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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ahda who wrote (8100)	10/7/1999 11:44:00 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 81101

Darleen, Since gold spiked, the pressure on the dollar from the Yen has peaked. It may or may not be related, but the yen certainly has not gained any strength as a global reserve currency from gold's price spike. The only significant currencies that seem to have enjoyed any strength are the Euro and Australian dollar. I do believe the Australian dollar was directly supported by the POG, but arguments could probably be made that the Euro is being supported by other variables. But the question remains... why would the European banks suddenly decide to shock the gold market by draining away substantial liquidity? Why couldn't it have been more gradual instead of such a drastic and radical move? No.. they were sending a signal, making a statement, or implementing a scheme. The one thing bankers are not supposed to do is alter their monetary policy in a dramatic manner. And the Europeans ignore that policy and created financial distress in many institutions, including gold companies. As for the changing pace of technology, the issue is whether or not creating and updating that technology will result in economic efficiencies. Apparently they do, or companies would not be investing so much in the IT industry. And Europe and Japan are falling drastically behind the power curve when it comes to Ecommerce. As for the rest of the world, who knows when they will catch up, if ever. The problem with many governments being unwilling yet to invest in ecommerce is that information is power. Information is freedom and democracy at the grass roots level. Once they open that Pandora's box, their political and economic systems will be forever altered and power decentralized from the center to the periphery. Example: China. But convert they must... or they face two other alternatives. Being forever marginalized as economic subject states of the US, or creating world chaos through military or political belligerence. The statistic I think I saw here or on the Asia Forum the other day was very telling. Before the Asian crisis began, the US accounted for 20% of global GDP. We now account for 33% of that GDP. That compares to the 50% of global GDP the US accounted for right after WWII (when the rest of the world lay in chaos and destruction). Regards, Ron