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America's European "Allies" Desert Obama, Join China-led Infrastructure Bank

Tyler Durden's picture




 

It appears the sea of de-dollarization has reached the shores of Europe. With Australia and UK having already moved in the direction of joining the China-led AIIB, The FT reports that France, Germany, and Italy have now all agreed to join the development bank as 'pivot to Asia' appears to be Plan B for Europe. As Greg Sheridan previously noted, "the saga of the China Bank is almost a textbook case of the failure of Obama’s foreign policy," but as The FT concludes, the European decisions represent a significant setback for the Obama administration, which has argued that western countries could have more influence over the workings of the new bank if they stayed together on the outside. As Forbes notes, this leaves Obama with 3 uncomfortable options...

As The FT reports,

France, Germany and Italy have all agreed to follow Britain’s lead and join a China-led international development bank, according to European officials, delivering a blow to US efforts to keep leading western countries out of the new institution.

 

The decision by the three European governments comes after Britain announced last week that it would join the $50bn Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a potential rival to the Washington-based World Bank.

 

...

 

The European decisions represent a significant setback for the Obama administration, which has argued that western countries could have more influence over the workings of the new bank if they stayed together on the outside and pushed for higher lending standards.

 

The AIIB, which was formally launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, is one element of a broader Chinese push to create new financial and economic institutions that will increase its international influence. It has become a central issue in the growing contest between China and the US over who will define the economic and trade rules in Asia over the coming decades.

This follows Australia and UK...

Australia, a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific region which had come under pressure from Washington to stay out of the new bank, has also said that it will now rethink that position.

 

When Britain announced its decision to join the AIIB last week, the Obama administration told the Financial Times that it was part of a broader trend of “constant accommodation” by London of China. British officials were relatively restrained in their criticism of China over its handling of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong last year.

 

Britain tried to gain “first mover advantage” last week by signing up to the fledgling Chinese-led bank before other G7 members.

 

Britain hopes to establish itself as the number one destination for Chinese investment and UK officials were unrepentant.

*  *  *
Which, as Forbes explains, leaves Obama with three options...

1)      Continue to press its allies not to join the AIIB until governance procedures for the bank are assured;

 

2)      Join the AIIB itself; or

 

3)      Drop the issue.

 

Option one is clearly a losing proposition. There is no sense expending further political capital trying to persuade regional and other actors not to join the bank. It is a small-potato issue that is making the United States look weak at a time when U.S. influence in the region is otherwise quite strong.

 

Option two, which I—along with virtually every other China analyst outside the U.S. government—supported back in October is that the United States join the AIIB. There are several reasons why this is a good idea. It would allow the United States a seat inside the tent where it could be both a positive force for best governance practices and an internal critic if things go awry. It also would likely help ensure that U.S. companies have fair access to the bidding opportunities that will arise from the AIIB’s investment financing. Joining now will be hard to accomplish in a face-saving manner, but the United States could begin by publicly recognizing the need for the financing capabilities in Asia that the AIIB can provide and by moving quickly to work with Australia, South Korea, and Japan to work out common principles of accession.

 

Option three is for the United States to back away from the AIIB, release other countries from any pressure they might feel from the United States not to join, and let the AIIB rise or fall on its own merits. Chinese-led resource and infrastructure investment has encountered significant difficulty in a number of countries, including Zambia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brazil, and Sri Lanka, among others. If the AIIB does not do a better job than China’s own development banks, it will be a stain not only on Beijing but also on all the other countries that are participating. If it does operate at the same standard as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, then it will be a welcome addition to the world of development financing. The United States does not have to be in every regional organization in the Asia Pacific; it is not in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, for example, and it is only an observer in the Conference on Interactions and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. It can sit out the AIIB or assume observer status as well.

 

Washington’s priority should be on advancing U.S. ideals and institutions through the pivot or rebalance rather than blocking Chinese initiatives unless absolutely necessary. (Let’s not confuse China’s effort to develop the AIIB with its push to implement an Air Defense Identification Zone, for example.) Opposition to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has become a millstone around Washington’s neck. It is time to remove it one way or another.

*  * *

De-dollarization continues... As Simon Black recently concluded, now we can see words are turning into action...

[The Allies] might be too polite to tell the US straight up– “Look, you have $18.1 trillion in official debt, you have $42 trillion in unfunded liabilities, and you’re kind of a dick. I’m dumping you.”

 

So instead they’re going with the “it’s not you, it’s me” approach.

 

But to anyone paying attention, it’s pretty obvious where this trend is going.

 

It won’t be long before other western nations jump on the anti-dollar bandwagon with action and not just words.

*  *  *

Bottom line: this isn’t theory or conjecture anymore. Every shred of objective evidence suggests that the dollar’s dominance is coming to an end.

 

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Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:29 | 5897535 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture

 

 

Hell of a job Barry....see you on the golf course.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:30 | 5897538 waterwitch
waterwitch's picture

This means WAR bitchez!

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:33 | 5897543 Haus-Targaryen
Haus-Targaryen's picture

This doesn't make me think this is bad for the US, but that both the Americans and the Chinese are on the same team. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:01 | 5897634 Self-enslavement
Self-enslavement's picture

WWII never ended.

We're still here.

We aren't going away.

Bitches.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:33 | 5897725 Latina Lover
Latina Lover's picture

After 15+ years of Neocon foreign policy, this is the result. Your enemies hate you more and your allies start to desert.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:35 | 5897746 Dr. Richard Head
Dr. Richard Head's picture

The off and on-budget war costs are indeed frightening from a perspective of logic and math, but the corporate welfare police is right up there with MIC spending.  At the end of the day, both should discontinue immediately to have any chance of solvency.  Then again, solvency in the eyes of government is a moot point.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:57 | 5897807 Pool Shark
Pool Shark's picture

 

 

"Every shred of objective evidence suggests that the dollar’s dominance is coming to an end"

Sorry, 'Simple Simon.'

I'm no fan of fiat currencies (the US$ included), but have you looked at this chart lately?:

http://www.kitco.com/gold_currency/index.html?currency=euro&timePeriod=10y&flag=exchangeRate&otherChart=no

The dollar is currently 'stronger' than just about every fiat currency in existence; sitting at multi-year highs.

I'm not saying the US$ isn't going to eventually fail (it will), but until it does, saying that 'objective evidence' is calling for its imminent demise is just plain stoooopid.

 

 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:07 | 5897877 Manthong
Manthong's picture

“pushed for higher lending standards”  

Like they do with Greece, Spain, Ukraine etc. and like higher standards of modesty in a porn flick.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:51 | 5898333 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

License for more QE and the final nail for slave wage parity.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:35 | 5898514 balanced
balanced's picture

Remember when Merkel and Hollande met with Putin last month? I'm wondering if we are now glimpsing some of the topics discussed. Putin [effectively] pulls offer of assistance to Greece if Germany and France join AIIB and (a general moving away from the U.S. - more to come).

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 14:30 | 5899080 mtl4
mtl4's picture

The Euro is a bad example (Pounds much better) but it still shows a strengthening dollar and that is why I'd bet we'll get a bit of a correction this summer/fall and then it will be off to the moon in USD markets.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:55 | 5897815 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

Says in the article that the US could be in the tent and an example for "best governance practices".....

Ahhhhaaaaaaaaahhhahaaaahaaaaa........*wipes a tear from his eye*

Funny writers on ZH lately, making these lame assed statements about the US....

Listen to some good music instead :

https://aadivaahan.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/and-the-gift-keeps-on-giving/

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:17 | 5897938 X_Weatherman
X_Weatherman's picture

I stopped reading at " It would allow the United States a seat inside the tent where it could be both a positive force for best governance practices and an internal critic if things go awry. It also would likely help ensure that U.S."

The author must be kidding, right?

The U.S. would probably turn the institution into another tool for extraction and looting.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:21 | 5897956 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

Zigackly brother weatherman. A big joke (on us)....

Which way does the wind blow by the way?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:06 | 5898415 gallistic
gallistic's picture

It is blowing away from the Dollar right now.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:09 | 5898659 MeelionDollerBogus
MeelionDollerBogus's picture

let me check the shit barometer and see

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 15:50 | 5899451 FrankDrakman
FrankDrakman's picture

Since it's intercontinental, it has to be more than the winds of shit, or the shit blizzard, or a tornado of shit.

It must be shit tectonics!

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:29 | 5897729 semperfi
semperfi's picture

War period never ends - cycles between preparation & execution, and usually a mix thereof.  War is human nature.  At the most basic level, an argument or fight between 2 people is the fundamental unit of war.  Move up a level to family war (feud), gang wars, etc.  People want to deny it, but humans are born fighters - and that will never change.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:53 | 5898083 Ass Burger
Ass Burger's picture

War was human nature. Most people have evolved beyond the tribal mindset.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:57 | 5898369 11b40
11b40's picture

No, that's wrong.  Most people just think they have moved beyond a tribal mindset.  We have not.  The true nature of man is not evident until security is threatened.  It's easy to be cililized (for most) so long as there is abundance.  In times of scarcity or threat, not so much.  You have no idea of what anyone is capable of when pushed and stressed.

Learn more - check out Konrad Lorenz

http://www.amazon.com/On-Aggression-Harvest-Book-291/dp/0156687410

Or, just read some good first person accounts of war.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:47 | 5898837 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

Right, as if Obama, Holder, Jarrett and a few others aren't a gang as criminal as any in history? That's funny, really funny.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:33 | 5897737 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

Now your patrons have all left you in the red
Your low rent friends are dead
This life can be very strange
All those dayglow freaks who used to paint the face
They've joined the human race
Some things will never change
Son you were mistaken
You are obsolete
Look at all the Chinamen on the street

- Steely Dan (slightly modified by NoDebt to fit circumstances)


Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:59 | 5897833 TeamDepends
TeamDepends's picture

Have quoted Black Friday many times here. There is something extra depressing about this thread. It feels like this is the last brick. There is hope until they slide that last brick into place. Back in 2008, progressives were calling Ron Paul "isolationist". Haha, joke's on you, suckers! But it's not funny. It never was.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:31 | 5898003 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

TD- I gotta tell you, I've been here before.  The last 2 years of a 2-term president are always depressing.  Especially so with this fucking moron in the WH (to be more accurate, he's the Manchurian Candidate).  We're never going to be what we once were- too much damage done at this point.  But there will be a time you feel better about things than you do now.  I don't know when but it won't be in the next 2 years.  Sometime after that.

 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:43 | 5898035 SWRichmond
SWRichmond's picture

US to the rest of the world: "The beatings will continue until morale improves...hey, where did everybody go?"

LatinaLover's above comment about the neocons is spot on.  And now they want to "restore" "defense" spending to its former levels...

 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:50 | 5898854 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

Manchurian Candidate  +1,000!  That's what I call him.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:04 | 5897641 SamAdams
SamAdams's picture

This makes me think this is cold war 2.0 and this time we are Russia.  Remember who and what happened to Russia after the wall fell?  Piece and parcel, public sold to private Jews with even some Rothschild involvement. 

What was it the prime minister said?  Oh yes, "when we are through with the US, they can dry up and blow away".

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 14:28 | 5899064 Icelandicsaga.....
Icelandicsaga...............................................'s picture

One has to consider this is part of the global reset .. NWQ .. part of the plan .. in the mind of the central bankers it gives them a vote in the 'new order' .. or not.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:33 | 5897544 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

They all hate us anyhow...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QbUSjnhv6M

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:33 | 5897546 cossack55
cossack55's picture

"kind of a dick".  Love the understatement

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:37 | 5897552 overmedicatedun...
overmedicatedundersexed's picture

does this mean $/euro goes even higher?? yes it does

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:42 | 5897560 new game
new game's picture

unintended consequences of a strong dollar and abuse of world reserve currency!

fucking idiots at the federal reserve. they blew the opportunity to keep on fucking everybody over. they went too far. they get what they deserve unless we all get fucked by wwIII...saddening world we live in.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:55 | 5897610 sessinpo
sessinpo's picture

A strong dollar was inevitable, which is why I called for it for years now. The problem is the massive debt everyone has incurred and the fact that the US dollar is the world's currency reserve. That means everyone that accepted the US dollar as the world's currency reserve and also have massive debts must struggle to get more and more dollars.

Thus it is really an unintended consequence of creating unpayable debt and using one single currency as the world's currency reserve. The strong dollar is not the cause, but the effect. Anyway, I think we both agree it is a bad situation.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:57 | 5897619 Son of Loki
Son of Loki's picture

So ... what happens when oil, etc start to be traded and quoted in RMB?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:04 | 5897632 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

So now all China has to do is 'dePEG' from the dollar and start selling stolen & reverse engineered military hardware at Wal Mart prices & with a discounted currency to all the countries that the US has fucked with for the last 60 years...

 

#WINNING [hearts & minds ~ one regime change at a time].

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:05 | 5897648 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

That's the way I see it.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:04 | 5897672 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

Don't forget about the part where they sell UST's, convert to dollars, & use the dollars to buy physical gold...

 

But no need to rush that just yet [until the dollar tops out]. You know SELL HIGH ~ BUY LOW... The MIT geeks prolly haven't even thought about that one just yet because they're too busy writing HFT algos to try & frontrun Lululemon. [well ~ THAT & try to come up with the perfect NCAA bracket].

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:51 | 5898074 roddy6667
roddy6667's picture

They are doing that now, swapping UST's for physical gold, copper, and other metal commodities.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:45 | 5897784 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

Stolen and reverse-engineered? The best stuff was sold by our best friend in the ME, our special indispensable ally.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:56 | 5897822 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

Well, that & Slick Willie... But for all practical purposes, we'd be talking about the same thing.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:26 | 5897720 Ghordius
Ghordius's picture

+1 sessinpo. meanwhile, many megacorps based in the US are funding themselves more and more with fresh bonds denominated in EUR, particularly for their european operations

"We are too much accustomed to attribute to a single cause that which is the product of several, and the majority of our controversies come from that." (Marcus Aurelius)

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:56 | 5898364 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill's picture

We've had this discussion before Ghordo.

Its what you are supposed to do.Matching liabilites in term and currency to the medium you

sell in.Lots of international companies are now selling in yuan direct, so should be

borrowing in yuan as well.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:58 | 5897622 BurningFuld
BurningFuld's picture

Not to worry people of North America. Canada's got you covered too.  And you thought Obama's Keystone XL decision was based on the environment.

http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2014/11/10/what_does_a_rmb_tradi...

Canada is the first place in the Americas to win the designation, giving Canadian companies a competitive edge over their U.S. rivals.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:07 | 5898418 MartyFlesh
MartyFlesh's picture

And there in Lies the one Safety Valve with Psychopaths, they always push things too far with Greed and Over Confidence and end up blowing up the whole show in the end :) Marty

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:03 | 5897642 f16hoser
f16hoser's picture

Obama Loves Dick! Tom, Dick and Harry too. What a Fag. You can add Michael (Michelle) to the list! Wink/Wink

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:17 | 5898699 ebear
ebear's picture

this is getting old

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:49 | 5897588 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

Why do you think the communists want war?

They want world domination.

By any means necessary.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:57 | 5897620 sessinpo
sessinpo's picture

Why do you think governments (politicians) want war? They want world domination by any means necessary.

---

Fixed it for you.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:41 | 5897770 Abitdodgie
Abitdodgie's picture

Communists , no you mean Nazi's they are the one's having another go.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:06 | 5897872 Oh regional Indian
Oh regional Indian's picture

Right you are Abit...it is that...some say Hillary and Merkel are the daughters of Hitler. A stretch indeed, but then again, is it?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:44 | 5897777 semperfi
semperfi's picture

We need a real good excuse to go to big war.  What US city is going to get "nuked by Putin and/or ISIS and/or Iran" ? 

NY?
LA?
Chi?

Or  maybe its Israels turn to take one for the team.

Jeruselum?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:01 | 5897845 Thirst Mutilator
Thirst Mutilator's picture

All 'SLUMS' Including Jeru-SLUM... [& you might as well toss in DC while you're at it]...

 

Which proves the old adage... "You can take [INSERT HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHIC INHABITANTS HERE], out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the [INSERT HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHIC INHABITANTS HERE]"

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:22 | 5898173 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

It's war, alright.   London is seeking to retain its title as THE European banking capital, and Frankfurt + Berlin are too dumb (too 'German', i.e. too  linear and predictable) to realize that they've been outsmarted and outfoxed by Bletchley Park once again.

London wants the CNY/RMB trade center for the EU, by moving first and leveraging its HK connection with China.  The Germans... well, they can keep supplying China with machine tools and Mfg. know-how, until China has sucked them dry.

London (and it's globalist banksters kabal) is up to its old tricks, using the same motivation for having created NATO: 1. Get China in, 2. keep Russia out (of EU) and 3. keep Germany down  (thanks, PIIGS!).  England/London and China/Beijing know a thing or two about Empire-building.  Germany/Berlin... not so much.  Keep working, Germans -- Arbeit macht frei!

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:31 | 5898238 847328_3527
847328_3527's picture

Arbeit makes my head hurt.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:03 | 5898403 teslaberry
teslaberry's picture

maybe this explains how actual nazi's --the bush family---somehow got control of the cia , killed jfk, and have secured ever greater influence at the very PEAK of the american empire. 

 

germans, americans , all that other bullshit is nonsense. the core people of POWER in germany are still there behind the scenes. their prodigy that survived ww2 through ratlines and other connections have thrived in the american empire and they know PLENTY about building empire. 

 

the peasantry all over the world is the same and just know nothing. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:52 | 5898346 HungryPorkChop
HungryPorkChop's picture

Economists Outlook: Beggar Thy Neighbor Policies and ability to export inflation only works for so long.  Looks like those abilities are slowly being evaporating along with all types of capital controls to protect against hot money. 

D.C.'s Outlook: It's still 1999 and and the parties not over yet.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:05 | 5897860 Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II's picture

Nothing surprising when you have a liar of this caliber :

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UErR7i2onW0

( Seriously, we should cry or laugh? )

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:01 | 5898125 The Wizard
The Wizard's picture

 Who do you think is controlling the game? It's stupid if you think Barry is responsible for this.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 17:06 | 5899706 Kaiser Wilhelm II
Kaiser Wilhelm II's picture

Don't worry about me, if I'm on ZH it means that I know who really controls the Game ;)

But there is something fascinating in this video : 

 

1- How Obozo can tell lies so naturally without any kind of shame.

 

2- How the sheeple yells and applauds when that b*stard literally throws sh*t on their faces with his lies.

 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:15 | 5898181 junction
junction's picture

Option 4: Unleash the Kraken

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:23 | 5898471 raywolf
raywolf's picture

OPTION 4 : Get Goldman's to crash the chinese economy..... SHORRRTTTTTTTTT

 

They already have expert experience in doing this very thing to the Euro....

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:27 | 5898487 Againstthelie
Againstthelie's picture

Barry is even a moderate one. What do you think would the Neocons with a direct muppet of theirs in the WH have done?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 15:11 | 5899260 pupton
pupton's picture

I get that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em might be the best option.  But - What if Option II is off the table because the other members (or China) don't want the US in their new club?  It seems like the thing has been established to enhance China's influence and reduce the US's.  Why would they want the US in there?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:31 | 5897541 Panic Mode
Panic Mode's picture

Plan B is war.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:37 | 5897553 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

Only if they depeg the currencies from USD. You can have all the 'independent' banks you want and still control them as long as their currencies are pegged against the USD directly or indirectly. Depegging is the declaration of war, bank creation is just sabre rattling.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:41 | 5897765 semperfi
semperfi's picture

Plan A is war.  Plan B is war.  Plan C is war........

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:24 | 5898476 raywolf
raywolf's picture

a few nukes will soon put paid to that pesky chink bank....

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:34 | 5897548 williambanzai7
williambanzai7's picture

 A positive force for the best governance practice...

Anyone who knows why Alibaba chose the NYSE over the HKSE knows what a farce this statement is.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:58 | 5897624 Mediocritas
Mediocritas's picture

Alibaba, the 41st thief, saying "open sesame" to get into the NYSE loot cave.

But who's Morgiana in this story? She's one scary bitch.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:10 | 5898431 teslaberry
teslaberry's picture

government is done by declaration. when you go to an asian investmeent bank, the facade of american 'merit based' capitalism is gone. 

 

and facade's are important. 

 

then again, america's malinvestment is americas priority and chinas' is china's. 

if america can't get its corrupt plans effectuated, why would it bother joining a chinese bank?

to save face? to play second fiddle? to spy?

they can do all of the above without showing up to 'participate' in a chinese bank. and they can do it even MORESO by simply jacking up interest rates very quickly. 

i agree with just about everyone that says this is impossible. but the fact is it's not. the fed CAN intentionally set off a lehman style crisis and just claim that it is necessary to jack up rates. 

 

sure sure we might be cutting off the chinese nose to spite the american face, but the potential fallout of money from china could be truly devastating. 

jack up american rates, markets crash in china hand over fist. wall street blows chunks. and when bonds are ass cheap, the fed goes in and just buys them all hand over fist. impossible you say? not really. just improbable.

 

the financial pain in europe and china would be unbelievable. japan's entire economy would simply die if the united states did this. particlarly if the u.s. temporarily raised tarrifs (which seems also , impossible) as a respite from its plans to expand internatoinal trade.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:26 | 5898482 raywolf
raywolf's picture

Yeah, drive the USD to the moon and put everyone out of business.... then buy up all their asset at 20 cents to the dollar, with strong dollars that everyone is desperate for.....

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:35 | 5897550 holdbuysell
holdbuysell's picture

"The United States does not have to be in every regional organization in the Asia Pacific; it is not in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization"

Umm, if I recall correctly, the SCO is by invite only, and the US was not invited.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:40 | 5897559 kowalli
kowalli's picture

and never will

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:43 | 5897567 Dewey Cheatum Howe
Dewey Cheatum Howe's picture

The One is pegged to the uSD so it is two so yes they are.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:51 | 5897595 reader2010
reader2010's picture

It is the USA that declined the invitation to be an observing member way back when it got started. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:38 | 5897554 lakecity55
lakecity55's picture

"My plan is working to perfection, Reggie. Soon, I will have destroyed the dollar."
"What will we use for money, Munchkins?"
"Rubles."

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:44 | 5897568 gatorengineer
gatorengineer's picture

cough, cough, have you noticed that in fact that they have destroyed every currency but the dollar?  China very soon will have no choice but to devalue 30% or so to stay competitive...  A very very different game is afoot, not sure what it is, but, its not destroy the dollar....

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:55 | 5897609 JohninMK
JohninMK's picture

There is another way of looking at that. Most currencies have remained in step apart from the dollar.

Could it be that its the dollar that is the odd man out and is the one in trouble?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:46 | 5897575 Usurious
Usurious's picture

the FRN started dying in 1913 when it was born, all by design......

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:58 | 5898108 StupidEarthlings
StupidEarthlings's picture

Usurious:

How anybody could down arrow your comment is beyond comprehension. 

A system of that design can ONLY fail.

Maybe not obvious to those folks at the time,  but in hindsight..yeah..its not hard to understand how it was doomed from the get go.

What amazes me is that some zh posters dont understand that. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:40 | 5897555 fremannx
fremannx's picture

Bottom line: this isn’t theory or conjecture anymore. Every shred of objective evidence suggests that the dollar’s dominance is coming to an end.

 

That's not quite right. The dollar has peaked in its juggernaut run in 2014 and will correct for a few weeks, maybe months. But the dollar's run is not over and it will resume its skyward ascent later this year...

 

http://www.globaldeflationnews.com/u-s-dollar-indexelliott-wave-update-f...

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:49 | 5898067 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

That's the Elliott Wave view, to be sure.  I'd question whether that sort of analysis has much bearing in a totallly politicized abstracted situation such as we see now, where market fundamentals are (at least temporarily) completely out of the picture.  When such political and sleigh-of-hand factors collapse, as they surely must, the reset to market fundamentals will be of tectonic proportions.  So the dollar may reach new highs, yet a wheelbarrow-full might not buy a loaf of bread.  In which case the chartists would be proven correct, yet the outcome doesn't mean what one might expect it to mean.

But hey.  If I knew anything for sure I wouldn't be blathering on The Hedge during working hours.  I'd be lounging in sun, blasted out of my gourd, scoping out the local poon.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:39 | 5897556 agstacks
agstacks's picture

If destroying America is his plan, is his policy really a failure? 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:45 | 5897574 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

Don't elevate the stooge above that of teleprompt reader.

But that doesn't diminish his guilt.

Hang the traitors.

There is more than 1.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:14 | 5897843 Bob
Bob's picture

That's my reaction as well.  Destroying the US--or at least reducing it to a shadow of its former self--has been the plan for a very long time.  Was creating tax and trade policies that explicitly supported killing the American working and middle classes not clue enough?

The plutocrats who run the DC shit show propagated via their mass media have no loyalty to any nation state whatsoever. 

Why we continue to view events through that old lens is beyond me. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:39 | 5897557 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

Got gold?

 

 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:02 | 5897636 sessinpo
sessinpo's picture

As it goes down like it has historically in the same situation.

I think I'd rather suggest, got guns, ammo and food.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:55 | 5897817 ZeroPoint
ZeroPoint's picture

So the answer to those questions is yes, yes, and yes. Many acres of land too with plenty of firewood.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:42 | 5897562 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

Another article of deception.

It's always been Plan A.

The Nephilim aren't very smart.

The magic of lies isn't working anymore.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:21 | 5897638 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

The Nephilim? What are you talking about? It appears you do not know what Nephilim are.

 

For any who care, the Nephilim are the giants spoken of in the Bible that were, supposedly, the offspring of angels and human women.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:55 | 5897814 cornfritter
cornfritter's picture

If I recall, the Isrealites were commanded to destroy them utterly, but did not.  Another story I read was tribe of Dan (serpant insignia) went on up and started interbreeding with them, hence your so called dragon blood lines today (Rothschilds, etc..).  I dunno if all that's actually true, rothschilds (bauers) claim davidic ancestory (as in ruth's child - not red shield).  None of it matters according to the Christ, for the chosenites were set on a level with the gentiles for their apostacy - which is why all this zio crap is nonsense and no Christian (or Jew) should be following anyone using murder, false weights and measures, and deception to plunder their way to empire - pronounced, UN and Central World Bank.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:03 | 5897844 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

You are wise, grasshopper.

I suppose it takes a Nephilim to know a Nephilim.

;)

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:49 | 5898331 basho
basho's picture

definitely a step backwards, wouldn't you say.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:31 | 5898754 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

The Nephilim were just "Space-Sailors gone wild", while on shore-leave on Earth.

The ship's Captain "L. O'Him" (get it?) was particularly pissed, when he learned that a bunch of earthling women were now pregnant.

BTW, they were "giants" because they were all 6'4"-6'8" and muscular, which is really big & tall when compared to the short and malnourished earth men. Some 'dark' angels were also deemed "giants" because they were well-hung and extra 'horny'.

/sarc

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:53 | 5898597 Anunnaki
Anunnaki's picture

Please do not slander the Nephilim. Better to read up on my favorite Jew: Zechariah Sitchen

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:43 | 5897565 buzzsaw99
buzzsaw99's picture

pure comedy:

the Obama administration, ...and pushed for higher lending standards.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:48 | 5897582 sudzee
sudzee's picture

US influence is the target of the Asian bank. I doubt the US will ever be "invited " to participate. Military threats will no longer back USD. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:48 | 5897585 css1971
css1971's picture

Yes American leaders are dicks, but the Chinese comunist party leadership are lunatics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KajRoR-EgAw

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:50 | 5897590 Smegley Wanxalot
Smegley Wanxalot's picture

The biggest "setback for the obama administration" is having a stupid-ass shitsucking braindead weasel like Barry anywhere near it.  That freak is a fucking idiot.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:56 | 5897614 JohninMK
JohninMK's picture

You don't think he is a decision maker do you? He is just the mouthpiece.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:45 | 5897786 Chauncey Gardener
Chauncey Gardener's picture

Vallery Jarrett and George Soros are the
puppet masters, doing the bidding of the
Rothschilds.

Coincidence that Putin has a death warrant
for both Soros and the Rothschilds now?

Think about that one, bitches.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:02 | 5898396 WillyGroper
WillyGroper's picture

link please.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:39 | 5898803 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

I swear that half of ZH is schizophrenic or bipolar...

On the one hand they bitch & moan about how bad the US is for being the World Bully, and that Obama is to blame even though China and the BRICS will bring balance (to the Farce).
US = Dominant = Bully --> Obama's fault.

And in the next breath...

They bitch & moan how bad Obama is for letting China get big & mighty, and for letting the US fall in dominance.
US not dominant = Obama's fault.

What a bunch of fucking lunatics!

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:51 | 5897594 localizer
localizer's picture
When even Canada and Australia don't listen to Obama diktat anymore things are not good at all...
Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:51 | 5897597 oudinot
oudinot's picture

.."advancing US ideals..."

WTF?

Come on really!!

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 08:55 | 5897607 jomama
jomama's picture

THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OFAILURE

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:03 | 5898130 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

I have to agree.  Obama may have screwed up nearly everything he's touched, but in matters of global economics, he's playing the hand he's been dealt with is The Hammer; The Beer Hand.  Unsuited 7-2 in the pocket.  Utter shite, completely dependent on the Flop and aware of the fact that just about everyone else at the table is probably in a better situation going forward.

That's the problem with leading an Empire in decline.  Even freakin' Marcus Aurelius, who might have been the most intelligent person ever to lead a global Empire, couldn't overcome the realities of decline; he spent his whole reign fighting, in the hope of breaking even.

My sympathies for Obama are muted to the point of being nonexistent, of course.  He got to where he is by saying one thing and gaining support, only to immediately reverse himself even before his first Inauguration.  People deserved the disappointment for having bought into his bullshit in the first place, of course.  In May of 2008, before he had even secured the nomination, I read that he was getting more money from Wall Street than either McCain or Clinton.  McCain I could sort of see; but Clinton was not only the sitting Senator from NY, but the spouse of perhaps the most Finance-complicit President in US history to that point.  Those of us who could see the looming collapse in May of 2008 were in the distinct and unfavored minority at the time, but that tidbit told me Wall Street knew what was coming and had purchased their way out.  As proved to be the case.  Obama's subsequent promise in October of 2008, along with McCain, that either one would, if elected, appoint on Timothy F. Geithner to be Secretary of the Treasury was the most blatant "tell," and his appointment of Rahm Emmanuel to be his Chief of Staff, Hilary Clinton to be his Secretary of State; that just completed the picture already outlined.

Obama's been steadily doing what he was put there to do, in workmanlike fashion.  It isn't "to destroy America," either.  It's to protect the interests of the Empire and the power elite that controls and benefits it, through Finance and violence, with no other considerations.  I'm not at all certain he's failing at that task.  I've always considered Shackleton to have been a great leader as an Antarctic explorer, even though his expeditions were colossal failures.  He didn't lose a man, though he never got anywhere near where he was trying to get to.  Scott, on the other hand, got to the Pole and froze to death with his guys.  If that's success, you can keep it.

I don't see Obama as either Scott or Shackleton.  Obama is doing what he can to preserve the people who have paid him.  He's just a rent-a-thug, whether he's good at it or not, and you and I aren't the ones who have paid him.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:00 | 5897628 DutchBoy2015
DutchBoy2015's picture

Fuck the goddam Useless Snakes of Americunts.   

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:02 | 5897640 DutchBoy2015
DutchBoy2015's picture

Obomber, Killary, Jeb Bush,. Biden,  all RepubliCUNTS and Democraps and 99.9 percent of the USA govt and population are fucking nazi sons of bitches and think that Americunts are EXCEPTIONAL.    yes Exceptionally STUPID.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:03 | 5897645 headhunt
headhunt's picture

China has miles to go before they even resemble a 'reserve currency', to many communists and too little freedom.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:35 | 5897745 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

How do you explain growth in the number of RMB Hubs around the world?

They don't exist?

LOL.....

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:04 | 5897646 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

You are living in the times of the Great Deception.

We're way passed Recessions and Depressions.

It's the Highway to Hell, folks.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:06 | 5897652 Let The Wurlitz...
Let The Wurlitzer Play's picture

Lets pray the World Bank collapses and Barrys ego keeps us out of AIIB.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:09 | 5897658 dariomilano
dariomilano's picture

so why the dollar is strong these days?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:26 | 5897719 Hubbs
Hubbs's picture

aircraft carriers

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:52 | 5897803 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

There are two types of naval vessel - submarines and targets.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:29 | 5898230 tumblemore
tumblemore's picture

Turn the question round - why are the other main currencies so incredibly weak?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:47 | 5898836 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

Look at EU bond yields and the interest rates at EU banks.
That, plus they are falling for the Fed head-fake of raising its rates "soon".

Put the two together, add a dash of Greek and Ukrainian seasoning, some Muslim spice in France, and you get "flight of capital".

IOW... "Least dirty designer shirt", guarded by plenty of big body guards.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:09 | 5897659 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

OGolfer read this in the paper and promptly launched a 75 yard worm burner off ladies tee #1

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:09 | 5897662 Michigander
Michigander's picture

What makes them think they would even allow the US to join? It was started to specifically get away from us.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:10 | 5897667 insanelysane
insanelysane's picture

I'm thinking Plan A is to blame Bush or Reagan or both.

That said, the US doesn't make anything anymore so what isn't part of the service economy is the financial services economy.  This is a way to destroy that sector since no one has been foolish enough to offshore it.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:14 | 5897677 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

What part of all fiat will die don't people understand?  Sorry, but I don't see any country in a hurry to back their currency with something fucking real.  Global Weimar bitchez...

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:20 | 5897698 nowhereman
nowhereman's picture

I stopped reading when I came to this line; "It would allow the United States a seat inside the tent where it could be both a positive force for best governance practices and an internal critic if things go awry."

In all seriousness, when was the last time The United States was a "positive force" or exhibited "best governance"?

Articles like this are propaganda pieces, and are meant to reinforce a long dead vision of what the US never was.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:24 | 5897713 Son of Captain Nemo
Son of Captain Nemo's picture

Ode to Johnny Couger

"When the walls come "tumblin" down

When the walls come tumblin... tumblin... Tumblin... tumblin...

Doooowwwwnnnnnnnn"....

Yeah... Yeah... Yeah...

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:31 | 5897733 ekm1
ekm1's picture

At the article clearly implies, Allies are working direct with Pentagon and Congress, bypassing the White House.

 

Neocons are back. Allies trust neocons and distruct bank lobby represented by Obama

 

Military winning

Bank lobby losing

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:52 | 5898869 Kirk2NCC1701
Kirk2NCC1701's picture

For a guy who's capable of good, clear insight on occasion, you sure are full of shit these days.

D'you go over to the Dark Side? Is trolling good money these days? I understand.... "a man's gotta live", no shame in that. Just curious.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:31 | 5897735 Hubbs
Hubbs's picture

Ultimate result could be decentralization if the new AIIB exposes the inherent corruption in this new found bank, which ultimately results in a fragmenation of all world banks -as the Western Banks are weakened, while at the same time the new Eastern Banks are unable to get their act together, with the caviat of who has the gold makes the rules. This potential fragmentation is  the very thing the globalists are trying to prevent.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:33 | 5897740 Herdee
Herdee's picture

So,let Victoria Nuland's right-wing State Department spend billions in Ukraine.The U.S. was revealed and actually planned a scorched earth policy across Ukraine.The Europeans said back to the Americans"Are you out of you godamn minds!"The EU knows that these trade agreements that China and Russia have outside of the U.S. Dollar system have the largest portion of the world's population in them.In order for EU products to arrive in China two weeks early,they have to go by rail through Russia.China is also the biggest long term leaser of farmland in Ukraine.Listen for yourself,Jim Willie has a good track record.U.S. foreign policy whether its Afghanistan,Libya, Ukraine,you name it worldwide,Obama and his dick-sucker Nuland are F'n morons...

http://www.goldenjackass.com/main5.html

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:35 | 5897749 arby63
arby63's picture

An option we should take is to say fuck it. Let's re-build our manufacturing base and turn a little more insular for the next 50 years. 

 

That would make the world take notice. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:42 | 5897762 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

But that's so anti-communist.

So anti-UN.

So anti-globalist.

You're a trouble maker.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:51 | 5897798 Chauncey Gardener
Chauncey Gardener's picture

And, anti-union. Until the unions are crushed
like the cockroaches they are, we won't be
rebuilding our manufacturing base anytime
soon.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:56 | 5897823 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

You really believe unions are responsible for the deindustrialization of America?

Why? Because the middle class wants too much?

Are you against the existence of unions, the middle class, or both?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 10:12 | 5897912 Augustus
Augustus's picture

Unions don't represent the middle class.  Unions are parasites bleeding the middle class.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:05 | 5898138 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

There are certainly those who believe that tradespeople don't deserve to be in the Middle Class.  And that view has gotten its way in the past several decades, with the results we see all around us.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:31 | 5898210 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

There are many professionals who think they've moved to a higher class.

But when you factor in the cost of living, $150k isn't lower upper class.

Especially if that $150k is all W-2 wages and not portfolio income.

Wake up fools.

You think your pensions are safe?

LOLOLOL.....................

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:45 | 5898311 basho
basho's picture

professional a**holes, wouldn't even know how to unstop a sink drain.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 12:59 | 5898618 arby63
arby63's picture

The way things are going, $150K with a small family is necessary: Whether it's two incomes or one! We all know that it's very often two incomes at work to achieve a necessary balance and your head above water.

I know that my health insurance has skyrocketed so much it's killing me. I just pay it late each month on purpose. There are many forces at work I cannot seem to describe.

On the one hand, the necessities are inflating rapidly. Other items are under extreme cost pressure and seem stablized with much lower quality and/or quantity.

I don't even know what's going on anymore with this economy. I am self-employed and I see my customers bitching and moaning about every penny. I also see more frustrated people now than ever before. 

Anger is what I see and it's what I get out of most customers. They aren't angry with me but simply angry with life. 

The FED has RUINED this country.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 13:28 | 5898742 swmnguy
swmnguy's picture

You guys are all correct.  I just turned in my tax info yesterday to my accountant.  I'm self-employed and my wife does an actually useful job (Special Ed Assistant, taking care of the booming population of severely autistic kids) so she gets paid squat.

We have two kids and we live beneath our means in Minneapolis, which is about as cheaply as one can do it in any urban area of size.  That still requires combined $125k gross, and "living largely" is not how we do it.  We both grew up very poor and got the hang of it.  We also were at an impressionable age when Watergate and Viet Nam penetrated the national consciousness, so we've never believed what we were being told and promised in the first place.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:27 | 5898183 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

I don't know if you've noticed, but no one represents the middle anymore.

Their voices have been successfully silenced.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:21 | 5898194 farflungstar
farflungstar's picture

I beg to differ.

Why should the men and women who built this country and continue to maintain it have to do so on the cheap? The roadbuilders union helped my dad, a hardworker with little education drive a fucking dumptruck and asphalt spreader for a living and he was able to buy a house and raise his family, thanks to the efforts of the union to keep mgmt. from fucking the workers over. Thanks to the union my mom was able to STAY HOME and raise me and my brothers, instead of us being raised by strangers or the TV. Not everyone can be a stock market whiz, financial guru or paper-shuffling prick yuppie, so they suffer thru lives of penury and near poverty for the sake of the bosses? Fuck that. This guy would be happier bringing in illegal beaners on the cheap and paying them $10 an hour - a real American who cares about the prosperity of Americans, right?

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:22 | 5898195 farflungstar
farflungstar's picture

.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:43 | 5898306 basho
basho's picture

another dumb f*ck. meet chauncey.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:42 | 5898303 basho
basho's picture

'anti-union'. you must be very young and/or very stupid. or a modern day zombie. read a bit of history you dumb f*ck.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 11:40 | 5898290 basho
basho's picture

bravo, hurry up before CA dries out completely.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:38 | 5897754 p00k1e
p00k1e's picture

Europeans are weaklings.     They’ll come crawling back after a few bombing campaigns kill 25,000,000 of them.

Paris ain’t occupied for nothing. 

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:40 | 5897761 Lmo Mutton
Lmo Mutton's picture

"'pivot to Asia' appears to be Plan B for Europe"

or plan A made to look like plan B.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:44 | 5897780 Chuck Knoblauch
Chuck Knoblauch's picture

Good thinking.

You're smarter when you think for yourself.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:41 | 5897768 HowdyDoody
HowdyDoody's picture

The US has the best allies money can buy. Countries with economies deliberately trashed by the banksters can no longer afford the fee.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 09:43 | 5897775 ChacoFunFact
ChacoFunFact's picture

All going as planned, driving the hares toward the trap.  Its all just more central banking, just the red flavor.  Smoke and mirrors and we are all falling for it.

Tue, 03/17/2015 - 15:02 | 5899217 Icelandicsaga.....
Icelandicsaga...............................................'s picture

Part of global reset .. that is what I am thinking .. the goal is to integrate regional systems ... the USSA has to be ground down the most in order to comply with the reset . you will wake up some morning to discover USD is worth half or more of what it was the night before .. they will either do a basket of currencie and tell he US if you want to play .. you have to give up certain soverieng rights.. if I am ove thinking this .. sorry .. but my gut tells me this entire change over by he other than US West is part of the bigger plan. Tme will tell.

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