Gold vs. The Fed: The Record Is Clear

There were no worldwide financial crises of major magnitude during the Bretton Woods era from 1947 to 1971. Lesson: Gold is a more efficient governor of monetary policy that the Federal Reserve.

When it last met, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) signaled its desire to increase the rate of inflation by providing additional monetary stimulus. This policy is based on a false – and dangerous – premise: that manipulating the dollar’s buying power will lead to higher employment and economic growth. But the experience of the past 40 years points to the opposite conclusion: that guaranteeing a stable value for the dollar by restoring dollar-gold convertibility would be the surest way for the Federal Reserve to achieve its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability.

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How the US Will React to China’s Trade Surplus

What do I see front and center this morning on the currency screens? A nasty sell-off in the currencies and metals that began yesterday afternoon, carried over to the Asian markets…

Gold had lost the $1,400 figure in the profit taking yesterday, but has rallied back $9 this morning to push past $1,400 again. Silver, which yesterday morning looked like it was going to be on a straight line to the moon, also sold off in the late afternoon trading, but like gold, has rebounded in the morning trading.

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Can Foreign Intervention Save the US Dollar?

The Federal Reserve’s $900 billion asset purchasing program may help the US economy…or maybe it won’t. But one thing is certain – the US dollar will be the biggest loser. In fact, just about every currency you can name is set to eclipse the greenback over the next few months.

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China: US has “Clearly a Double Standard� on Exchange Rates

It sounds hard to believe, but apparently China has detected a US “double standard,” whereby the US is demanding China strengthen its renminbi currency while itself intentionally weakening the dollar through money printing. These days, China is almost getting a little too good at calling it like it sees it.

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Debating the True Value of the Chinese Yuan

Well, that was a whole lot of nothing. Bigwigs from the International Monetary Fund met over the weekend in Washington to “tackle global imbalances,� as the BBC put it.

Alas, the imbalances broke every tackle and sprinted to the end zone unencumbered.

“In my view, it’s too early to make a decision regarding currency exchange rates,� Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said last Thursday, telegraphing the outcome. He implied the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – were united on that score.

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The Impact of Japan’s Negative Interest Rates

The grenade that economist Joseph Stiglitz threw from left field at the euro (EUR) yesterday, was a one-day hit. You see… The euro is back to moving higher versus the dollar this morning. More on that, and the RBA leaving their powder dry, in today’s issue, so let’s go!

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Fragging Your Own Money

“Monetary warfare!â€� says The Financial Times. In North America, the US is pointing its heavy guns at China… The US Congress has proposed a bill naming China as a “currency manipulator.â€� How, exactly, is China manipulating the renminbi? It is holding steadfast to the dollar! This, says US Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, “translates into a significant subsidy, artificially making US products more expensive, and jeopardizing efforts to create and preserve manufacturing jobs in America.”

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The Truth Behind China’s Latest Currency Move

Over the weekend, the Chinese government announced its intentions to move away from a US dollar peg. Instead of being fixed, the country’s currency, the yuan, will be controlled by a daily band, with the ultimate price being settled by government officials in a morning statement. Previously, the Chinese renminbi, as it is sometimes referred to, was fixed to the US dollar at a rate of 6.83.

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Free Floating Yuan: The Real Story

The biggest news in the world today didn’t actually happen. Conspiracy!

“China Eases Currency Peg,� The Wall Street Journal announced yesterday. The Journal, along with every paper in the world, has something to say about China’s groundbreaking move Sunday. At long last, we’re told, China has agreed to end its currency manipulation agenda and allow the yuan to float freely.

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Where Will the Euro Decline End?

The fact that the euro rallied for only two days last week, makes us think that the wolf pack of investors and speculators are currently calling the bluff of the ECB on currency intervention – or at least they are testing, probing and trying to ascertain how determined the ECB is to prevent further euro depreciation, and at what level.

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