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

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22612)	3/12/2005 11:27:39 AM
From: The Wharf	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 81170

Canada was an exporter which aided her economy. Newest release states she is importing more than she exports could be just a temporary blimp it is too soon to know. I can not help but wonder if status as exporter changes to that of importer that will have an adverse affect on the economy? BC Utilities are probably less risky.

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22612)	3/12/2005 1:31:40 PM
From: The Vet	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81170

Searle, how true .... players either have to put up or shut up. If they believe the USD will devalue, then they have to show who will revalue Of course they have all been attempting to win the "race to the bottom" by matching the fall in the USD by issuing as much as their own currency as they possibly can. The Euro with it's more rigid bureaucratic structure is far more hamstrung in this regard than say Japan or China which has meant that to date, it has borne the brunt of the dollar devaluation. But now with increasing long term US interest rates a new dynamic enters the picture. If the Japanese or others simply hold, but don't do any new buying of US treasuries, then their absence from the market will put even more pressure on bonds, dropping prices and raising yields. The result would be an increasingly rapid drop in the value of the $800 billion or so US securities that they are holding. Inflation would rapidly increase in the US, the dollar drops and they are hit with the double whammy of lower bond prices and a lower dollar. If they buy more then they could hold the line on rates but they are simply putting off the inevitable as Greenspan continues to raise short term rates in the US and the Japanese continue to suppress the long term rates by their continued support of the market, simultaneously digging themselves and all other holders of US paper into a deeper and deeper hole. The truth is that virtually all fiat currencies (with the possible exception of the Rand) have devalued together following the USD down. This has been largely disguised by the fact that currencies are always quoted relative to each other, and that overproduction of manufactured goods by low wages countries like China has hidden the normal inflation that should have been apparent. The truth of course is obvious to anyone who looks at the CRB but even that has been distorted by the existence of paper trading, hedging and derivatives which tends to blunt the real market forces of supply and demand. These artificial monetary devices do not repeal the laws of supply and demand nor do they insulate the producers of real goods from the effects of rising costs except for quite short periods of time. When real "stuff" gets to be in short supply, the price will go eventually up regardless of the market distorting effects of hedges, derivatives, long term contracts or futures. When supply is adequate these financial devices provide a dampening effect on prices, but when supply is limited they cause volatility and exacerbate the price rises.

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22612)	3/12/2005 9:04:58 PM
From: philv	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81170

Thanks for the uninspiring gold charts Searle. <g> Here is a headline not unexpected: Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant timesonline.co.uk We've covered this topic before, and the inevitable is drawing nearer. The link in the bottom is series of articles regarding oil, the politics and militarisation of oil. This is a long piece, but worth the read in my opinion. Some of it is extremely pessimistic about the eventual outcome, and supports what you and others have been saying about the direction of the US policy. This link is actually three seperate articles by three seperate authors, the last by a member of the Australian parliament. excerpts from the first part. ""Every country in the world is betting everything it has on this one hand knowing that after 2007 or 2008 the game ends. The map of the future after that is unknowable and, to large extent, irrelevant. That's why Rumsfeld has won the battle to control American intelligence operations and why the new National Intelligence Director John Negroponte is getting the job. "Is that right?" Without the slightest hesitation the former CIA employee answered, "Yes."" "The only way to curb demand is to pull the plug on global economies, starting first with the already partially cannibalized US economy. Our manufacturing has been stolen or given away for "spare parts." So have our savings, our Constitution, our resources, our credit, our credibility, our confidence, our manufacturing base, our jobs; and soon our houses, our personal bank accounts and ultimately our hope. The United States is being liquidated after a fait accompli merger and acquisition. The bottom line turns out to be the suicide of the human race as mergers and acquisitions lead to the final moment of malignant capitalism: "the last corporation standing." If these guys are right, the future is scary. fromthewilderness.com

To: sea_urchin who wrote (22612)	3/15/2005 8:52:35 AM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81170

> there's no reason for the dollar to revalue other than it's very hard for it to devalue much more, even with the debt and all the other known bad things. It takes two to tango. telegraph.co.uk >>More than 90 per cent of consumers in countries that use the European single currency believe the advent of the euro has sent prices soaring, leading Brussels officials admitted yesterday. Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission's monetary affairs commissioner, acknowledged that the idea had "taken hold" in some countries that the euro had sharply increased the cost of living. This was poisoning public opinion against plans to extend the currency to the whole of Europe. Such gloom had "spilled over" into the 10 new member states that joined the European Union last year. An average of 71 per cent of people in the new states expressed fears of "abusive price rises and cheating" should they one day switch to the euro, Mr Almunia said. Addressing what amounted to a crisis meeting on the three-year-old currency, he told colleagues they faced, "a battle for the hearts and minds of European consumers. Losing it will mean very serious consequences in terms of consumers' attitudes to the euro". In some countries, such as Greece, Spain and France, 98 per cent of consumers believe the euro has favoured higher prices.<<