The Broader Meaning of Japan's Intervention to Prop Up the Dollar
• EconomicPolicyJournal.comIt is unclear what is behind this flight from the dollar. Mainstream media and the financial media do not yet seem to be aware of it. Their stories tend to be focused on the BOJ's intervention more than the bigger picture. But something big may...
So I guess the point is we don't know the broader meaning. Leaving room for pure speculation. Well we got China and Japan both intervening, both trying to prop up their export markets by weakening their currencies. So that much makes sense.
And these happen to be the two countries holding onto most of our debt. So if there really is a flight away from USD (which we've speculated could happen by almost any external event from storms to wars to another terrorist attack on US soil), the last thing China and Japan would want is a full on stampede because that would pretty much signal sovereign default OR hyperinflation. Either of which render their holdings of US debt worthless almost overnight.
Heck man, all it will really take is a RUMOR. Like the rumors that China and others are already dumping USD as fast as they can and buying gold with the money.
Continuing, early reports indicate that these actions (on the part of Japan) were done in coordination with their USA counterparts.
OH, REAAAAAAAAAALY? DO TELL US MORE! Do Messers Geitner and Bernanke have any comment? Nope. They are keeping mum about this deal.
I guess it's an important point as engaging in currency manipulation with agencies of foreign governments might just be outside the Fed's charter. Hey, it's might even be against some law or another. I'd want to shut up about it if I were them too.