Word: bankes
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...been throughout the world, from North Korean souvenir shops to Ethiopian bazaars, for the past six decades. Government officials measure the health of national economies by how many dollars are stashed away in their central-bank vaults. The international prices of everything from crude oil to cocoa beans are denominated in dollars. The dollar is a universal medium of exchange because it is liquid, readily available and backed by the largest economy in the world. There has been little reason for global commerce to function any other way. (See pictures of the global financial crisis...
...Until now. As the world reels from the worst recession since the 1930s - a recession triggered by faulty U.S. economic stewardship - a vociferous chorus of critics is calling for a coup to topple King Dollar. In late March, Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of China's central bank, said the global economy would be better off with a "supersovereign" reserve currency, in place of one issued by a specific nation - in other words, the dollar. "The frequency and increasing intensity of financial crises," Zhou said, "suggests the costs of such a system to the world may have exceeded its benefits." Zhou...
...limited incomes of the poor. The dollar-dominated system has also allowed the U.S. to finance its budget and trade deficits at a low cost, which perpetuated the global imbalances that contributed to the current economic crisis. A system like the one proposed by Beijing, argues Deutsche Bank economist Jun Ma, would make it possible "for China and many other countries to avoid being victims of the systemic risks generated by domestic economic problems and policy mistakes in issuing countries of major reserve currencies...
...what would take the greenback's place? Economists say that China's suggestion of turning to SDRs might be viable, since SDRs are already considered a core part of central-bank reserves. But global traders would have to begin denominating transactions in SDRs instead of dollars, and there is no sign of that happening anytime soon. Portes of the London Business School says using SDRs as the top international currency is "not impossible," but he adds that "the fundamental problem is that the issuer of the [international] currency also has to be the lender of last resort. The IMF does...
...budget, stimulus package, and bank bailout assumptions for employment and revenue are no longer right, the government's pot for solving the nation's economic problems is already light. The Administration's forecast is that unemployment will average 8.1% this year and 7.9% next year. The CBO estimates are a bit higher. Based on where unemployment stands now and where it will likely be at mid-year, none of those numbers is even remotely realistic. (See pictures of the Top 10 scared traders...