Word: dollarization
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...president's deadline is more vague. "By the end of this year," Obama said after Reid's announcement, adding, "I want it done by this fall." But in Washington there is considerable worry that a month-long recess in the company of constituents worried about trillion-dollar deficits could sap whatever momentum remains for sweeping reform. Obama warned legislators not to lose their steel. "Sometimes delays in Washington occur when people just don't want to do anything that they think might be controversial. You know what? That's not how America has made progress in the past...
...currency is used around the world is usually a function of how important its home country is to the global economy. During the 19th century, when the British Empire reigned supreme, the pound was the top international currency. Since World War II, that role has been played by the dollar, with the U.S. having by far the world's biggest economy. Now that China is rapidly charging up the list - it currently ranks third and could overtake Japan as No. 2 as soon as next year - there is good reason to believe the yuan could dash into the big league...
...found in world currency markets. The reason is Chinese policy. Government restrictions prevent the yuan from trading freely around the world or being fully convertible to other currencies in all financial transactions. The yuan's value is pegged to a basket of currencies likely dominated by the U.S. dollar and is permitted to change each day only within a narrow band. Under such limitations, China's dreams for the yuan cannot progress very far. (Read "Outlook for U.S. Dollar Darkens...
...from the same concerns as its calls for a new reserve currency. Greater use of the yuan in trade would improve the competitiveness of Chinese exporters by reducing transaction costs and currency risks. By internationalizing the yuan, says HSBC's Qu, China can also begin extricating itself from the "dollar trap," in which the country, through its trade, amasses giant surpluses of dollars, which forces it to invest in dollar assets. This is why China, which holds $805 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, is the U.S.'s largest creditor. But this dollar hoard makes China's national wealth vulnerable...
...there signs that China is ready to ditch the dollar. Derek Scissors, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center, points out that Chinese official holdings of U.S. Treasury bills have increased by 50% in the past 12 months, as China continues to invest its ever increasing stash of dollars. "Cheap talk aside, China is actually the biggest supporter of the dollar," says Scissors. "It has no choice." Don't expect to change those greenbacks for redbacks anytime soon...