Post by Tim Collins on Sept 28, 2009 8:47:48 GMT -7
Debt, Deficit's, Changes in world alliances ie EU, all contribute to the decline in the Influence of the US Dollar. Our world status is ours to retain or to lose. Fiscal Discipline, is a major need to retain our currency's standing. A review of our foreign commitments is also important
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZeMEIdSzg34#
Zoellick Says Dollar’s Value to Depend on ‘Choices’ U.S. Makes
By Timothy R. Homan
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the world’s main reserve currency will be challenged as the financial crisis reshapes the global economy.
“There is every reason to believe that the euro’s acceptability could grow,” Zoellick said in remarks prepared for a speech today in Washington. “Of course, the U.S. dollar is and will remain a major currency. But the greenback’s fortunes will depend heavily on U.S. choices” on inflation, the budget deficit and financial oversight, he said.
The World Bank chief outlined ways he sees the balance of power in the global economy shifting after the financial crisis. China and probably India will rise in influence and the U.S.’s economic might may be diminished as the international system is “overhauled before our eyes,” he said.
In excerpts of his speech released yesterday, Zoellick said, “there will increasingly be other options to the dollar,” and the U.S. shouldn’t “take for granted” its standing. While didn’t specifically mention the yen in the full text of the speech, he said Japan’s “old export model” of growth may not be sustainable in a world that’s less reliant on U.S. consumers.
European institutions, and the currency shared by 16 nations in the region, may emerge stronger after the crisis, Zoellick said.
“Euro financing offers a respectable alternative if the dollar is weak,” he said in the speech, adding that over the next two decades China’s currency, the yuan, “will evolve into a force in financial markets.”
Trade Barriers
Zoellick, a former U.S. Trade Representative and deputy secretary of State, also spoke about the impact of the global slowdown on international commerce. “So far, traditional trade protectionism has been a low-grade fever,” he said. “But the temperature is rising.”
The World Trade Organization and United Nations said in a joint report on Sept. 14 that world trade would drop 10 percent this year because of the collapse in global economic growth. While countries haven’t taken on “widespread trade or investment restrictions,” there have been new tariff and non- tariff barriers, the report said.
Leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and emerging economies last week pledged to avoid protectionism, repeating a promise made at earlier summits of the G-20, just two weeks after President Barack Obama imposed tariffs on Chinese tire imports.
Zoellick said that while the G-20 “should become the premier forum for international economic cooperation among the advanced industrialized countries and rising powers” it cannot “ignore the voices of the over 160 countries left outside.”
IMF’s View
His remarks on the subject are similar to those of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who earlier this month proposed a “G-20 plus” that would include developing nations.
Leaders from the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh last week promised to give emerging countries a greater say at the IMF and World Bank, recognizing their rising influence as the global economy starts to recover.
To be effective and to strengthen their legitimacy, Zoellick said today, voting shares at international organizations “should reflect the weights and new responsibilities of emerging powers, while assuring a voice for the poor.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Istanbul at thoman1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 28, 2009 11:00 EDT
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZeMEIdSzg34#
Zoellick Says Dollar’s Value to Depend on ‘Choices’ U.S. Makes
By Timothy R. Homan
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the U.S. dollar’s dominance as the world’s main reserve currency will be challenged as the financial crisis reshapes the global economy.
“There is every reason to believe that the euro’s acceptability could grow,” Zoellick said in remarks prepared for a speech today in Washington. “Of course, the U.S. dollar is and will remain a major currency. But the greenback’s fortunes will depend heavily on U.S. choices” on inflation, the budget deficit and financial oversight, he said.
The World Bank chief outlined ways he sees the balance of power in the global economy shifting after the financial crisis. China and probably India will rise in influence and the U.S.’s economic might may be diminished as the international system is “overhauled before our eyes,” he said.
In excerpts of his speech released yesterday, Zoellick said, “there will increasingly be other options to the dollar,” and the U.S. shouldn’t “take for granted” its standing. While didn’t specifically mention the yen in the full text of the speech, he said Japan’s “old export model” of growth may not be sustainable in a world that’s less reliant on U.S. consumers.
European institutions, and the currency shared by 16 nations in the region, may emerge stronger after the crisis, Zoellick said.
“Euro financing offers a respectable alternative if the dollar is weak,” he said in the speech, adding that over the next two decades China’s currency, the yuan, “will evolve into a force in financial markets.”
Trade Barriers
Zoellick, a former U.S. Trade Representative and deputy secretary of State, also spoke about the impact of the global slowdown on international commerce. “So far, traditional trade protectionism has been a low-grade fever,” he said. “But the temperature is rising.”
The World Trade Organization and United Nations said in a joint report on Sept. 14 that world trade would drop 10 percent this year because of the collapse in global economic growth. While countries haven’t taken on “widespread trade or investment restrictions,” there have been new tariff and non- tariff barriers, the report said.
Leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and emerging economies last week pledged to avoid protectionism, repeating a promise made at earlier summits of the G-20, just two weeks after President Barack Obama imposed tariffs on Chinese tire imports.
Zoellick said that while the G-20 “should become the premier forum for international economic cooperation among the advanced industrialized countries and rising powers” it cannot “ignore the voices of the over 160 countries left outside.”
IMF’s View
His remarks on the subject are similar to those of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who earlier this month proposed a “G-20 plus” that would include developing nations.
Leaders from the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh last week promised to give emerging countries a greater say at the IMF and World Bank, recognizing their rising influence as the global economy starts to recover.
To be effective and to strengthen their legitimacy, Zoellick said today, voting shares at international organizations “should reflect the weights and new responsibilities of emerging powers, while assuring a voice for the poor.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy R. Homan in Istanbul at thoman1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 28, 2009 11:00 EDT