- Your history
-
Stories
- Krugman finds Belgium a good example
- US housing market moves in mysterious ways
- US Banks were also insolvent in the 80-ies and 90-ies
- Union Wallonne des Entreprises
- Typische beursweek...
- Transparantie leidt tot conflicten
- Theorie en praktijk
- The US goes European
- The Third Mandate and Stabilit
- The Nipponization of the US
- The next financial crisis
- The new green revolution that will feed the world
- The myth of the Chinese soft landing
- The Mouse-Trap
- The last bluefin tuna - part II
- The IMF true thoughts on the USA
- The IMF and Lady Luck
- The global famine for jobs... - update 2
- The Fed is steering with a faulty compass
- "The Fear Index"
- The father of inflation warns for... inflation
- The Copenhagen Wheel - a new biking experience
- The Chinese Copper "detour"
- The Bernanke critics are wrong ?
- The beaten generation
- Take your own destiny in hand
- Categories
- Tags
Veranderen westerse centrale banken hun (verliezende) goudtactiek?
Een onopgemerkt nieuws in al het gekrakeel rond jobs in de Verenigde Staten:Europese centrale banken hebben beslist hun goudverkopen bij te stellen.
Al jarenlang verkopen de centrale banken hun goudvoorraden om 'te diversifiëren' en te investeren in 'activa met een beter rendement', zoals (Amerikaans) schuldpapier en dergelijke meer.
Aan de andere zijde, aan de koperszijde, zitten centrale banken uit opkomende economieën. Vooral China, maar ook Rusland kopen massaal goud. Van de westerse landen is Japan als een van de enigen ook grote koper. Misschien heeft dat land al meer ervaring met financiële crisissen, en heeft het lessen getrokken.
De goudverkopen van westerse centrale banken gebeuren zonder veel discussie. Nochtans zou een evaluatie over deze strategie in het afgelopen decennium, en de opbrengsten ervan, het voorwerp mogen uitmaken van een publiek debat. De verandering van de monetaire stabiliteit die het kan teweegbrengen, is belangrijk genoeg om erover na te denken en te debatteren. Nu gebeuren deze belangrijke transacties zonder enige aandacht van pers of publiek. Eigenaardig voor een van de steunpijlers van het financiële systeem, iets waarvan tot voor kort nog werd gevreesd dat het zou imploderen...
12 Comments
-
Verheyden Koenraad
On 8 Aug, 2009
Neen, de centrale banken met uitzondering van UST/FED, veranderen hun goud-strategie, geenszins !
Alleen het demonetizatie-proces van monetair goud is nu sedert de euro-geboorte in een stroomversnelling gekomen.
Reden en doel : Het tot z'n juiste proporties terugbrengen van het $-systeem/regime/standaard...op een te konstrueren global level playing field.
Het is de ECB die de licentie hiervoor ontwikkelde door z'n goudreserve te "markeren aan marktprijs", ieder laatste dag van het kwartaal.
Wim Duisenberg verbrak uitdrukkelijk de link tussen euro en goud !
China demonetizeerde goud door het te liberalizeren in z'n middenrijk.
Enz...enz... -
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
I thought it was an agreement between world central banks... at least those issuing the major foreign reserve currencies
The ECB is just the latest signatory to the deal.
Notice the IMF is not a signatory... as all by itself it will sell more than the combined total quota of 400 tons.
That gold will go to those funding the IMF.
There is a lot of talk about China on this topic.
On the other hand Russia seems to pass between the raindrops on the subject. After all they hold a monopoly on the world's gold reserves. -
Nick Doms
On 8 Aug, 2009
China always seems to be a topic of conversation everywhere.
They are buying commodities where they can (oil from Venezuela and commodities from Brazil, Africa, Korea in their own currency BTW), including gold.
As for Russia, i agree that they always fly under the radar screen. Just look back at 2003. When the world was watching Iraq and Afghanistan, Putin and Medvedev were nationalizing the Russian natural gas business and it is predictable what that may mean for the future.
Sincerely, -
incognito
On 8 Aug, 2009
Nil nove sub sole. L'histoire se répète, etc. etc.:
1. "Why did the gold and silver of the West move (in the 16th/17th century) in only one direction toward the East? What was going on in Asia that led people to value precious metals more than the food, clothing, and home decoration that they shipped in such volume to Europeans?" the power of gold, bernstein, 170
2. In de jaren zestig en zeventig verkochten centrale banken ook massaal hun goud. Ze kochten het terug vanaf het einde van de jaren zeventig. -
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
@ Nick Doms
Nice piece you posted on the Crisis.
On the subject of China:
Mrs Clinton is working overtime in Africa at the moment, pulling all kinds of white rabbits out of her hat, in her efforts to stave off the Chinese. But I think AGOA has lost its luster. That kind of "free trade" agreement has had its time. -
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
@ Koen2
Nothing new under the sun...
Except it was the British Empire which was running all the trade in goods from China.
As they started feeling the pinch (in gold) they decided to hook the Chinese on opium from... Afghanistan (where else!), for which they demanded to be paid in gold.
The Chinese Emperor outlawed opium.
Next thing the British sent the Navy to protect their rights and revenues of trafficking illegal drugs.
Ever since NATO is fighting the good and just war in Afghanistan, opium production and trafficking has increased by triple digit folds and cocaine has become "commoditized" and is being sold even to school children all over Europe.
Even better, Norway is subsidizing its drug addicts with the help of its Sovereign Wealth Fund, money which in turn flows in from its "black gold".
Ah, the joys of trade balances!
Nobody sings "Money makes the World go round" anymore... -
incognito
On 8 Aug, 2009
Theo: I believe that was in the 19th century, but the gold flow to the east is even older than that.
-
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
@Koen
You can go as far back as 10 century BC if you want. China was the first place in the world to use gold as legal form of payment.
Gold was introduced to the Chinese (and the rest of the World) by the Thrace as they moved East and started trading with other people.
The "Order van het Gulden Vlies" might have been established in Brugge in 1430, but the actual origin of the term date back over 3000 years.
Large scale gold mining in China started during the Song Dynasty. -
Nick Doms
On 8 Aug, 2009
Wow, very impressive posts about history, and i mean this to all of you.
Maybe i'll just give a little contribution, which may be off topic a bit.
When the East Indian Company first sailed to China and India, they had to make a deal with warlords (or their Samurai) to transport opium along the rivers for their own benefit. In exchange they (the Dutch) were allowed to purchase tea and spices to bring back to Europe and sail under the protection of the warlords without the risk of being attacked.
Just my two cents.
Sincerely, -
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
Good two cents!
The smuggling was about something else though.
It was illegal to export the plants of the spices out of Asia.
But the competition between all of the "Company"s shareholders was very fears to do so.
Pierre Poivre was sent to Asia as a "missionary" by the French and even though he spent some time in jail and had his hand chopped off, he managed to smuggle out so many different types of plants that he started a 25 acre garden where he grew them and studied them... on the island of Mauritius, which at that time was French and on the sail road between Europe and Asia.
The French also stole sugar cane from India and started planting it in Mauritius, which was later continued by the British. Until 2 years ago the island still enjoyed "preferential treaty" for its sugar with the now EU at very inflated prices.
Poivre btw became a very famous botanist and wrote many books on horticulture across Asia. It's from reading one of them that Thomas Jefferson (while in Paris) got the idea of growing rice in the US.
Back in those days such things as sugar, salt and spices were worth more than gold to Western countries as they were battling growing city population and diseases.
Funny how some people now talk about the Asians wanting to steal "technology" from us. -
Nick Doms
On 8 Aug, 2009
@ Theo
Very interesting and you obviously know your history. Not only that, i think you put things into context very well.
I don't know about Thomas Jefferson and getting his idea to grow rice.
One thing i know is that rice was grown in Souh Carolina back in the early 18th century.
When Savannah was founded in 1733 and started trading with Europe, it was primarely cotton and rice.
When the first depression occured in 1829, due to a cotton disease which destroyed the entire cotton crop, the local merchants bought rice from SC to ship to Europe (at a tax and premium of course).
That is why we have the real Belgian cobblestones and bricks, but that is another story.
Sincerely, -
Theo
On 8 Aug, 2009
I forgot to mention it was upland or dry rice.
Sorry about that.
If you are interested, there is much more info compiled on the topic with references to the sources.
http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Rice
But do tell more about the Belgian cobblestones and bricks!
