There are several articles out today that work well together. What they illustrate is that this World War that the US forced on the rest of the world is ultimately about economic power. Watching the attrition “meatgrinder” ongoing in Ukraine may give the impression that the war is moving at a snail’s pace. On the other hand, watching the counter offensive against King Dollar leaves many observers almost breathless at the relative rapidity of events.
When we get back to producing things here - and I don't mean just oil and gas - real, tangible things, then maybe we can start to get back to an America that out competes the world. I get a coffee, look at the bottom of my cup and always say to my wife, "We can't even make a coffee cup?" How is it possible that a coffee cup that goes for a couple bucks can be produced in China, put on a ship across the Pacific, trucked to wherever, stocked and sold and STILL out competes an American company? For me - until we solve this - we're circling the drain faster and faster.
Never going back to producing things here. Union labor espoused by Zhou is too expensive. Add Millenials and Gen Z to the equation (the entitlement generations) coupled with China’s workforce becoming unglued with lost demand. Not gonna happen.
$31 TRILLION national debt! You think paying off that is perhaps insurmountable. I agree, but what about the US's unfunded obligations? Social Security, Medicare, and so on. Add a zero at the end of that already unimaginable number, and we get a closer approximation of the impending Day of Reckoning. Or is that Day of Wreckoning? As always, Mark, thanks for your great work.
The Dollar will remain as a strong currency because when everything crashes and debt has to be serviced if not paid off dollars will be in demand. Forget about the international picture. We will have our hands full maintaining a domestic economy.
Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Elizabeth Rosenberg flew to Kazakhstan and threatened the republic with sanctions for helping Russia
The US may impose sanctions on Kazakh banks and companies for helping Russia evade Western restrictive measures. This was stated by an American official who arrived in Astana for negotiations.
At the end of 2022, Kazakhstan increased the supply of goods to Russia by 25% and became one of the major "hubs" for parallel imports, the volume of which was estimated by the Russian government at tens of billions of dollars.
Such trading carries risks, Rosenberg said, and the US intends to give Kazakhstani officials a clear warning.
I dunno about that! It seems that both Zhou and Z are looking for the exits (Zhou also literally), but neither is turning to the other to find them together. Z’s call to Xi? An appeal for help in mediating an end to the war, even ditching the offensive he knows is doomed? As MKB says, Pavel is but another US megaphone, to be used in place of diplomacy against the current bugbear, China. Reading MKB you sense the grin on his face as he describes Pavel’s military background and lack of knowledge and understanding of China in this struggle. In the end I think Zelensky has only himself to blame for being set up by the likes of Nuland and co., and then abandoned…but to call China! Heck, even Zhou couldn’t get through!
With the US having sanctions against 30% of the world as Mark noted in a previous post, it would be insane for a country not to diversify with other non dollar payments for international trade due to the risk of sanctions. I see this in the development stage where a lot is being tested and tried on small scales, but once all the problems are worked out I expect this to scale fast.
The talk / conceptual step/stage has finished since the US Russian Sanctions forced Russia to develop other non dollar methods. And as the saying goes, never let an emergency go to waste. Now countries are in the stage of how fast can we protect our self against the US dollar weaponization by diversifying from the US Dollar.
I am not sure how digital currencies play into this.
Other factors are the threat of Soros tanking a countries currency, and out of control inflation in the US and Europe. Prime countries for de-dollarization in trade is anyone doing business with China, as well as Russia.
Ghana reduced its inflation rate by using gold vs usd. Ghana is using Gold to buy oil, instead of USD. Gold mined in Ghana. Basically swapping commodities.
And change from USD to other currencies has increased 10x in past year:
Why do Marxist Leftists seem intent on imposing chaos, and impoverishment upon major American cities? In order to scoop up the assets of such cities at rock bottom prices. Now extrapolate that to the US as a whole. Bankrupt weaken, and impoverish the US in order to scoop up the distressed assets of the country. Then impose their conditions and control.
As good as any other theory. I don't understand why this is going on. It just does not make sense.
Ramblings...
Soros I think it's a bit of anti Americanism, and if the us was gone as a power, the world would be a better place replaced by an elite of European Technocrats, just like the EU is run.
eGOP - We don't want to be accused of racism, so we ignore small money elections such as school boards, secretary of states, and district attorneys, and allow far left ideological types to be elected.
Higher Education / Schools - We produce indoctrinated foot soldiers for the Left, from lawyers to teachers.
Democrats - We use racial division as a way to get elected. Getting the Black Vote out is crucial to win elections. And if we can import more Democratic Voters - great! It worked great in the UK!
Left Big Money / NGO's - we fight the revolution and get invited to the right parties, by funding the most Leftist Candidates possible and show our revolutionary credentials.
Government Workers - If unionized, we are in favor of whomever pays us more getting elected.
MSM / Internet Giants - Important to show our leftist credentials so we don't get shunned. Trans are the new civil rights! And anyone we don't like we will de-platform, censor, and label a racist.
Big Business - Run mostly by graduates of Woke Universities.
China - Great to weaken our enemy, and only helps China. And the elites are cheap to buy! The West is in a downward spiral of decadence.
Caveat: As the US dollar's global role shrinks so will our consumer market, since the cost of imported "stuff" will rise. There is also the major problem of servicing our $31 trillion debt.
Yes, "economies" will be forced on us, but those will be forced on domestic spending as well as on military--which I assume is what you refer to as "largesse". But paying down $31 trillion will be challenging.
China is Germany largest export market. By far. Italy and France largest export market is Germany. It all ties together.
When we get back to producing things here - and I don't mean just oil and gas - real, tangible things, then maybe we can start to get back to an America that out competes the world. I get a coffee, look at the bottom of my cup and always say to my wife, "We can't even make a coffee cup?" How is it possible that a coffee cup that goes for a couple bucks can be produced in China, put on a ship across the Pacific, trucked to wherever, stocked and sold and STILL out competes an American company? For me - until we solve this - we're circling the drain faster and faster.
Never going back to producing things here. Union labor espoused by Zhou is too expensive. Add Millenials and Gen Z to the equation (the entitlement generations) coupled with China’s workforce becoming unglued with lost demand. Not gonna happen.
$31 TRILLION national debt! You think paying off that is perhaps insurmountable. I agree, but what about the US's unfunded obligations? Social Security, Medicare, and so on. Add a zero at the end of that already unimaginable number, and we get a closer approximation of the impending Day of Reckoning. Or is that Day of Wreckoning? As always, Mark, thanks for your great work.
The Dollar will remain as a strong currency because when everything crashes and debt has to be serviced if not paid off dollars will be in demand. Forget about the international picture. We will have our hands full maintaining a domestic economy.
Who owns our debt? Backup Fort Knox to the edge of the Pacific and send it across the pond.
“Who can imagine the US acting in such a prudent manner to get its financial house in order?”
That’s the best rhetorical question I’ve ever seen.
Not everyone gets it:
Spriter
@Spriter99880
Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Elizabeth Rosenberg flew to Kazakhstan and threatened the republic with sanctions for helping Russia
The US may impose sanctions on Kazakh banks and companies for helping Russia evade Western restrictive measures. This was stated by an American official who arrived in Astana for negotiations.
At the end of 2022, Kazakhstan increased the supply of goods to Russia by 25% and became one of the major "hubs" for parallel imports, the volume of which was estimated by the Russian government at tens of billions of dollars.
Such trading carries risks, Rosenberg said, and the US intends to give Kazakhstani officials a clear warning.
Bully Rosenberg! Surprised she didn’t degrade the Kazak’s about their DEI ambitions.
Mr Pavel has apparently spoken too soon, if this headline is to be believed!
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/xi-zelensky-hold-long-meaningful-call-1st-war-began
So it’s Ukraines turn to trust Russia?
I dunno about that! It seems that both Zhou and Z are looking for the exits (Zhou also literally), but neither is turning to the other to find them together. Z’s call to Xi? An appeal for help in mediating an end to the war, even ditching the offensive he knows is doomed? As MKB says, Pavel is but another US megaphone, to be used in place of diplomacy against the current bugbear, China. Reading MKB you sense the grin on his face as he describes Pavel’s military background and lack of knowledge and understanding of China in this struggle. In the end I think Zelensky has only himself to blame for being set up by the likes of Nuland and co., and then abandoned…but to call China! Heck, even Zhou couldn’t get through!
sorry. my nasty sarcasm at hand.
With the US having sanctions against 30% of the world as Mark noted in a previous post, it would be insane for a country not to diversify with other non dollar payments for international trade due to the risk of sanctions. I see this in the development stage where a lot is being tested and tried on small scales, but once all the problems are worked out I expect this to scale fast.
The talk / conceptual step/stage has finished since the US Russian Sanctions forced Russia to develop other non dollar methods. And as the saying goes, never let an emergency go to waste. Now countries are in the stage of how fast can we protect our self against the US dollar weaponization by diversifying from the US Dollar.
I am not sure how digital currencies play into this.
Other factors are the threat of Soros tanking a countries currency, and out of control inflation in the US and Europe. Prime countries for de-dollarization in trade is anyone doing business with China, as well as Russia.
Brazil (Lula) today calling for a common new currency for all Bric’s members.
Hmm…
The dollar falls behind the yuan for the first time in Chinese cross-border transactions
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-dollar-falls-behind-the-yuan-for-the-first-time-in-chinese-cross-border-transactions/ar-AA1anama
Argentina’s using Yuan:
https://www.rt.com/business/575399-argentina-china-imports-yuan/
Ghana reduced its inflation rate by using gold vs usd. Ghana is using Gold to buy oil, instead of USD. Gold mined in Ghana. Basically swapping commodities.
And change from USD to other currencies has increased 10x in past year:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/so-many-open-signs-financial-disaster-ahead-and-gold-working
Why do Marxist Leftists seem intent on imposing chaos, and impoverishment upon major American cities? In order to scoop up the assets of such cities at rock bottom prices. Now extrapolate that to the US as a whole. Bankrupt weaken, and impoverish the US in order to scoop up the distressed assets of the country. Then impose their conditions and control.
As good as any other theory. I don't understand why this is going on. It just does not make sense.
Ramblings...
Soros I think it's a bit of anti Americanism, and if the us was gone as a power, the world would be a better place replaced by an elite of European Technocrats, just like the EU is run.
eGOP - We don't want to be accused of racism, so we ignore small money elections such as school boards, secretary of states, and district attorneys, and allow far left ideological types to be elected.
Higher Education / Schools - We produce indoctrinated foot soldiers for the Left, from lawyers to teachers.
Democrats - We use racial division as a way to get elected. Getting the Black Vote out is crucial to win elections. And if we can import more Democratic Voters - great! It worked great in the UK!
Left Big Money / NGO's - we fight the revolution and get invited to the right parties, by funding the most Leftist Candidates possible and show our revolutionary credentials.
Government Workers - If unionized, we are in favor of whomever pays us more getting elected.
MSM / Internet Giants - Important to show our leftist credentials so we don't get shunned. Trans are the new civil rights! And anyone we don't like we will de-platform, censor, and label a racist.
Big Business - Run mostly by graduates of Woke Universities.
China - Great to weaken our enemy, and only helps China. And the elites are cheap to buy! The West is in a downward spiral of decadence.
Build more off shore Bio weapons labs.
Build more aircraft carriers!
Caveat: As the US dollar's global role shrinks so will our consumer market, since the cost of imported "stuff" will rise. There is also the major problem of servicing our $31 trillion debt.
Yes, "economies" will be forced on us, but those will be forced on domestic spending as well as on military--which I assume is what you refer to as "largesse". But paying down $31 trillion will be challenging.