Posts by "qiman"

The Fed's most visible hawk, Thomas Hoenig, the president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve bank, gave a speech laying out his preferred upward path for short-term interest rates that would have the federal funds rate rise from near-zero to 1% by the end of summer.

But Hoenig didn't stop there, detailing the next phases to get the funds rate to 4.5% in an orderly manner.


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/drumbeat-for-fed-rate-hike-gets-louder-2010-06-03

It most certainly is NOT sensationalism to pose this question, I've been posing it to myself over the last year! And though I have much education in international economics and international relations, I could see it going any number of ways, partially depending on the international situation. In other words, if there is severe international tension, say with a blow up in the Middle East or Far East or an energy crisis, this might cause the Euro zone to pull together more tightly, just as an arguing wife and husband pull together when a dangerous external threat appears. But I will be surprised if the monetary union survives in its current form, something will have to change. The biggest danger to European citizens is that the power of the ruling class/bureaucrats will become even stronger in order to hold it all together. If it were left up to a democratic vote in each country, starting with Germany, well . . .

Good arrticle in the wall street journal:

"So far during the euro's months-long descent, attention has been focused on hedge-fund selling of European assets but central banks and large managers have a much-larger influence on foreign-exchange markets. Even if they don't dump euro assets, a mere pause in their buying could weigh heavily on the currency..."

"South Korea's central bank, which has about $270 billion in foreign-currency reserves, among the biggest in the world, said this month that the euro zone's sovereign debt problems make the euro, used by 16 nations, less attractive as a reserve currency. Iran's central bank chief this week said that country may rethink its reserves, which the Central Intelligence Agency estimates around $81 billion. And Russia, with $400 billion in foreign-currency reserves, said it shifted its mix of reserves away from the euro last year."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704691304575254683361456058.html?mod=mktw

Shale Gas Will Rock the World-Wall Street Journal

"We've always known the potential of shale; we just didn't have the technology to get to it at a low enough cost. Now new techniques have driven down the price tagand set the stage for shale gas to become what will be the game-changing resource of the decade.

I have been studying the energy markets for 30 years, and I am convinced that shale gas will revolutionize the industryand change the worldin the coming decades. It will prevent the rise of any new cartels. It will alter geopolitics. And it will slow the transition to renewable energy."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303491304575187880596301668.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Yes, quite aware they are not a part of the Euro! Read this article regarding this issue:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/7696870/British-taxpayers-ordered-to-bail-out-euro.html