Hidden Amongst the Furore: Synchronised Warnings From the BIS and the IMF

It has become a disconcerting trend that as geopolitical events intensify and keep a majority of people engaged in the latest outbreak of political theatre, the words of central bankers fall on increasingly deaf ears.

At a seminar of the European Stability Mechanism this month, Bank for International Settlements General Manager Agustin Carstens delivered a speech called, ‘Shelter from the Storm‘.

The U.S. Dollar: A Victim of Its Own Success

 

America’s most powerful weapon of war does not shoot, fly or explode. It’s not a submarine, plane, tank or laser. America’s most powerful strategic weapon today is the dollar.

The U.S. uses the dollar strategically to reward friends and punish enemies. The use of the dollar as a weapon is not limited to trade wars and currency wars, although the dollar is used tactically in those disputes. The dollar is much more powerful than that.

The dollar can be used for regime change by creating hyperinflation, bank runs and domestic dissent in countries targeted by the U.S. The U.S. can depose the governments of its adversaries, or at least blunt their policies without firing a shot.

China Takes Aim At The Petrodollar

 

China continues to pursue its ambitious plan to make its currency—the yuan—more international.

The world’s top crude oil importer and key oil demand growth driver is now determined to get as many oil exporters as possible on board with accepting yuan payments for their oil.

China is now trying to persuade OPEC’s kingpin and biggest exporter, Saudi Arabia, to start accepting yuan for its crude oil. If the Chinese succeed, other oil exporters could follow suit and abandon the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Pulling oil trade out of U.S. dollars would lead to decreased demand for U.S. securities across the board, Carl Weinberg, chief economist and managing director at High Frequency Economics, tells CNBC. Weinberg believes that the Chinese will “compel” the Saudis to accept to trade oil in yuan.

Dear President Trump: America is in for a Rude Awakening in January

 

Over the last couple of years I’ve been all over TV… from Fox News to CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg. I’ve been telling our fellow Americans that the financial global elite was planning to issue their own globalist currency called special drawing rights, or SDRs.

And that those elites would use this new currency to replace the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.

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I’m sure some people in the mainstream media thought I was out of line — but the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have both confirmed this plan to replace the U.S. dollar is real. I’ve made this warning many times, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears. That’s why I’m writing directly to you.

Here’s the proof that the U.S. dollar is under attack, right in front of our eyes:

Japan’s Shifting Power Alliances

 

I’ve just wrapped up a long trip to Japan. And I’ve taken away one lesson from all of my conversations, speeches and research: The rise of nationalism in the U.S. will cause massive shifts in global trade alliances.

One of the main beneficiaries will be Japan. Now, Japan might not be on your radar, day-to-day, but it’s about to play a very important role in the world of Donald Trump.

Here’s what I mean…

China’s Entrance Into SDR Basket Shifts Global Finance

Remember the renminbi billboard sighting in China back in March of 2015? Well, it has officially landed.

On Monday, October 3rd, 2016, a turning point for America begins: The beginning of the end for the global U.S. Dollar hegemony.

 

China’s yuan, or Renminbi (RMB), will officially join the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket on Saturday, which indicates a step up in the international status of the currency.

• The inclusion is first and foremost recognition of the substantial reform efforts conducted by Chinese monetary authorities.
• “The RMB is already, for a number of years, very much an international currency.
• China has also taken additional measures to allow the inclusion of RMBinto the SDR,” said Jurgen Conrad, head of the Economics Unit at the Asian Development Bank in China.
• Alfred Schipke, the chief China representative of the IMF, thinks that the move’s significance isn’t limited only to the country.
• “[I think] the RMB joining the SDR will indeed be a milestone for China, but also for the international financial system. It, in effect, recognizes the progress that has been made on the reform side in China over the past couple of years,” said Schipke.

China’s Ambitious Plan to Make the Yuan the World’s Go-To Currency

China’s long-held desire to provide an alternative to the U.S. dollar will get a boost on October 1, when the yuan enters the International Monetary Fund’s basket of reserve currencies, placing it alongside the pound, euro, yen and dollar. The yuan’s ascent is a validation of the importance of the world’s second-biggest economy and the work policy makers have done to allow freer access to the nation’s markets.

China designates US’ first renminbi clearing bank: Premier Li Keqiang

Bank of China’s New York branch authorised for the role

China has designated the United States’ first renminbi clearing bank, Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday as he welcomed American banks to apply to become clearing banks.

China’s central bank said it had authorised the Bank of China’s New York branch to be a renminbi clearing bank in the United States.

Poland first in Europe to issue RMB debt in China

Poland has become the first European country to issue government debt into China’s mainland bond market, with a bond of 3 billion yuan ($452 million), marking a significant milestone for renminbi’s growing use internationally, which builds towards its reserve currency status.

Dollar Reality – End of Petro Dollars

All economies are in freefall, however the U.S. is the safe haven (for the moment) because of a rising currency and still having the world’s ‘strongest’ economy, which is now in all reality propped up by hot air. The U.S. Dollar’s rise, as the article states, will wreck the rest of the world economy before its own demise comes around the corner. Pay attention to the signs. We’re riding the roller coaster to the top before the steep drop.

It’s also true that the Petrodollar is dead. It’s no longer a factor in what keeps the U.S. Dollar alive. It’s already on the chopping block now that this anchor has been removed and is only a matter of time before the axe comes down. That was the last foundation keeping the USD secure.

Because of the wealth of the information found in this article, most of the source will remain archived here.

 

 

QUESTION: Dear Mr. Armstrong,

(a) You say that the world is losing confidence in governments and I do not question that for a minute.

(b) BUT you also say that the dollar will strengthen for various probable sounding reasons, which it is presently doing. (whereas many think it will collapse).

For the collapse theory: it appears the petro dollar is being dumped which bodes ill for the dollar remaining the prime reserve currency. ——– does not think it will and that SDR’s will replace it. Surely as this eminent position of the petro dollar declines, there will be further debasement? (loss of purchasing power) – the opposite of a stronger dollar.

Saudis and the Dying Petrodollar: “The Global Economic Reset Has Begun”

A very well written article. In taking this a step further, war with Saudi Arabia could be on the horizon. The last time Middle Eastern nations tried to do away with the Petrodollar, America’s Achilles heel, they were invaded and their leaders were removed.

A war over oil is a war over the dollar. A war over the dollar is a war over America’s survival.

 

Editor’s Comment: As Brandon Smith makes eloquent in this article, a global showdown is looming, and the long-standing alliance between the United States and Saudi Arabia is likely to be broken, as self-interest drives new alliances in the era of global SDR currencies, and the end of the dollar’s special status on the world market. 

Oil prices have been deliberately skewed to a level that would disrupt entire nations, and test markets while a flood of resources is pulling out the safety net and things grind to a halt. As these events unfold in the near future, much of the ample corrupt between the Saudis and the secret government wing of the U.S. government is likely to surface… and there is much evil and misdeeds to draw from.

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It’s been about 15 years now since passenger airliners struck the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, and we are still suffering the consequences of that day, though perhaps not in the ways many Americans might believe.

China ‘Stealth’ Devaluation Continues – Yuan Plunges For 6th Day, Default Risk Soars, Fosun Bonds Crash

 

USDCNY broke above 6.4500 for the first time since the August devaluation, extending its post-IMF plunge to 6 days. This is the largest and longest streak of weakness since March 2014 as China seems to have taken the SDR-inclusion as blessing to devalue its currency drip by drip. Default risk is once again stomping higher as CDS surge from 94bps to 112bps (2-month highs). The biggest news in China tonight is the disappearance of Fosun International’s Chairman, China’s 17th richest man (and the collapse in the company’s bonds, since stocks are suspended).

China boosts gold reserves for 5th straight month

Taking advantage of the low price of gold, in November China boosted its gold holdings for the fifth consecutive month, the fastest growth rate since June, the central bank reported Tuesday.

However, November’s $87 billion decline in total foreign exchange reserves was the country’s biggest drop since August’s record-high decline of $93.9 billion.

Russia issuing yuan-denominated bonds

On the heels of the International Monetary Fund’s approval for the yuan, Russia said it’s preparing to raise $1 billion in yuan-denominated sovereign bonds in Moscow, the Financial Times reported Monday.

Last week, the IMF made the yuan, also known as the renminbi, a world reserve currency by including it in its Special Drawing Rights basket. By integrating the yuan to the SDR, the IMF boosted the credibility of the currency and acknowledged it would be an accepted part of the global economic system.

Chinese Yuan Could Give the IMF “a Shock It Isn’t Prepared For”

 

 

On Monday, the Chinese yuan joined one of the most elite clubs on the planet: the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights basket of reserve currencies.

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CURRENCY	OLD WEIGHT	NEW WEIGHT
U.S. Dollar	41.90%	41.73%
Euro	37.40%	30.93%
Chinese Yuan	–	10.92%
Japanese Yen	9.40%	8.33%
Pound Sterling	11.30%	8.09%

*Source: IMF