Archive for the BRICS Category

Another BRICS In The Wall? (August 28, 2023)

Posted in BRICS, Great Transition, World's Reserve Currency on August 28, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “A few more BRICS in the Wall?  Much if not most of the world is trying to erect a firewall to protect against US-led aggression and domination.”

J          “But no one really knows.  No one really cares.  It is not a topic at the water cooler or around the bar-b-que.  If I said BRICS, someone would think I was building a walkway.  A few stragglers may have some idea.”

. . .

K          “From the reports, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa appear to be admitting the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Ethiopia to the Club.  Look at the resources and population and land mass and other metrics.  Collectively, the Club will wield a much bigger club.”

. . .

K          “Seems to me that the most effective way to unite a group of folks with disparate goals and interests is to identify and demonize a common enemy especially one that is a true demon.”

J          “Seems to be a truism not just of politics but of human nature.  Overlooking internal divisions is easier with an outside divider threatening everyone.  That is at play and at work.”

. . .

K          “The United States does not have the individual talent or the talented institutions to recognize and adjust to changing realities.  The United States does not have the human capital in positions of power.  We are hosed.”

J          “Bummer.”

. . .

J          “The mess we are bequeathing to the kids is a real and an unreal and a surreal mess.  No one really knows, yet there are a few stragglers who do care and are concerned but cannot figure out how to manifest their care and concern.”

K          “Folks are restless and restive and not resting well.  Things are festering faster and percolating precipitously.”

. . .

[For an exuberant but perhaps exaggerated perspective on the Great Transition, see “‘Welcome to the BRICS 11’” by Pepe Escobar, the recipient of the Sixth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2021 (June 7, 2021), dated August 25, 2023 in “thecradle.co”]     

[See the e-commentary at Portentous Developments In 2022? (January 23, 2023),  The China-Russia Affair: Advancing The Petro-Yuan; Dictating The Future (March 26, 2018), World’s Reserve Currency War I = Cold War 2.0 = WW III (?) (September 8, 2014), AIIB: China: 1; U.S.A. 0? (April 6, 2015), The Mandibles, FRNs, SDRs, IMF, G20, WTD! (September 5, 2016), USA + FRN/PD — > IMF + SDR — > NDB + UMU? The “Universal Monetary Unit” . . . Coming To a Planet Near You (January 2, 2017) and One World Currency? (January 8, 2018).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

There is a disturbance in the force

There is a disturbance in the farce

Multipolarity – Coming to a planet near you

Dragon < Eagle > Bruin; Dragon + Bruin > Eagle; Eagle + Bruin > Dragon

Bummer

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World War E Breeds Bretton Woods III;  BW II And The PetroDollar Will RIP? (March 14, 2022)

Posted in Bretton Woods, BRICS, CIPS, Petrodollar, PMC, SCO, SPFS, SWIFT on March 14, 2022 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Sounds like a preppy.  Exorbitantly privileged.  His middle name is surely ‘Heathcliff’ or some such.”

J          “Soon to be wearing ‘BWH III’ cum serifs on his sleeve.  Very well bred.”

. . .

K          “Bretton Woods I was born on July 22, 1944 and died on August 15, 1971.  BW I was a modified Au [gold] standard that suspired for 27 years.  On a hot lazy Sunday in August in D.C. when the Ruling Class and the PMC were returning from the Shore, Nixon terminated convertibility of the U.S. dollar for gold with as much hype and fanfare as an announcement of the construction of a new water treatment plant.”

J          “I do not remember the event, yet I sense that the action was more of a unilateral breach without consulting other nations rather than a polite and proper termination of a long-term relationship and a statement that it is temporary.”

K          “Right.  Not to fear, BW II was hatched.  In the next few years, Nixon and others agreed to provide protection to Saudi Arabia in exchange for the Saudis pricing oil in the newly concocted ‘PetroDollar’ protection money.  The scheme allows the U.S. to conjure figment money at will and demand and take resources, services and products from every other country on the planet without providing anything in return other than . . . the figment money.”

J          “The U.S. spent three cents to print a 100 dollar bill and then demanded 100 dollars of things from other countries.  And latter saved the printing costs by just shuffling electrons.  It is a perpetual motion money machine, until it is not.”

K          “Resistance was futile.  The BW II system replaced an ‘Au system’ with a ‘Fe and Pb system’ that commits the iron and lead of the U.S. military to impose and enforce its will on others.  Over fifty years of international economic terrorism followed.  So few get it.” 

J          “I hear you.  I get it.  I got it.  Years ago.  We as a society are going to get it.  In short order.  In the shorts.  My friends the good old Chinese are encouraging members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the BRICS nations to bypass the SWIFT financial system and settle cross-border international payments in digital yuan using the CIPS or possibly SPFS.  That changes everything.”

K          “The ‘PetroDollar’ has had as much influence on civilization as the implementation of the wheel, the creation of the printing press and the discovery of electricity.  Yet, the ‘PetroDollar’ and BW II are dying a slow but accelerating death.  In a stupendous irony, U.S. stupidly killed BW II which had served it so well and has now spawned an uncertain BW III.” 

J          “The U.S. actions are indeed killing the golden goose that did not require any gold to lay golden eggs.”

. . .

K          “The emerging BW III appears to be a mix of gold and commodities rather than printed figments.  The new economic system for the multipolar political world is founded on gold and commodities and headquartered and centered outside America and Western Europe.”

J          “We are substituting one empire that has done much evil for another far, far, far more evil empire without even a clue or a question about what is happening.  By the way, I have a few more Mandarin language tapes for you.”

. . .

K          “There are books on Cod and Salt and Paper and the like.  If he does not write the book on the PetroDollar, I may get it done.”

J          “And don’t forget the piece on fly fishing.”

. . .

[See “Is the Dollar in Danger?  China and Russia may be working to take away America’s ‘exorbitant privilege.’” dated March 13, 2022 by Andy Kessler in the “Wall Street Journal”.  That is two citations to the “WSJ” in a row.]

[See the e-commentary at The China-Russia Affair: Advancing The Petro-Yuan; Dictating The Future (March 26, 2018), World’s Reserve Currency War I = Cold War 2.0 = WW III (?) (September 8, 2014), AIIB: China: 1; U.S.A. 0? (April 6, 2015), The Mandibles, FRNs, SDRs, IMF, G20, WTD! (September 5, 2016), USA + FRN/PD — > IMF + SDR — > NDB + UMU? The “Universal Monetary Unit” . . . Coming To a Planet Near You (January 2, 2017) and One World Currency? (January 8, 2018).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Post-World War Two Standards:  From Au . . . to Fe & Pb . . . to Au & Commodities

Dragon < Eagle > Bruin; Dragon + Bruin > Eagle

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USA + FRN/PD – – > IMF + SDR – – > NDB + UMU? The “Universal Monetary Unit” . . . Coming To a Planet Near You (January 2, 2017)

Posted in AIIB, Banks and Banking System, Book Reference, BRICS, CFETS, CIPS, Dollar - World's Reserve Currency, Gold, Gold Standard, Hyperdive Economic Collapse, International Finance, International Monetary Fund, Money, Petrodollar, SDR - Special Drawing Rights, Special Drawing Rights (SDR), Trade, Universal Monetary Unit, World's Reserve Currency on January 2, 2017 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Remember way back on October 1 when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) implemented the modified composition of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) that includes for the first time the Chinese Renminbi (RMB) along with the United States Dollar (FRN/PD), the Euro (€), the British Pound Sterling (£) and the Japanese Yen (¥) in the Great Valuation Basket?”

J          “Couldn’t forget.  To celebrate the transition, we got the entire day off.”

K          “The Federal Reserve Note/PetroDollar maintained its percentage share of the portfolio with the Euro, Pound and Yen yielding room for the new kid on the block.  The way I see it, the evolution of the SDR may be too slow for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (the BRICS countries) and other countries (the BRICS+ countries) and still leaves the FRN/PD as the world’s reserve currency.”

J          “They say more countries are getting cranky that the FRN/PD remains the mandatory currency peg for trade on the global market.  Last Thursday, the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), the foreign exchange trading platform operator, announced that it is adjusting the way it calculates the CFETS Yuan Index which is a critical measure of the Yuan against a basket of currencies, starting yesterday.”

K          “And you got the entire day off.” 

J          “And today, for good measure.  They say that the USA will not allow the IMF to revisit the composition of the SDRs again for years.  The problem for the BRICS+ countries is that the United States has veto power over the composition of the SDR and will block any attempt to accelerate the transition to incorporate other currencies.”

K          “Think about this possible scenario.  The BRICS+ countries may make an end run and expand the mandate and activities of what is now known as the New Development Bank (NDB) and create a Universal Monetary Unit (UMU) constituted of the Chinese RMB, Russian Ruble, Indian Rupee, South African Rand, Brazilian Real, good old gold (Alpha uniform) and a smorgasbord of other currencies.”     

J          “While they are at it, the South African Kruggerand could supplant the Rand and serve as the gold component or part of the gold component.”

K          “Who knows, when they do that, you may get the week off of work.”

J          “Count me in and count me off.  And to provide for a smoother transition, include in the new generation UMU the current currencies in the SDR in diluted amounts.  A measured and gradual approach is prudent.  Interdependent economies and unintended consequences, you know.”

K          “While they are at it, they could go full in.  The Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payment System sometimes known as the China Interbank Payment System (CIPS) could develop into a comparable transnational multilateral payment system as a complement to and to compete with the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).”

J          “That’s exactly what I was going to suggest.  An economy needs a ‘thing’ to serve as money/currency/chits/script/wampum and a means to reconcile payments.  The BRICS+ countries have no reason to wait another half decade when they can do it themselves.”

. . .

J          “Or the BRICS+ countries may force the issue at the IMF meeting in Rome, District of Columbia on April 21 – 23.”

K          “And you will get at least two days off of work.”

J          “Can’t forget.  Stay tuned.”

. . .

K          “Someone surely has thought and wondered about these possible developments.”

J          “You think?  I wonder if anyone cares.  What’s on tv?”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “The Mandibles, FRNs, SDRs, IMF, G20, WTD! (September 5, 2016)” and “Dollar – World’s Reserve Currency”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The “Universal Monetary Unit” . . . Coming To a Planet Near You

Paper [Money] Is Patriotic

Fight the War on Cash

 

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