Another rock aimed at the hornet's nest...

Bullypulpit

Senior Member
Jan 7, 2004
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Columbus, OH
<center><h1><a href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&refer=top_world_news&sid=aO.Rl7JwFWy8>When the world's richest man bets against the dollar, it's time to pay attention.</a></h1></center>

<blockquote><h2>Microsoft's Gates, World's Richest Man, Bets Against the Dollar</h2>

Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Gates, the world's richest person with a net worth of $46.6 billion, is betting against the U.S. dollar.

``I'm short the dollar,'' Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., told Charlie Rose in an interview in front of an audience of about 200 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ``The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down.''

Gates's comments reflect the same view as his friend Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has bet against the currency since 2002. Buffett said last week that the country's trade gap will probably further weaken the dollar, which fell 21 percent against a basket of six major currencies between January 2002 and the end of last year.

``It is a bit scary,'' Gates said. ``We're in uncharted territory when the world's reserve currency has so much outstanding debt.''

The U.S. is borrowing to finance record budget and trade deficits. Total U.S. government debt stood at $7.62 trillion as of Jan. 27, up 8.7 percent from a year earlier.</blockquote>

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are betting aginst the dollar. As Dubbyuh's ruinous economic polices and reckless foreign policies continue to drive up both the foreign trade and federal budget deficits, the dollar continues to slide. This despite rhetoric from John Snow that the Administration is taking action to strengthen the dollar.

With the US borrowing some $2 billion a day to finance it's debt, one can only wonder when the world markets will be saturated with US debt. <a href=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a0KBCVnb7Xmo&refer=top_world_news>Indications</a> are that this is already happening as China has cut its holdings of US debt as well as Russia. European <a href=http://www.businessreport.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=2384434>central banks</a> are drawing down their dollar holdings in favor of the euro and many asian central banks are aso drawing down their dollar holdings in favor of the basket of currencies reflecting foreign trade.

Yet our American Nero continues to fiddle. Dubbyuh does nothing...aside from making vague, reassuring noises that fewer and fewer people are willing to pay heed to. How long it takes for the bubble to burst remains to be seen. But when it does, those of us who aren't in that top 5% income bracket will be the one left to foot the bill.
 
Sir Evil said:
Damnit Bully, you can turn Bill Gates into a Bush thread after midnight on a Saturday and I just can't muster the energy to argue it! it was a plan wasn't it? :D

Unintended consequences old son! Sleep tight!:D
 
The only problem is that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have the ability to single-handedly move the market when they invest, because they have so much freakin' money. So if they are shorting the dollar, that move alone could weaken the dollar, regardless of actual market conditions.
 
gop_jeff said:
The only problem is that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have the ability to single-handedly move the market when they invest, because they have so much freakin' money. So if they are shorting the dollar, that move alone could weaken the dollar, regardless of actual market conditions.

Given the scope ot the federal budget deficit and the foreign trade deficit, any effect generated by Gates and Buffet would be a ripple at best. The problem is related to the policies of the Bush administration and its utter failure to deal with these issues in any meaningful manner.
 
An interesting note. Japan (the largest holder of US debt), China, and several european countries have started to revalue their holdings in european demoninated assests.
 

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