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U.S. Postal Service Starts Quoting SDR to Dollar Conversion Rates, and IMF Endorses Replacing Dollars with SDRs
I have repeatedly pointed out that it is possible that the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs) will become the world's reserve currency.
And as I noted in April 2009, there is some possibility that the "Bancor" will ultimately fill that role:
But you probably have not heard that:
China's
government has floated a variant of this idea, suggesting a currency
based on 30 commodities along the lines of the "Bancor" proposed by
John Maynard Keynes in 1944.Indeed, the head of the China's central bank wrote recently:
Though
the super-sovereign reserve currency has long since been proposed, yet
no substantive progress has been achieved to date. Back in the 1940s,
Keynes had already proposed to introduce an international currency unit
named "Bancor", based on the value of 30 representative commodities.
Unfortunately, the proposal was not accepted. The collapse of the
Bretton Woods system, which was based on the White approach, indicates
that the Keynesian approach may have been more farsighted. The IMF also
created the SDR in 1969, when the defects of the Bretton Woods system
initially emerged, to mitigate the inherent risks sovereign reserve
currencies caused. Yet, the role of the SDR has not been put into full
play due to limitations on its allocation and the scope of its uses.
However, it serves as the light in the tunnel for the reform of the
international monetary system.Keynes proposed that the
Bancor was to be fixed in terms of 30 commodities, of which one would
be gold. The arguments for currency fixed on a basket of commodities
was that it would stabilize the average prices of commodities, and with
them the international medium of exchange and a store of value.As
China's central banker said, the goal would be to create a reserve
currency “that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to
remain stable in the long run, thus removing the inherent deficiencies
caused by using credit-based national currencies”.But Keynes' Bancor proposal did not only entail pegging SDR's to a basket of currencies:
He
proposed a global bank, which he called the International Clearing
Union. The bank would issue its own currency - the bancor - which was
exchangeable with national currencies at fixed rates of exchange. The
bancor would become the unit of account between nations, which means it
would be used to measure a country's trade deficit or trade surplus.
Every
country would have an overdraft facility in its bancor account at the
International Clearing Union, equivalent to half the average value of
its trade over a five-year period. To make the system work, the members
of the union would need a powerful incentive to clear their bancor
accounts by the end of the year: to end up with neither a trade deficit
nor a trade surplus. But what would the incentive be?
Keynes
proposed that any country racking up a large trade deficit (equating to
more than half of its bancor overdraft allowance) would be charged
interest on its account. It would also be obliged to reduce the value
of its currency and to prevent the export of capital. But - and this
was the key to his system - he insisted that the nations with a trade
surplus would be subject to similar pressures. Any country with a
bancor credit balance that was more than half the size of its overdraft
facility would be charged interest, at a rate of 10%. It would also be
obliged to increase the value of its currency and to permit the export
of capital. If, by the end of the year, its credit balance exceeded the
total value of its permitted overdraft, the surplus would be
confiscated. The nations with a surplus would have a powerful incentive
to get rid of it. In doing so, they would automatically clear other
nations' deficits.
As FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska reported recently, the IMF has recently floated the idea of SDR and perhaps ultimately Bancor as world reserve currency:
FT Alphaville missed this IMF paper when it first came out in April, 2010.
Authored by Reza Moghadam, director of the IMF’s strategy, policy and review department, it discusses how the IMF sees the International Monetary System evolving after the financial crisis.
***
In
the eyes of the IMF at least, the best way to ensure the stability of
the international monetary system (post crisis) is actually by
launching a global currency.
And that, the IMF says, is largely
because sovereigns — as they stand — cannot be trusted to redistribute
surplus reserves, or battle their deficits, themselves.
The
ongoing buildup of such imbalances, meanwhile, only makes the system
increasingly vulnerable to shocks. It’s also a process that’s
ultimately unsustainable for all, says the IMF.
***
All in all, the IMF believes there has simply been too much reserve hoarding going on:
Reserve accumulation has accelerated dramatically in the past decade, particularly since the 2003-4. At
the end of 2009, reserves had risen to 13 percent of global GDP,
doubling from their 2000 level, and over 50 percent of total imports of
goods and services. Emerging market holdings rose to 32 percent of
their GDP (26 percent excluding China). Twenty-seven of the top 40
reserve holders, accounting for over 90 percent of total reserve
holdings, recorded doubledigit average growth in reserves over
1999-2008.
Holdings have also become increasingly concentrated, with over half the total held by only five countries.
These numbers exclude substantial foreign assets of the official sector
not recorded as reserves, including in sovereign wealth funds (SWFs),
and yet invested in liquid, dollar denominated financial instruments,
that have grown even more in recent years.1Of
course, in the first instance, the solution probably lies in closer
collaboration between sovereigns, most likely via the more active use
of such things as special drawing rights, says the IMF.
But
in the end, a global currency makes the most sense, the paper concludes
— especially since the SDR is currently just an accounting tool that
draws on the freely usable currencies of member states , not an actual
currency itself.As they summarise:
48. From SDR to bancor.
A limitation of the SDR as discussed previously is that it is not a
currency. Both the SDR and SDR-denominated instruments need to be
converted eventually to a national currency for most payments or
interventions in foreign exchange markets, which adds to cumbersome use
in transactions.
And though an SDR-based system would move away
from a dominant national currency, the SDR’s value remains heavily
linked to the conditions and performance of the major component
countries. A more ambitious reform option would be to build on the
previous ideas and develop, over time, a global currency. Called, for
example, bancor in honor of Keynes, such a currency could be used as a
medium of exchange—an “outside money” in contrast to the SDR which
remains an “inside money”.But before you get ready to burn your fiat currency, it’s not actually a turnaround the IMF sees being executed any time soon.
As they conclude:
It
is understood that some of the ideas discussed are unlikely to
materialize in the foreseeable future absent a dramatic shift in
appetite for international cooperation.
However, in a possible indication of how seriously the SDR is being taken, the U.S. Postal Service is quoting SDR to dollar conversion rates:
- Convert the U.S. dollar amount to the special drawing right (SDR) value and enter it in the SDR value block. For example:
INSURED VALUE
$100.00 (U.S.)
65.76 SDR
(Here is the original web page, without highlighting.).
A search of the U.S. Postal Office website shows that - as of April 2008 - the relevant web page did not have any reference to SDRs. The most recent revisions to this web page were made on July 30, 2010. However, I cannot tell whether the references to SDRs were added in the most recent July revision, or in a previous edit.
I
am not implying that this is nefarious. I'm not entirely sure what this
means, but - as far as I can tell - no other currencies other than SDRs
and the U.S. dollar are mentioned in this section of the Postal Service
website. At the least, it is interesting.
The Swedish postal service is also purportedly giving SDR conversions.
Whether or not SDRs (or Bancors) are coming soon, one thing is for
certain. The dollar is losing its luster as world reserve currency.
See this, this, this and this.
Update: Further digging shows that
some postal services have adopted SDRs as part of the international
multilateral agreements of the Universal Postal Union, an international organization of postal services. See this website from the Czech Republic, for example, from October 2009.
The earliest reference to postal service use of SDR's which I have found is a January 2007 version of the Swedish post office's website, stating: Posten's
responsbility for lost or damaged International Parcel Post is limited
to SDR 40 per mailing + SDR 4.50 per kilogram of the gross product
weight, in accordance with the acts of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
»
- advertisements -
Thanks, Lookma. That looks quite recent: "20.10.2009"
Sounds to me like if I wanted to spend US Dollars in the UK, I would have to convert to Pounds Sterling or Pound. That's what? 1.60 to the pound today?
If someone sent a package from the UK to USA, that money stays with the UK Postage.
Edited for berevity.
Nope, not interesting. Ironymonger said it first, the postal service has SDRs for shipping convention reasons. As for central banks and their reserves, the logical way to own a basket of currencies is to own a bloody basket of currencies, not a bunch of derivatives each linked to a basket of currencies.
i keep telling you guys that the new oneworld currency is going to be baseball cards. this will take trading swaps to a whole new level!
i prefer marbles
Great Post. This whole SDR thing stinks! The thing is, no one, no investment, no commodity, nothing would be safe from the immediate haircut that would occur as a result of something like this. WOW!
So what nut would ever request such a conversion?
We have this thing called the financial sector, plenty of nuts there that are surely getting ready for "the change" and profit from all of it.
The FED............
Make that a whole wheel full of nuts. That is how they want one world to go round and round.
New World Financial Order.
Excellent find G.W.
This may be an attempt to control the wealth of nations all over the world. Ruin their currencies (debt based) so that they are so indebted to the banking empire that they must accept the new system or their bond vigilantes attack. What is the threat of the collusive banking franchise? Why wouldn't a powerful country like the USA declare war or decide to just issue its own debt and currency?
Are governments captured through media so that if politicians don't go along, they run negative articles and impact polling results? Do they bait leaders into bribes (lobbyists) and blackmail? Right now debt is just paper dollars so Cheney might be right that deficits don't matter when you have the world's largest military. But what if they convert national debt paper dollar loans into currency that represents real commodities represented by SDR's? Like foreclosing on homes and converting paper loans out of thin air (nothing to them with monopoly money) into real assets. Banks now own more homes than people. They (big banks) might want to convert all that treasury debt into something real before default - if the dollar represented something tangible it would hold its value and could not be hyper-inflated away.
The wealth of nations is being stolen and exported in broad daylight. Many of the securities are traded on exchanges that exist out of country (ICE / dark pools) and are not subject to US laws. Banks that are supposed to be depository institutions are paying 4 times the fee for unlit dark pools so they can gamble with grannies savings at incredible leverage - with that leverage they control the price and it is what they say it is. Everyone is trying to play the bounce/swing in the market with fewer long term investors, and this is causing volatility swings with the ridiculous leverage. This same volatility they are responsible for will be used as a reason that we need to change to a new financial system.
Are fort knox gold and securities asset liens against the national debt for the for profit private banking cartel? Banks now own more houses than people do, forget P&L's and just think of ownership and who owns what. With ownership of 2.5% of shares if they had 40 X leverage it would have the impact of 100% of shares - think about it.
Do banking families control countries with WMD? Unless threatened (Swine Flu for example which was a political scare story run globally and the former finance minister of Japan stated he was threatened with another earthquake/haarp if they didn't turn over their central bank to the private central bank franchise), why would a country willingly accept this form of debt slavery? What is the counter weight if a country does not go along with their agenda? Why stick with this, they have failed at stable prices and full employment. Are the IMF, WTO, World Bank, Central Banks, and TBTF Banks coordinating actions - if so for who's benefit and to what end? Just an inquiring mind thinking chess strategy trying to understand how it actually works behind the curtain.
Potential SDR Implications:
How does the US military (World Police & US Competitive Advantage) factor in?
Gold in a basket of 30, UNLESS it held more percentage of value within the basket, would seem to have an equal share.
Then again, WHO, is going to want SDR's, Charmin, or any other butt wipe over Physical PM's?.
Not me.
HUGE blackmarket ensues I see it........
Existing dollars, article said currencies stay the same, )if I read it correctly), but the value drops.......33.333%.( as someone asked, WHO is going to eat the INCREASED margin?, as far as Debt is concerned, or assets for that matter..everything will depreciate except the SDR's..........ALL.
U.S gold is held in FOUR locations, supposedly.............not just Knox.
Will be interesting to say the least.................WHO dies first?.
nice to see you again colonel. continuing with your hypothetical musings, perhaps it might be worthwhile to consider 2 additional factors?
- the continued possibility of carbon credits.
- the wildcard of wildcards : the BIS (see FOFOA's post 'two' for elaboration).
methinks the IMF is jumping on the 'bancor' idea b/c they're beginning to see the writing on the wall & want to use the current SDR mechanism to muscle their way in.
personally, i don't see anything inherently wrong with the 'bancor' linked to a basket of commodities as envisioned by keynes. seems much better than what we got now. and keynes never envisioned it as a currency per se, but a unit of account between sovereigns, the goal being of course to lessen the potential to dominate others through manipulation. of course, the Americentric folks won't like it, but methinks they fail to see that whatever comes out of this interregnum will not be in their best interest, that is unless they choose to broaden their horizons a little bit. the world's a big place.
THe Bible warns of "one world currency" and "one world government" as a sign of the end times approaching.
the end is near!! the end is near!!
lol
Heh heh heh. Little do the masses realize.
Contempt prior to investigation... Amazing how many criticize without having read such. One may agree or disagree, but yes, the passages warning of such, are indeed printed.
knuk,
Warning?, how about a Blow by Blow, Start to Finish.
If you are serious, skim through these two links. But make certain you have eaten and are well-rested first. Some dramamine for the spinning head dizziness that will occur might help also.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_of_Christian_eschatological_differe...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology
Eschatology = study of last things
Luckily, the Bible is fucking bullshit!
Then you are lost Aerojet.
Read it sometime, even if it is in a Abridged version written for children. God made you and loves you and everything in that book is good for you even if some of the things within it is bad.
"Read it sometime"
I did. That's the problem.
Talking animals? Really?
Which version of the bible should I read? Which religion is the right one? Which god is god - Ram, Horus, Atlatonan? There are so many gods, versions, and revisions of the stories through time. The emphasis on a particular issue, behavior, event depends on what group you are trying to control and what you are trying to get that group to do or not do. If believing on particular religion helps you to live a peaceful prosperous life then that one is the right one for you, but do not let the ruling class use it to take away everything you have in exchange for hope.
People have always wanted to be the best in their class, best on their team, make the most money, control the most area and groups of people use what ever means necessary to advance their agenda be it charity, war, new drugs, or global text on business via CO2 credits. Be wary of the "you must sacrifice" approach, otherwise you will be sacrificed.
What is the sound of one mouth yapping?
KILL YOUR CHILD!
lol j/k ur my bff
That too. The signs are everywhere like the seasons changing these last few years Brother.
There are decisions to make and the rest will be taken care of according to the Word.
No sweat, gold devaluing SDRs already:
http://www.research.gold.org/prices/daily/
You really, really, really want to have your 'bancor' worth a basket of commodities running behind inflation? You really, really, want that?
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=$COPPER:$GOLD&p=M&b=5&g=0&id=p17411380300&a=207250297&listNum=2
Or if we are in a period of deflation, you really, really, really want to have your currency collapse along with commodity prices?
No wonder gourmet plates in French cuisine have maybe a sprig of parsley and a pea:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assignat
Shitty Deprciating Ratcrap
"it is possible that the IMF's special drawing rights (SDRs) will become the world's reserve currency"
it would be more appropriate to say, "will be designated as", than to say, "will become"
the elites can designate anything they want as the next reserve currency - used toilet paper, purple crepe paper, recycled elephant-poop paper - it doesn't matter
once confidence in fiat currencies is lost, it won't be restored with another fiat currency regardless of who issues it
the next reserve currency THAT WILL LAST for any length of time will be backed by tangibles - oil, precious metals, calories of food, etc
So I get to deal with a bigger fiat currency after the dollar implodes. Sweet, the more things change the more they stay the same.
+ 10 Bazillion BenZimbabwe Bananas
Add to that the fact that Charlie Rangel introduced H.R. 5741 to committee on July 15, 2010:
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h5741/show
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.5741.IH:
The Act will seek to "require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, to authorize the induction of persons in the uniformed services during wartime to meet end-strength requirements of the uniformed services, and for other purposes."
How do you like them apples? Thank you for your service Charlie Rangel </s>...
ages 18-42 bitchez - glad I am not part of that crowd. I'll be waiting for the guys to go to work then "Jody" their women...
We will get that one OVERTURNED shortly........as in November.
Which reminds me, is that Mafia Mfuka in Jail yet?,or is he and Geithner meeting with the IRS to discuss repayment schedules?.
Folks, if you think this SHIT is going to go down, like Apple Pie, and Hot Dogs, and Chevrolet......I have some swampland for sale in AZ.
Those that can afford to Expatriate best get their ass in gear.
So he's enacting a law requiring everyone between the ages of 18 and 42 to go burn down the Federal Reserve?
Now THAT'S what I call national service!
As in a Draft? Sure where do I report? Oh I am too old? Oh well, where do I report.
Today's fighting age USA Citizens are going to be either too fat, too pacifist or other issues and require about a 6 month to years training before being deployed as a organized unit at any level, and even then as green troops at best and replacements for vets at worst.
They wont last a week or month unless they keep eyes open and pay attention.
Why are we even thinking of a draft at this point in time anyway? Is it for wars overseas or is it for domestic suppression of potential problems here at home?
I don't know what they intend to do, but couple H.R. 5741 with the fact that we've been in a state of emergency since 9/11 (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Message-from-the-President-regarding-the-emergency-declared-with-respect-to-the-September-11-2001-terrorist-attacks/), and all I know is that they are up to no good. If you read the statute on the Thomas Library of Congress site, you'll see that the act states that the president could only funnel people into the armed services side of this "national service" crap if we are in a state of emergency. Bingo!
There won't be another draft, it would be far too unpopular.
Too unpopular? So was the Bailout for the Banksters, and that passed quite quickly (although with a very minor delay).
Just whip up some bogeyman, and tell me again that it will be too unpopular.
Did you read the bill? That's certainly not what it says. It's not optional. It's couched in their "national service" language and allows a good portion (read the wealthy, connected, educate) to be funneled into the "cilivian" side of the military industrial complex. Why would they want to put this on the books if they don't intend to use it. Once it's on the books, you're just one false flag away from roiling the masses and having them foaming at the mouth...
Oh it can be made to happen.
See, once upon a time it was a rite of passage for all 18 year olds on thier birthday to go to the US Post Office and sign a form called Selective Service. They are then rated and stored in a powerful database somewhere in the USA. (St. Louis I think...) and they could be called up when the USA was being invaded by the USSR.
Excepting By gawd west virginia of course...
Anyhoo... no one signs up for that stuff anymore. But they are fighting age and unless they are 4-F or something really bad wrong with them, they can be made to go.
But wait!
9/11 put the USA into a State of War. And thousands flocked to VOLUNTEER to fight in our Military. And they are still doing that now. Probably even greater numbers now that there is not a job to be found anywhere else.
"once upon a time it was a rite of passage for all 18 year olds on thier birthday to go to the US Post Office and sign a form called Selective Service"
Wasn't there was an exemption for Kenyan born pseudo-non-natural born national citizens who still cannot find thier birth certificates?
"Wasn't there was an exemption for Kenyan born pseudo-non-natural born national citizens who still cannot find thier birth certificates?"
Or passports or Indonesian Madrasah application forms verifying religion & citizenship affiliation ;-)
Paging Dan Rather!...we need you on this stat!...ROTFLMAO!!!
If you ever want a federal student loan, you have to register for selective service. So I would say that most every high school grad going to college and taking any loans has signed up.
I didn't think they had 'deactivated' this program...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System
fucking banksters
Yes, this is interesting. GW always posts unique, interesting stuff.
Thought that I was gonna pass somptin' but t'was just the colonoscopy bag a-shiftin'.
Why do you do these things on Friday afternoons? Tomorrow when I'm golfing, my mates are gonna think I'm bat-shit crazy talking about SDR's and the post office after they'd gotten used to me muttering about responsible shit like gold, Bilderberg, Rockefeller's and Eugenics, the Denver airport, Taos Hum, Chemtrails, HAARP and UFO's. Fer Keeerist sakes, yer' givin' us conspiracy theroists bad names what with the Real Stuff to talk about.
Yeah, the SDR quotes been on postal forms for years now. When I inquired as to why, the first 207 (well, I stopped counting there) homicidal candidates (where they might try out that new pre-crime computer program, find tons of potential murderers ther, ya' know) didn't know squat and finally somewhere or someone said it was for insurance purposes. Fixed basket/translation for international postage insurance damage claims.
Then they looked at me as if I were a threatening species when I inquired as to whether they'd actually let me trade on the basis of the SDR quotes. So I gently excused myself by quoting the famous Mrs. Heather Mills McCartney with; "I think I shall go shave my leg.", exiting stage right.
The question is, what does an SDR buy in real terms. One bancor for a cup of coffee? 2?
They can give me whatever paper trash they dream of, as long as the conversion doesn't destroy my our hosing power. If they give me a high denominated sdr for a pile of dollars, then I will gladly join the street riots.
Of course, devaluing my savings is Keynesian socialism at it's worst.
And this basket thing- who stops the hoarding of commodities. Keynes is not about pegging- it's about being able to create wealth units at will and hand them off to the banks.
While that's an important question, it's really a secondary one. Street riots can be quelled. Just look at Greece. Or, for America, understand that there has never, ever been a successful rebellion in the U.S., starting from George Washington's successful quashings. The standard modern procedure here is to let the streets burn for a few days, and then send in the troops. By then, the locals are happy to see them. And the Status Quo doesn't change.
The real issue here is control over countries by the Internationalists. This is why Fascism (in the classic sense) will never happen here. It requires locally controlled corporations. The modern cousin of Fascism is Corporatism, where the Corporations are International, and really don't give a sh*t about the local Country or its people, as long as they are getting the maximum wealth extraction from that Country. And can run somewhere else that they can't be touched when there are problems.
This SDR is waiting in the wings for the Dollar to collapse, as we all know that all fiat currencies do collapse. It's inevitable, and the Internationalists will be able to pick up the pieces necessary to maximize their profits and power with this little manuveur.
They rioted in Baltimore back in '68 I believe that Hearst (Spelling?) online described the actions taken in detail by the United States to quell that particular riot including some additional units that were on standby to be moved to and deployed should they be required in addition already to the units on scene clearing the streets one by one.
That took a few days. Even today sections along North Avenue is nothing but grass because no one wanted to live there and rebuild anymore. I understand other cities also rioted as well. That got taken care of also.
You guy's need to think BIGGER, not riots by disenfranchised punks,and Plasma TV theives.
Riot's are one thing, Urban warfare is quite another.
Also when did the riots stop?,after all the shit was stolen, and the dumb asses burned their own neighborhoods down.