WW3: Money Front Update (Part One)

I hope the EMP Update scared you. But there’s bad news. Avoiding an EMP attack doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. In fact, you could, in a sense, liken the impending dethroning of King Dollar to something like a monetary EMP attack.

There’s a lot going on on this front and, short of a for real EMP attack, this is likely the Real War. The military aspect is proceeding toward its conclusion, but the Money War is still involved with preliminary skirmishing, as world players engage in a sort of Chinese Fire Drill. I saw a humorous tweet the other day (I can’t recall where, now) which stated that there’s a name for those who intend to ride the market out in the belief that they’ll be positioned for the upswing: bagholders. That’s the kind of thing that’s going on now, and Germany—for one—doesn’t want to be a bagholder of any sort. Germans are notoriously inflation-phobic, and that monster is raising its head. So Germany is openly looking to get around the US imposed sanctions regime:

The_Real_Fly @The_Real_Fly

RUSSIA'S GAZPROM IS CONSIDERING OPTIONS OF HALTING GAS SUPPLIES TO EUROPE AMID ISSUES OF PAYMENTS IN ROUBLES - KOMMERSANT NEWSPAPER CITES UNNAMED SOURCES

Germany wants Russia to remove them from the “unfriendly countries” list:

Pepe Escobar @RealPepeEscobar

OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE UPDATE Putin's face-saving offer to Scholz: Germany pays for gas in euros to Gazprombank - which converts them to rubles. So Gazprombank cannot - and won't - be sanctioned.

Levi @Levi_godman

The instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the government,the Central Bank and Gazprom on measures to transfer payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries into rubles has been completed,and how payments will be made can be announced as early as Thursday - Peskov

Gonzalo Lira @realGonzaloLira

So Scholz and Putin cut a deal for Germany to buy Russian gas in euros. Gazprom bank will accept euros (it’s still connected to SWIFT), then convert those euros to rubles—thus Germany can buy the energy. Question: At what rate? And who sets that rate? Well done, Uncle Vova. 1/

I’ve heard that Poland is negotiating with Germany to buy gas from Germany that Germany gets from Russia. At what price? Russia also has a message for Poland, that Poland’s provocative statements could affect not only relations with Russia but could also affect the security of Western Europe: Kremlin Warns Poland Over Becoming 'NATO's Front Line'. Nobody, least of all the Germans, would thank Poland for upsetting their apple cart of accommodation with the new monetary and economic realities.

The_Real_Fly @The_Real_Fly

PUTIN: NO RUBLES, NO GAS

You can read more about the decree requiring payment in rubles here: Putin Signs Decree Ordering Gas Exports To Be Halted If Buyers Don't Pay In Rubles. What’s wrong with these people who think Putin is bluffing? Or misinformed?

Aaron Maté @aaronjmate

Do you really think Putin could be misinformed about “how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions”? Not something that’s easy to hide (and it’s in fact not happening yet — the ruble hasn’t crumbled). This is US intel misinforming the US public via media stenographers. https://t.co/emNhdy3InQ

Peter Alexander @PeterAlexander

NEW: "We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisors about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions," a US official tells me, "because his senior advisors are too afraid to tell him the truth.”

Japan has a very large economy and, despite often testy relations with Russia, seems uninterested in the Neocon scheme to “isolate” Russia economically.

AFP News Agency @AFP

Japan has no plans to withdraw from a joint Russian oil and gas project, despite joining tough sanctions on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says

u.afp.comJapan rules out withdrawal from joint Russia gas projectJapan has no plans to withdraw from a joint Russian oil and gas project, despite joining tough sanctions on Moscow over its Ukraine invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

This is coming—if you look behind you in the tunnel, it’s that light you see. Interestingly, reports are that 70% of Russian banks are still connected to SWIFT—but I doubt that will change Russian intentions at this point. It’s a matter of trust, now:

Levi @Levi_godman

India and Russia complete work on replacing SWIFT, writes the Indian Economic Times, citing sources

Levi @Levi_godman

The new payment system is likely to be installed at the headquarters of both the Reserve Bank of India and VEB.The system is expected to be in place within a week and will be able to ensure the smooth transmission of import or export documents for transactions in rupees + rubles

Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand

Ruble is now up 60% against the US dollar from its lows in the first week of March. On top of that, commodities (which make up 2/3rd of Russia's exports) have seen their prices surge. Sanctions may in the end prove to hurt the West more than Russia...

wap.business-standard.comRuble becomes best-performing currency in March; soars to 83 to the dollarThe ruble appreciated to 83 to the dollar intraday on Tuesday against a record low of 139 on March 7.

March 31 (Reuters) - Financial sanctions imposed on Russia threaten to gradually dilute the dominance of the U.S. dollar and could result in a more fragmented international monetary system, Gita Gopinath, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, told The Financial Times.

So what’s Plan B for the Neocons?