dollar

The Fiscal Cliff Hoax - Our Collapsing Economy and Currency

fiscal cliffOriginally published by Institute for Political Economy

Is the “fiscal cliff” real or just another hoax? The answer is that the fiscal cliff is real, but it is a result, not a cause. The hoax is the way the fiscal cliff is being used.

The fiscal cliff is the result of the inability to close the federal budget deficit. The budget deficit cannot be closed because large numbers of US middle class jobs and the GDP and tax base associated with them have been moved offshore, thus reducing federal revenues. The fiscal cliff cannot be closed because of the unfunded liabilities of eleven years of US-initiated wars against a half dozen Muslim countries–wars that have benefited only the profits of the military/security complex and the territorial ambitions of Israel. The budget deficit cannot be closed, because economic policy is focused only on saving banks that wrongful financial deregulation allowed to speculate, to merge, and to become too big to fail, thus requiring public subsidies that vastly dwarf the totality of US welfare spending.

Paul Craig Roberts: IMF Says the Age of America is Over

paul craig roberts

Today the Swiss franc made yet another new high against the super dollar, as it has been doing for 120 days. What you are reading in the graphs is less and less of the foreign currency that one dollar can buy. Of course, gold and silver also consistently hit new highs. Swiss franc:

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As did the Australian dollar:

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Bernanke, the Dollar and Commodities

Ben Bernanke has come out with a now, now, there, there on the falling dollar:

The Federal Reserve is monitoring currency markets “closely” and will conduct policy in a way that will “help ensure that the dollar is strong”, Ben Bernanke said on Monday in rare comments on the US currency.

The Fed chairman also indicated that the US central bank would not ignore the impact of rising commodity prices when evaluating the outlook for inflation. He said he would not rule out using interest rates to combat new asset price bubbles, even though he did not see obvious mispricing in the US at this stage.

Hmmmm, no obvious mispricing. Does that include the oil speculative bubble of 2008?

Meanwhile Gold is through the roof, in part due to the dollar decoupling.

 

kitco gold

The 3 Ds: Deflation, Debt & the Dollar

Warren Buffet warns on U.S. debt.

If we leave aside the war-impacted years of 1942 to 1946, the largest annual deficit the United States has incurred since 1920 was 6 percent of gross domestic product. This fiscal year, though, the deficit will rise to about 13 percent of G.D.P., more than twice the non-wartime record. In dollars, that equates to a staggering $1.8 trillion. Fiscally, we are in uncharted territory.

China and the Dollar

China is at it once again, to remove the dollar as the world reserve currency and they are bringing their pals, India and Russia to join in.

China will push reform of the international currency system to make it more diversified and reasonable, and to reduce excessive reliance on the current reserve currencies, the People's Bank of China said Friday.

"To avoid the shortcomings of sovereign credit currencies acting as reserve currencies, we need to create an ... international reserve currency that can maintain the long-term stability of its value," the PBOC said.

Oil, the Dollar, and Speculation

Here I was, with a nice polite post set to print, when I read the related links to this article at Naked Capitalism. And what do they all say? "Oil is surging because the dollar is tanking."

So excuse me, but I have to toss the politeness out the window and shout, "IT'S NOT THE DOLLAR, STUPID!!!" Here's a graph from Worthwhile Canadian Initiative including a variety of currencies, just against Oil:

OK, smartypants, if it's all about the dollar, then why is the price of Oil surging in EVERY CURRENCY??? And don't give me that "Peak Oil" cr**....

This is Scary, Possible Currency Crisis

currency exchange Economist

 

Every day another story, fact, detail makes my eye balls pop out, but some hair raising reads are worse than others.

The oh shit headline, Europe on the brink of a currency crisis meltdown:

Currency pegs are being tested to destruction on the fringes of Europe’s monetary union in a traumatic upheaval that recalls the collapse of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992.

 

 

Here Comes The Show - Congressional Hearings, Debt and Conjecture

Multiple Screens! 360 Panavision! Let the shouting begin! The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold hearings the next two days. Committee Chair Representative Waxman:

Lax oversight and reckless investments on Wall Street are causing massive disruption throughout our economy. Our hearings will examine what went wrong and who should be held to account.

Up on the executive chopping block are:

DAY 1: Causes and Effects of the Lehman Brothers Bankruptcy

  • Dr. Luigi Zingales, Professor of Finance, University of Chicago
  • Dr. Robert F. Wescott, President, Keybridge Research LLC
  • Nell Minow, Chairman of the Board and Editor, The Corporate Library
  • Gregory W. Smith, General Counsel, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association