The Split...
The other day, I wrote everything we hear about oil, markets, maybe war (?) all boils down to currency; the Americans need their dollar to be used to justify their power. I don’t know if it’s imperialism, world hegemony, market control, but they are losing power and it’s obvious. I figured it would be most apparent in the dichotomy between oil/stock market prices and the inflation narrative or interest rates.
Oil/stock prices would go DOWN to encourage people/countries/business to use the SWIFT mechanism—where all trade is done in American Dollars. And, today they did:
BUT Interest rates would go UP as the inflation narrative continues, and they are:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-bonds-tumble-after-feds-bullard-comments
(which is pretty much drawn from James Bullard and the St. Louis Fed: https://www.stlouisfed.org/-/media/project/frbstl/stlouisfed/files/pdfs/bullard/remarks/2022/nov/bullard-louisville-17-nov-2022.pdf?sc_lang=en&hash=4725A924300B1A6777E788822AF33277 (it’s a 34 page pdf. and I didn’t read it but Bloomberg had an article on it which I did, and can’t find anymore. The St. Louis Fed participates in the US Fed decisions)
The American interest rates need to increase to solicit investment in American banks because NO ONE wants to invest in their institutions. The Americans lost everyone’s trust when they stole Russia’s money. I don’t really understand how it all connects but sanctions prevent trade; they’re not supposed to take money. Both England and the US took money that wasn’t theirs.
It’s kind of like buying a beer on a tab, but paying the bartender for a beer after you’re cut off; he still cuts you off, but credits the money for the next visit’s beer. (The Russians were cut off but all their money stolen) So, keeping with analogy, who’s going to go to a bar again that steals money leftover on a tab? First thing that’s going to happen, NO ONE is going to set up a tab.
This is not rocket science.
People will still trade with Americans, but not for money, for their oil, but in a world market, American oil is too expensive when it has to compete with other countries and that means oil prices will go down. So, Americans end up in this contradictory situation of an inflation argument despite decreasing energy prices.
Canada is NOT in the same situation.
Instead, we have ridiculous arguments like being a free trade country but only trading with ‘special friends’ and having a the head of the Bank of Canada constantly proselytizing an inflation that isn’t there. (Don’t mistake that for not recognizing prices have gone up, companies are gouging; wages haven’t gone up despite a labour shortage, and should have—which makes inflation manageable, and illustrates the nonsense going on).
We are a commodity nation. And, importantly we have an educated, healthy work force—currently being blown up by knuckleheads who do not know what they are doing.
We should be in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization—if only for the logic of a larger market, more people to whom to sell.
I think we are governed by a lot of dilettantes with a media that criticizes other world leaders for THEIR maturity.