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Hello fellow FReepers, would love to pick your brain on a topic I've been thinking about. Are there any reasons why BRICS would NOT want to be the world reserve currency? Are there responsibilities and burdens that would become theirs, should they succeed in doing this? Seems to me that, since the U.S. dollar became the world reserve currency, it is the U.S. that has shouldered the brunt of every (or most) debt, war, international bailout, humanitarian aid, and so forth. If BRICS should succeed, wouldn't these responsibilities/liabilities then transfer to them? This is not a question of "Will or...

Did you know that central banks bought more gold last year than any year in the past 55 years—since 1967? Though most don’t realize it, 1967 was a significant year in financial history, mainly due to the events at the London Gold Pool. The London Gold Pool was an agreement among central banks of the United States and Western European countries to stabilize the price of gold. The goal was to maintain the price of gold at $35 per ounce by collectively buying or selling gold as needed. However, in 1967 the London Gold Pool collapsed due to a shortage...

According to Min News, fifty-six countries, including Israel and Japan, want to de-dollarize. Japan is dumping the US dollar as fast as it can. This is a direct result of the lockdowns and the sanctions. Both were highly-destructive failures. It is the beginning of the new world order that will possibly supersede the liberal world order within the next several years. No sane country wants to depend on a nation that will weaponize the system or the “demons in Davos.”

Trade between India and Malaysia is now able to be settled with Indian Rupees, the India Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced in a statement Saturday. This move strikes a blow to the hegemony US dollar. “This initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is aimed at facilitating the growth of global trade and to support the interests of the global trading community in Indian Rupees (INR),” the statement from the MEA reads.

Without last week’s Beijing-brokered deal, China would have had to rely on maritime routes under the control of the powerful US Navy to facilitate the forthcoming explosion in bilateral real-sector trade, but now everything can be conducted much more securely via the Iranian-transiting CCAWAEC. Looking forward, there’s also a theoretical possibility of Chinese energy investments in Iran connecting the Gulf to Central Asia and thenceforth to the People’s Republic, thus fully securing its strategic interests. That’s still a far way’s off, if it even happens at all that is, but it nevertheless can’t be ruled out. Saudi Arabia’s desire to...

U.S.-led international sanctions on Russia have begun to erode the dollar's decades-old dominance of international oil trade as most deals with India - Russia's top outlet for seaborne crude - have been settled in other currencies....India's oil trade, in response to the turmoil of sanctions and the Ukraine war, provides the strongest evidence so far of a shift into other currencies that could prove lasting.The country is the world's number three importer of oil and Russia became its leading supplier after Europe shunned Moscow's supplies following its invasion of Ukraine begun in February last year.

Let’s start with three interconnected multipolar-driven facts.First: One of the key take aways from the World Economic Forum annual shindig in Davos, Switzerland is when Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, on a panel on “Saudi Arabia’s Transformation,” made it clear that Riyadh “will consider trading in currencies other than the US dollar.” So is the petroyuan finally at hand? Possibly, but Al-Jadaan wisely opted for careful hedging: “We enjoy a very strategic relationship with China and we enjoy that same strategic relationship with other nations including the US and we want to develop that with Europe and other countries.” Second:...

Saudi Arabia is opening its economic doors about trading in currencies other than the US dollar, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan sounded off at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” Al-Jadaan said in an interview with Bloomberg. “I don’t think we are waving away or ruling out any discussion that will help improve the trade around the world.” (snip) The term petrodollar refers to the US dollar’s position as the...

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Apparently confirming the view of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) that the U.S. is now regarded as just another one of its partners in a new global order that would see Beijing and its allies share the leadership position with Washington, Saudi Arabia last week reiterated its commitment to China as its “most reliable partner and supplier of crude oil,” along with broader assurances of its ongoing support in several other areas. That MbS seemingly now sees the U.S. as a partner just for its security considerations, with no meaningful quid pro quo on Saudi Arabia’s part, whilst...

Vietnam's Lê Thành, the self-proclaimed 'King of VGA,' is having some fun on Facebook(opens in new tab) (via I_Leak_VN(opens in new tab)). In photos and videos shared on the social media site, it looks like the store has started to use street trader tactics to grab passersby and sell them GPUs by the kilo. Lê Thành shared pictures of dozens of used GPUs stacked up on the curbside in a clear parody of a Vietnamese street food stall. There is also a video with the vendor patiently waving away flies with a net, awaiting passersby. Then, a scooter stops, and...

It's official! Russian Central Bank announces that the ruble is tied to gold! 5000 rubles per gram. The Central Bank of Russia has officially announced that the Russian ruble will be tied to gold as of March 28, 2022, The rate is 5,000 rubles per gram of gold ingots. There are 28 grams in each ounce. 28 grams for 5,000 rubles per gram is 140,000 rubles. Are you following me this far? The conversion rate of rubles into US dollar is 100 rubles, 90 pounds, for each US dollar. If the rubles are tied to gold at 5000 rubles per...

Rep. Alex Mooney proposes the United States adopt a new gold standard after U.S. government officials first disclose all gold holdings and secret gold transactions, allowing the gold price to adjust to its fair market value. WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / October 9, 2022 / America's currency would regain stable footing for the first time in half a century if a bill just introduced by U.S. Representative Alex Mooney (R-WV) becomes law. Referred to as the "Gold Standard Restoration Act" by sound money activists, H.R. 9157 calls for the repegging of the Federal Reserve note to gold in order to...

TEHRAN, October 5. /TASS/. Cooperation between Iran, Russia and China will help create a new power that will oppose the unipolar world order, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in an interview with China’s CGTN broadcaster on Wednesday. "People around the world have bad memories of the era which has come to an end. It was a time of hegemony, unipolar world order and violations of the legitimate rights of many nations," the Iranian president pointed out. According to him, "a new era will be marked by the establishment of a multipolar world order." Cooperation between Iran, Russia, China, the Shanghai...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes and the slew of other central banks raising rates, could pose harm to the global economy. UNCTAD calculated that for every Fed basis point rise, the economic output of wealthy countries declines by 0.5%, and for poorer countries, the value of all sales of goods and services is reduced by 0.8% for a duration of three years. UNCTAD Report Criticizes Central Bank Rate Hikes During Global Economic Downturn Monetary tightening measures may not be a good idea according to the United...

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point at its meeting that concludes Wednesday. Other items markets will be watching include quarterly economic and rate projections and Chairman Jerome Powell’s post-meeting news conference. Judging by recent market action and commentary, the expectation is for a hawkish hard line. There’s not a lot of mystery surrounding Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting, with markets widely expecting the central bank to approve its third consecutive three-quarter point interest rate hike. That doesn’t mean there isn’t considerable intrigue, though. While the Fed almost certainly will deliver what...

Ankara will not account for talks it held during the recent SCO summit, the Turkish president has saidTurkey has no obligation to report to the European Union after it took part in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. Earlier, the Turkish leader revealed that Ankara is seeking to join the bloc, which includes Russia and China...."The European Union would keep us out for 52 years, it wouldn’t let us near, and then they would say, ‘Why did he talk with this country, or that country?’" he said, referring to the fact...

To stimulate the economy, China’s regulators are forcing Chinese banks to meet high loan quotas. To hit the difficult-to-attain targets, ingenious bankers are lending and simultaneously allowing borrowers to deposit identical amounts with their institutions at identical interest rates. Companies no longer want money to launch new projects. Pessimism about the economy dominates thinking in Chinese boardrooms and throughout the rest of society. The big story is not that the Chinese economy is falling apart.

China's economic slowdown has left it with a surplus of natural gas that it is re-selling to energy-strapped Europe, according to a report. Boosted by cargoes from China, Europe's imports of liquefied natural gas jumped 60% year-on-year in the first half of 2002, according to a Nikkei report citing data from research firm Kpler. China's economy has slowed sharply in 2022 as Beijing implemented a strict zero-COVID policy and as a crisis grips the country's highly indebted property sector. Economists think it is likely to fall well short of the government's aim of 5.5% growth. The economic slowdown has left...

CHICAGO (BLOOMBERG) - The former head of the JPMorgan Chase & Co precious-metals business and his top gold trader were convicted in Chicago on charges they manipulated markets for years, handing the United States government a win in its long crackdown on bogus "spoofing" orders. Michael Nowak and Gregg Smith were found guilty on Wednesday (Aug 10) by a federal jury after a three-week trial and more than eight days of deliberations. Prosecutors presented evidence that included detailed trading records, chat logs and testimony by former co-workers who "pulled back the curtain" on how Nowak and Smith moved precious-metals prices...