[skiwi]

If you believe anything from the mouth of officialdom US Treasury Secretary John Snow says the world's biggest economy is in good shape and inflationary pressures are being kept in check....

The Labour Department said in a report released earlier that the core rate of consumer price inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2 per cent last month.... Economy in good shape

[crude_intentions]

Yeah, the Dollar will always be a stable safe currency, and the British Empire will never fall

[Tyler_JC]

Why do they buy our debt??

(They don't want to upset the balance)

OK. Why do small countried buy our debt? Norway could get away with dumping all of our debt in favor of Euro bonds. South Africa could get away with a massive dollar dump. Why aren't they getting out while they still can?

I understand why China is sticking with the dollar, they don't really have a choice in the matter. I can't understand why the smaller players are hanging on to the losing ticket. It goes against everything I understand about the system.

[maverickdoc]

Why do they buy our debt??

(They don't want to upset the balance)

OK. Why do small countried buy our debt? Norway could get away with dumping all of our debt in favor of Euro bonds. South Africa could get away with a massive dollar dump. Why aren't they getting out while they still can?

I understand why China is sticking with the dollar, they don't really have a choice in the matter. I can't understand why the smaller players are hanging on to the losing ticket. It goes against everything I understand about the system.

How about a little thing called OIL. Crude oil is only quoted in US dollars. All major seller of oil accepts payments in US dollars only (exceptions being Iran and Malaysia)

[Tyler_JC]

oh yeah, that....

Other than the Pentagon (I know, that's a biggie) what stops Japan from buying oil in Yen? Or Saudi Arabia from asking for Euros?

If everyone switched, the US would be powerless to do anything. We can't take on OPEC. Euros are better than dollars. OPEC should switch to Euros. What stops them? They own most of the oil and can make whatever demands they want as long as it doesn't lead to war.

[maverickdoc]

oh yeah, that....

Other than the Pentagon (I know, that's a biggie) what stops Japan from buying oil in Yen? Or Saudi Arabia from asking for Euros?

If everyone switched, the US would be powerless to do anything. We can't take on OPEC. Euros are better than dollars. OPEC should switch to Euros. What stops them? They own most of the oil and can make whatever demands they want as long as it doesn't lead to war.

We have solders in SA, Japan, Iraq (who took your advise and sold in euros), Kuwait, Iran (we will soon, or at least have a puppet regime). We have solders in Europe itself. To get us out they have to stop financing us, to stop financing us they have to get us out. Catch-22

Other than the Pentagon we have nothing that is our PO strategy (read Cheney’s energy report... the one they fought all the way to the supreme court to keep confidential)

[Tyler_JC]

That's what I thought. The next decade will be very interesting...

[skiwi]

and then there's this from todays New Zealand Herald

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan calls it a "conundrum".
Former Fed colleague Laurence H. Meyer calls it "extraordinarily unprecedented".

The Fed has raised its target interest rate six times since June 30 last
year, intending to prevent the United States economy from overheating
this year.

Instead, the increases are having the opposite effect: they are spurring
the economy, not reining it in...

[trespam]

If you believe anything from the mouth of officialdom

US Treasury Secretary John Snow says the world's biggest economy is in
good shape and inflationary pressures are being kept in check....

Brought to you by the people who guaranteed we would find WMD in Iraq. Now I feel better.

[skiwi]

Meaning it's time to be alarmed going by this lying rodents track record

PRIME Minister John Howard said today it was alarmist to talk about the world economy crashing....

Time to be Alarmed

[shortonoil]

When politicians start talking about world economic collapse, I listen. Not to what they are saying but to what they aren't saying.


"The times they are a changing" Dillon