For years, currency analysts have looked for signs of an international monetary “reset” that would diminish the dollar’s role as the leading reserve currency and replace it with a substitute agreed upon at some Bretton Woods-style monetary conference. The signs of a reset are everywhere, but at least for now the dollar is still king
In my 2014 book, The Death of Money, I wrote, “The United States is Japan on a larger scale.” That was five years ago. Last week, prominent economist Mohamed A. El-Erian, formerly CEO of PIMCO and now with Allianz, wrote, “With the return of Europe’s economic doldrums and signs of a coming growth slowdown in the United
Well, it’s tax time again. Tens of millions of Americans are getting ready to file their tax returns before the April 15 deadline, while millions more are requesting extensions (but you still have to pay the taxes by April 15). People grumble about income taxes, but most accept it as the price we pay to
Despite all of the happy talk from Larry Kudlow and other Trump administration officials, the data make it clear that the U.S. economy is slowing down. The U.S. economy had an outstanding performance in the second quarter of 2018 (4.2% annualized growth) immediately after the Trump tax cuts. But the performance since then has been
Investors have been speculating for years about the demise of the “petrodollar” deal struck by Henry Kissinger and William Simon in 1974. Now, according to this article, the Saudis themselves are confirming that they may be getting ready to push the dollar to one side when it comes to setting the price for oil. In 1974,
In 2017, we advised readers that Trump “owns” the Federal Reserve. This was not hyperbole; it was just simple math. There are seven seats on the Fed board of governors. The seven seats include a chair, a vice chair and five other governors. But two of the seats were vacant when Trump was elected.
FISA stands for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. That’s a law which allows electronic surveillance and other intelligence collections of information and communications “between foreign powers” and “agents of foreign powers” involving espionage or terrorism. The CIA is not allowed to conduct spying information inside the U.S., so that responsibility falls to the
Investors have been speculating for years about the demise of the “petrodollar” deal struck by Henry Kissinger and Treasury Secretary William Simon in 1974. It was first set up between the U.S. and Saudi princes to prop up the U.S. dollar. At the time, confidence in the dollar was on shaky ground because President Nixon
When liberals and conservatives unite to oppose you, that’s a sign you may be doing something right. Such is the case today with economist Steve Moore. President Trump is moving toward nominating Moore for a vacant seat on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. Judging from the outcry, one would think Trump had
The global growth slowdown now looks contagious. China has been slowing for the past several years. The Chinese government has tried monetary ease, currency manipulation and bank lending mandates to prop up growth, but it’s not working. Chinese corporate defaults are on the rise. The situation in Europe is no better with Italy, France and
