The US and UK imposed new restrictions on trading Russian aluminum, copper and nickel…in the latest bid to curb President Vladimir Putin’s ability to fund his war machine.     -Bloomberg, 4/14/24 According to the IMF, global currency reserves are at $7.1 trillion and 2.5 trillion euros now. These reserves are devalued at an annual rate of about 8 percent. Moreover, they can be confiscated or stolen any time if the United States dislikes something in the policy of the states involved. … According to analyst estimates, and this is an objective analysis, a conversion

For the moment, the only thing the convexity of net effective UST supply is good for is the USD.  Even gold and BTC will likely be sold.  In the not-too-distant future, UST yields will hit a rate that make it obvious to Mr. Market that the US government will default on its debt or Entitlements if the Fed does not engage in QE, YCC, or its functional equivalent.  Then gold, BTC, and likely oil will

The message will also mark an evolution for Yellen—and the end of a bygone era in U.S. economic thinking about China. Like other economists of her generation, Yellen, 77 years old, said the surge in Chinese exports at the start of the 21st century had seemed like a positive development, providing low-cost goods to global consumers. But the inexpensive exports also helped hollow out the U.S. manufacturing base in what became known as the China shock,