a senior US official said.
King Abdullah had earlier welcomed Mr Cheney to his al-Jenadriya horse farm.
"Mr vice-president, we've been friends a long time," the king said.
Oil prices have risen in recent weeks to record highs above $100 as investors have purchased commodities as the value of the dollar has fallen.
Mr Cheney's national security adviser John Hannah said before the talks that they would build on the discussions begun by President George W Bush on his visit to Saudi Arabia in January, when he called on Opec to increase oil exports and warned high energy prices were hurting US consumers.
At the time, Mr Naimi insisted the kingdom would boost production only if the market justified it.
Mr Bush said he hoped King Abdullah would "listen very carefully" to US concerns, while White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the president hoped to "see an increase in production".
Other issues on the agenda of the meetings in Saudi Arabia included concerns about the potential nuclear threat posed by Iran to the region, military and political progress in Iraq, as well as Syria and Lebanon, US officials said. |
By 'nuts,' I mean Vice Prezident Dick Cheney, Prezident W., Condoleeza Rice and the rest of the Scare Bear (Stearns) Bunch, of course. |
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rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 21362 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 15-05-2009 08:56 Post subject: |
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China's yuan 'set to usurp US dollar' as world's reserve currency
The Chinese yuan is preparing to overtake the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, economist Nouriel Roubini has warned.
By James Quinn, Wall Street Correspondent
Last Updated: 8:14PM BST 14 May 2009
Professor Roubini, of New York University's Stern business school, believes that while such a major change is some way off, the Chinese government is laying the ground for the yuan's ascendance.
Known as "Dr Doom" for his negative stance, Prof Roubini argues that China is better placed than the US to provide a reserve currency for the 21st century because it has a large current account surplus, focused government and few of the economic worries the US faces.
In a column in the New York Times, Prof Roubini warns that with the proposal for a new international reserve currency via the International Monetary Fund, Beijing has already begun to take steps to usurp the greenback.
China will soon want to see the yuan included in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights "basket", he warns, as well as seeing it "used as a means of payment in bilateral trade."
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/5325805/Chinas-yuan-set-to-usurp-US-dollar-as-worlds-reserve-currency.html |
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