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France lashes out against US dollar, calls for ‘rebalancing’ of world currencies

That banks were packaging up crappy loans that would never be repaid and selling them amongst each other to such an incredible degree that they were all trading in Monopoly money, essentially, and basing their asset reports on giant piles of Monopoly money. And using those asset lists as a basis for more lending.

and thanks to some wonderful deregulating, they were allowed to substitute your actual savings account dollars with Monopoly money if **** hit the fan. So the people they owed Monopoly money to would get your dollars in a bankruptcy, and you would get bailed out by the FDIC. If the FDIC had money, anyway, which it didn't.

Oh, I know the business they were doing in detail. It is just that I don't remember it was a French bank or their government that resisted it or whatever EUPete said. One could make the point that maybe it was the head of CDS at Deutsche, but the French?
 
'The French government wants to break the monopoly the dollar has on international transactions after the country’s largest bank, BNP Paribas, was slapped with a record $9 billion fine and a 1-year dollar trading ban.

Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, called for a “rebalancing” of the currencies used for global payments, saying the BNP Paribas case should “make us realize the necessity of using a variety of currencies” the Financial Times reports.

“We [Europeans] are selling to ourselves in dollars, for instance when we sell planes. Is that necessary? I don’t think so. I think a rebalancing is possible and necessary, not just regarding the euro, but also for the big currencies of the emerging countries, which account for more and more of global trade,” the finance minister told the FT at a conference over the weekend.

France wants to bring the euro to greater prominence in international trade. Sapin said he would raise the idea on Monday when he meets in Brussels with eurozone finance ministers.'


France lashes out against US dollar, calls for ?rebalancing? of world currencies ? RT Business



Is this the beginning of the end of the petrodollar?

Why do I have a feeling this is a question you have hopefully asked on multiple forums for years? In any event the answer, as always, is no. The hegemony or centrality of the dollar is safe for the foreseeable future.
 
This is bull**** from one end to another. BNP was the bank that outed the US subprime scandal, and this is payback. I can not believe that they actually got fined for doing business with freaking Cuba.. I fully understand that France and many others want to get rid of the US dollar, because of US abuses. This aint the first time this has happened... a few years ago, a Danish company buying Cuban cigars from Germany had their payment held by the US because for some reason the payment had to go through New York, and hence it "broke US sanctions".. wtf?

You know they were accused of far more than violations involving Cuba, right? The fine was so heavy because BNP was extremely unlucky at the timing of the investigation reaching its culmination. It came at a time when US prosecutors were being criticized for inaction against the big banks and when the US was keen to set a standard for sanctions violations after the conflict in Ukraine. BNP also didn't do the mea culpa that US prosecutors expect of companies and banks that are found guilty of major violations and instead continued their violations and tried to cover it up.
 
You know they were accused of far more than violations involving Cuba, right?

Yes and it is violations of US law, not international law or sanctions, let alone violation of French law. Hence the problem. The transactions went from Switzerland and France to the countries involved. This is BS case from start to finish.

The fine was so heavy because BNP was extremely unlucky at the timing of the investigation reaching its culmination.

Most likely but also because of who they are as I have said before.

It came at a time when US prosecutors were being criticized for inaction against the big banks and when the US was keen to set a standard for sanctions violations after the conflict in Ukraine. BNP also didn't do the mea culpa that US prosecutors expect of companies and banks that are found guilty of major violations and instead continued their violations and tried to cover it up.

Screw the US prosecutors. This is a French bank and should be prosecuted in France for any violations of international sanctions. Why is it that has not happened? Because they only broke US sanctions.. and THAT is the problem.

They have committed no crimes what so ever except in the US and because the US dollar is the world currency then the US law suddenly becomes a global law and that is simply unacceptable. It is not the first time this crap has happened and it has to stop.

This is why more and more countries want a new world currency, and the Euro is the obvious one to use.
 
Why do I have a feeling this is a question you have hopefully asked on multiple forums for years? In any event the answer, as always, is no. The hegemony or centrality of the dollar is safe for the foreseeable future.

Foreseeable future?

Well that's about as vague as it gets...but whatever.


Personally, I have no idea when the petrodollar will end...but I think it will end.
 
Yes and it is violations of US law, not international law or sanctions, let alone violation of French law. Hence the problem. The transactions went from Switzerland and France to the countries involved. This is BS case from start to finish.



Most likely but also because of who they are as I have said before.



Screw the US prosecutors. This is a French bank and should be prosecuted in France for any violations of international sanctions. Why is it that has not happened? Because they only broke US sanctions.. and THAT is the problem.

They have committed no crimes what so ever except in the US and because the US dollar is the world currency then the US law suddenly becomes a global law and that is simply unacceptable. It is not the first time this crap has happened and it has to stop.

This is why more and more countries want a new world currency, and the Euro is the obvious one to use.

'Screw US prosecutors.'

I like your style - and agree with your entire post.

Personally, America had better stop this nonsense or they will lose the petrodollar faster then they might otherwise.

America is not the only game in town anymore.

Personally, I think the reserve currency should be a basket of currencies.
 
I don't think the USD will ever lose its status as reserve currency. Libertarians have been predicting the "end of the petrodollar" for decades.
 
I don't think the USD will ever lose its status as reserve currency. Libertarians have been predicting the "end of the petrodollar" for decades.

Well it has already happened somewhat. For years now, the Euro has been ahead of the dollar in global payments according to SWIFT that is the official monitor of such things. Only this year did the dollar at least briefly retake the nr. 1 position. Right now, around 41.6% of world transactions are in dollars and 32.3% in Euros. A year ago that was flipped and had been so for a long while.
 
This is bull**** from one end to another. BNP was the bank that outed the US subprime scandal, and this is payback. I can not believe that they actually got fined for doing business with freaking Cuba.. I fully understand that France and many others want to get rid of the US dollar, because of US abuses. This aint the first time this has happened... a few years ago, a Danish company buying Cuban cigars from Germany had their payment held by the US because for some reason the payment had to go through New York, and hence it "broke US sanctions".. wtf?
If they don't want to go thru New York, they very simply should be trading in other currency. I don't think USA requires any transaction outside it's borders (or inside that I'm aware of) to utilize USD. Seems if they want to work against our sanctions,(which mostly imo are total bull**** doing more harm than good, but that's another topic) then they should do business in their own currency.
 
I read recently that the IMF has been suggesting to several countries that the USD should be replaced with their Special Drawing Right (SDR) as a currency intermediary. This is a smart move for the IMF as it would give them unprecedented monetary powers but it would also mean the doom for the USD as the worlds reserve currency and ultimately may spell disaster for the USD and our economy.

This with several other countries now making trade agreements outside the USD I believe is telling. The threads for the USD are beginning to unravel. I believe it will be an every growing trend around the world. Our deficit spending and currency overextending that so many seem to not have an issue with is exactly why the USD is losing its position in the world market.

I admit that part of me cannot wait for the day when the USD tanks so that I can see the look on the faces of all those that believe government spending and monetary policies are sustainable and that our government could never overspend. Sadly however I have to hope that moment never happens as it would devastate a lot of innocent people.

I agree... for those of us who have trying to argue limited government, sound fiscal policy, and a backed currency - we have had to endure being shouted down and thumbed at for all these years. Our warnings of course have fallen on deaf ears, and the Keynesians and fiat currency crowd have been partying it up - laughing that the music can't possibly stop.

Well, just as with what happened in the 1920's - the music will stop, and lot of people are going to suffer. Only this time, the crisis will much more devastating.

End of the Road - How Money Became Worthless is a good documentary that explains all of this - I highly recommend it.

 
If they don't want to go thru New York, they very simply should be trading in other currency. I don't think USA requires any transaction outside it's borders (or inside that I'm aware of) to utilize USD.

Oil, gas, and anything else traded on the New York and Chicago exchanges.

Seems if they want to work against our sanctions,(which mostly imo are total bull**** doing more harm than good, but that's another topic) then they should do business in their own currency.

The US dollar has been safe for decades and never been abused in this way until after the the naughties. Most people are not aware of the problem until it hits the media who rarely cover it. Look at the coverage of this whole case.. very few US media mention the fact that what these banks did, is not illegal outside the US..

It will take time to move from the dollar to alternatives and will require the major players other than the US to actively do this. That means Saudi Arabia, China and so on demanding payments in alternative currencies rather than dollars. If they start doing that, then that will become a massive problem for the US.
 
Oil, gas, and anything else traded on the New York and Chicago exchanges.



The US dollar has been safe for decades and never been abused in this way until after the the naughties. Most people are not aware of the problem until it hits the media who rarely cover it. Look at the coverage of this whole case.. very few US media mention the fact that what these banks did, is not illegal outside the US..

It will take time to move from the dollar to alternatives and will require the major players other than the US to actively do this. That means Saudi Arabia, China and so on demanding payments in alternative currencies rather than dollars. If they start doing that, then that will become a massive problem for the US.

NY and Chicago are not the only exchanges, so do it on a different exchange.

We abuse our own dollar, are you f'ing nuts, "never abuse in the is way", :roll:

I'm sorry, but I don't buy "it'll take time." It will only take time if people care to hold up the USA while they are transferring to other currency. We are way to computerized, and computer finances are way too easy to exchange currency, for any legitimate reason to use USD any longer than anyone wants to. Granted a global or even independent country moving all it's USDs to something else wouldn't be good for US, but oh well.

What I'm saying here is that BNP used the USD knowingly and with intent, therefore it's on them, not USA. Other options are available, complicated and frustrating as that may be, I doubt they used the usual exchanges for the transactions, so they should've also used other currency.
 
'The French government wants to break the monopoly the dollar has on international transactions after the country’s largest bank, BNP Paribas, was slapped with a record $9 billion fine and a 1-year dollar trading ban.

Michel Sapin, the French finance minister, called for a “rebalancing” of the currencies used for global payments, saying the BNP Paribas case should “make us realize the necessity of using a variety of currencies” the Financial Times reports.

“We [Europeans] are selling to ourselves in dollars, for instance when we sell planes. Is that necessary? I don’t think so. I think a rebalancing is possible and necessary, not just regarding the euro, but also for the big currencies of the emerging countries, which account for more and more of global trade,” the finance minister told the FT at a conference over the weekend.

France wants to bring the euro to greater prominence in international trade. Sapin said he would raise the idea on Monday when he meets in Brussels with eurozone finance ministers.'


France lashes out against US dollar, calls for ?rebalancing? of world currencies ? RT Business



Is this the beginning of the end of the petrodollar?

In related news, France has surrendered to the dollar. All of it's money will now be printed on white backgrounds. :mrgreen:
 
NY and Chicago are not the only exchanges, so do it on a different exchange.

Cant... it is called WTI crude for a reason :).. it is the world benchmark and is only traded in the US.

What I'm saying here is that BNP used the USD knowingly and with intent, therefore it's on them, not USA. Other options are available, complicated and frustrating as that may be, I doubt they used the usual exchanges for the transactions, so they should've also used other currency.

They used USD because the customers wanted that.

But look at it this way. A young man age 17 finds a nice 15 year old American girl who is on vacation in Italy/France/UK/random country and love happens. They sleep together. The parents find out when back in the US, and the find out the boy is coming for a visit.. and get him arrested for rape. Sex with a 15 year old is illegal in that US state, but it is not in the country where it happened. The boy gets 25 years for rape.

Now can you say that is fair?
 
Cant... it is called WTI crude for a reason :).. it is the world benchmark and is only traded in the US.



They used USD because the customers wanted that.

But look at it this way. A young man age 17 finds a nice 15 year old American girl who is on vacation in Italy/France/UK/random country and love happens. They sleep together. The parents find out when back in the US, and the find out the boy is coming for a visit.. and get him arrested for rape. Sex with a 15 year old is illegal in that US state, but it is not in the country where it happened. The boy gets 25 years for rape.

Now can you say that is fair?
Life isn't fair, so fairness has nothing to do with it.

Your analogy is ridiculous. Firstly 17 having sex with 15 isn't illegal in the US. Secondly, it'd be more akin to ... they fall in love and decide to have sex but the only way is to come to the USA to have that sex. Now IF it were illegal, which it isn't for 17 to 15yos, then it would be prosecutable because it happened in the USA.
 
Life isn't fair, so fairness has nothing to do with it.

Your analogy is ridiculous. Firstly 17 having sex with 15 isn't illegal in the US. Secondly, it'd be more akin to ... they fall in love and decide to have sex but the only way is to come to the USA to have that sex. Now IF it were illegal, which it isn't for 17 to 15yos, then it would be prosecutable because it happened in the USA.

I don't think you're understanding him. Does France use oil?

If the answer is yes, then they must deal in USD. Hence the term, petrol dollar. This fact in turn sets the dollar up (or used to) to be the only viable currency for fractional reserve banking. So any bank that engages in trading on the global market, does so in USD. Which used to be fine. But now we're using it to apply and enforce our laws outside our borders...imperialism.
 
I don't think you're understanding him. Does France use oil?

If the answer is yes, then they must deal in USD. Hence the term, petrol dollar. This fact in turn sets the dollar up (or used to) to be the only viable currency for fractional reserve banking. So any bank that engages in trading on the global market, does so in USD. Which used to be fine. But now we're using it to apply and enforce our laws outside our borders...imperialism.

My point is that if you're going to do black market trading, you shouldn't be using the regular market at all. I can't be more clear, avoid banks, avoid US banks, avoid US stockmarkets. If you can't do that, then abide by the rules or pay a huge fine.
 
Yes and it is violations of US law, not international law or sanctions, let alone violation of French law. Hence the problem. The transactions went from Switzerland and France to the countries involved. This is BS case from start to finish.



Most likely but also because of who they are as I have said before.



Screw the US prosecutors. This is a French bank and should be prosecuted in France for any violations of international sanctions. Why is it that has not happened? Because they only broke US sanctions.. and THAT is the problem.

They have committed no crimes what so ever except in the US and because the US dollar is the world currency then the US law suddenly becomes a global law and that is simply unacceptable. It is not the first time this crap has happened and it has to stop.

This is why more and more countries want a new world currency, and the Euro is the obvious one to use.

BNP Paribas, like other banks and institutions, made themselves subject to US laws when they set up shop in the United States. The transactions they provided were denominated in dollars which required that they be routed through Fedwire or through another US clearing network and were clearly subject to US law. The transactions may have originated offshore but they were cleared through New York. You can argue that the penalties are excessive but there is no realistic avenue for arguing that they aren't legal. BNP knew what it was doing and it paid the price for how poorly it handled the US prosecutors.
 
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