Where's The Us$ Heading To ?

[swain]

Destiny

Stephen Jarislowsky, a billionaire money manager and investor the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail bills as the Canadian Warren Buffet, has told a parliamentary committee Canada and the United States both should abandon their national dollar currencies and move to a regional North American currency as soon as possible. "

[LaoPo]

Destiny

Stephen Jarislowsky, a billionaire money manager and investor the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail bills as the Canadian Warren Buffet, has told a parliamentary committee Canada and the United States both should abandon their national dollar currencies and move to a regional North American currency as soon as possible. "

Hmmmm...don't think so. Canada doesn't want to be a 2nd grade province of the US and abandon their own economical and currency policies.

He said that in November 2007. He thinks that the Can $ is too expensive versus the US $ and that it should be 0,80 cents to the US $. He also claims that the entire forest industry is going into bankruptcy if nothing happens.

On the other hand he doesn't speak about the enormous oil-sands reserves in Alberta and now also (but hardly talked about) in Saskatchewan, the neighbor province of Alberta where the land prices are still very cheap in comparison with Alberta.

It is estimated that Saskatchewan has more than 60 Billion Barrels of oil in it's soil and with a better quality than Alberta oil.

I find it strange that Mr. Jarislowsky, one of the most clever business men in Canada, doesn't speak about this...

People like him never say anything (to the government) which couldn't benefit themselves.

So, what's the catch (for HIM) to have a North American currency ?

Also, I think over all, the Canadian economy is in a much better shape that the US and Canada will reject a NA currency; but, maybe a 'peg' is the solution, who knows in these interesting times ?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...even%2BChase%22

LaoPo

[teatree]

Destiny

Stephen Jarislowsky, a billionaire money manager and investor the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail bills as the Canadian Warren Buffet, has told a parliamentary committee Canada and the United States both should abandon their national dollar currencies and move to a regional North American currency as soon as possible. "

It's just a matter of time before the Amero is brought in, along with the North American Union. These will be pushed as part of a rescue package after the impending economic disaster has ripped through the US. How bad the crisis will be is still uncertain but the government is certainly preparing for the worst - google "Rule by fear or rule by law" co-written by an ex US congressman and published in The San Francisco Chronicle. Fema camps, martial law. Scary.

Edited March 17, 2008 by teatree

[LaoPo]

................ How bad the crisis will be is still uncertain but the government is certainly preparing for the worst - google "Rule by fear or rule by law" co-written by an ex US congressman and published in The San Francisco Chronicle. Fema camps, martial law. Scary.

God forbid

"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."

- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943

Unfortunately, it's done since than...worldwide, day in day out, until today.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Pre-Market Wall Street Financial stocks show severe drops of -7.5% to -10% and more....

Bear Stearns (not surprisingly of course) pre-market = -90%.

Laopo

[LaoPo]

Unbelievable, but he -finally- admits:

Paulson admits U.S. economy in sharp decline

Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:10am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday described the economy as being in "sharp decline," the closest he has come yet to conceding an election-year recession has set in.

Appearing tired after a weekend of helping to broker a fire sale takeover of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns to keep it from outright collapse, Paulson pushed back against efforts to have him admit a recession was under way.

"There's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has turned down sharply. So to me much less important is the label that's placed on it today. Much more important is what we do about it," he told NBC's Today Show.

Paulson also appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" where he claimed the Bush administration's $152-billion fiscal stimulus program could generate hundreds of thousands of jobs once tax rebate checks begin flowing in May.

"It will start making a difference here in the second and third quarter, maybe adding 500,000 or more jobs," he said without elaborating about the sectors that might create jobs.

Checks of $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples are to start being issued on May 2.

Treasury officials, in cooperation with the Federal Reserve, worked nonstop last weekend to help engineer the $2-a-share takeover of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan as they sought to restore some stability to shell-shocked financial markets.

Fed policy-makers were meeting on Tuesday amid expectations their next step will be to slash interest rates by a whopping 1 percent to try to give the flagging U.S. economy a lift.

But the turbulence that persists in markets, analysts say, stems substantially from a loss of confidence that has made ordinary investors wary and threatens to become an outright credit crunch as banks and financial institutions become reluctant to make loans or to take risks.

Paulson insisted Treasury was "all over" the turbulence in capital markets and said he did not think Bear Stearns shareholders believe they have been bailed out by the Federal Reserve.

"The big focus on the part of all policy makers is to minimize the spillover to the real economy. We need to keep our capital markets stable, functioning well," Paulson told NBC.

He said he had great confidence in U.S. capital markets, saying they were resilient and flexible, but it would take some time to work through the turbulence.

The latest evidence on Tuesday pointed to continuing and extended problems for economic policy-makers. Government data showed so-called core wholesale prices, excluding food and energy, measured by the Producer Price Index climbed at the fastest pace in February in more than a year.

Construction starts on new houses declined another 0.6 percent and applications for building permits tumbled 7.8 percent in February, an indicator that the deterioration in the U.S. housing sector will continue to worsen for some time.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Andy Sullivan; Writing by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN...0080318?sp=true

LaoPo

[johnnyk]

Where's the US dollar headed to?

Here are some signposts on the road....

A Bankrupt Superpower

The Collapse of American Power

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

In his famous book, The Collapse of British Power (1972), Correlli Barnett reports that in the opening days of World War II Great Britain only had enough gold and foreign exchange to finance war expenditures for a few months. The British turned to the Americans to finance their ability to wage war. Barnett writes that this dependency signaled the end of British power.

From their inception, America's 21st century wars against Afghanistan and Iraq have been red ink wars financed by foreigners, principally the Chinese and Japanese, who purchase the US Treasury bonds that the US government issues to finance its red ink budgets.

The Bush administration forecasts a $410 billion federal budget deficit for this year, an indication that, as the US saving rate is approximately zero, the US is not only dependent on foreigners to finance its wars but also dependent on foreigners to finance part of the US government's domestic expenditures. Foreign borrowing is paying US government salaries--perhaps that of the President himself--or funding the expenditures of the various cabinet departments. Financially, the US is not an independent country.

The Bush administration's $410 billion deficit forecast is based on the unrealistic assumption of 2.7% GDP growth in 2008, whereas in actual fact the US economy has fallen into a recession that could be severe. There will be no 2.7% growth, and the actual deficit will be substantially larger than $410 billion.

Just as the government's budget is in disarray, so is the US dollar which continues to decline in value in relation to other currencies. The dollar is under pressure not only from budget deficits, but also from very large trade deficits and from inflation expectations resulting from the Federal Reserve's effort to stabilize the very troubled financial system with large injections of liquidity.

A troubled currency and financial system and large budget and trade deficits do not present an attractive face to creditors. Yet Washington in its hubris seems to believe that the US can forever rely on the Chinese, Japanese and Saudis to finance America's life beyond its means. Imagine the shock when the day arrives that a US Treasury auction of new debt instruments is not fully subscribed.

The US has squandered $500 billion dollars on a war that serves no American purpose. Moreover, the $500 billion is only the out-of-pocket costs. It does not include the replacement cost of the destroyed equipment, the future costs of care for veterans, the cost of the interests on the loans that have financed the war, or the lost US GDP from diverting scarce resources to war. Experts who are not part of the government's spin machine estimate the cost of the Iraq war to be as much as $3 trillion.

The Republican candidate for President said he would be content to continue the war for 100 years. With what resources? When America's creditors consider our behavior they see total fiscal irresponsibility. They see a deluded country that acts as if it is a privilege for foreigners to lend to it, and a deluded country that believes that foreigners will continue to accumulate US debt until the end of time.

The fact of the matter is that the US is bankrupt. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the US and head of the Government Accountability Office, in his December 17, 2007, report to the US Congress on the financial statements of the US government noted that "the federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and compliance with significant laws and regulations as of September 30, 2007." In everyday language, the US government cannot pass an audit.

Moreover, the GAO report pointed out that the accrued liabilities of the federal government "totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007." No funds have been set aside against this mind boggling liability.

Just so the reader understands, $53 trillion is $53,000 billion.

Frustrated by speaking to deaf ears, Walker recently resigned as head of the Government Accountability Office.

As of March 17, 2008, one Swiss franc is worth more than $1 dollar. In 1970, the exchange rate was 4.2 Swiss francs to the dollar. In 1970, $1 purchased 360 Japanese yen. Today $1 dollar purchases less than 100 yen.

If you were a creditor, would you want to hold debt in a currency that has such a poor record against the currency of a small island country that was nuked and defeated in WW II, or against a small landlocked European country that clings to its independence and is not a member of the EU?

Would you want to hold the debt of a country whose imports exceed its industrial production? According to the latest US statistics as reported in the February 28 issue of Manufacturing and Technology News, in 2007 imports were 14 percent of US GDP and US manufacturing comprised 12% of US GDP. A country whose imports exceed its industrial production cannot close its trade deficit by exporting more.

The dollar has even collapsed in value against the euro, the currency of a make-believe country that does not exist: the European Union. France, Germany, Italy, England and the other members of the EU still exist as sovereign nations. England even retains its own currency. Yet the euro hits new highs daily against the dollar.

Noam Chomsky recently wrote that America thinks that it owns the world. That is definitely the view of the neoconized Bush administration. But the fact of the matter is that the US owes the world. The US "superpower" cannot even finance its own domestic operations, much less its gratuitous wars except via the kindness of foreigners to lend it money that cannot be repaid.

The US will never repay the loans. The American economy has been devastated by offshoring, by foreign competition, and by the importation of foreigners on work visas, while it holds to a free trade ideology that benefits corporate fat cats and shareholders at the expense of American labor. The dollar is failing in its role as reserve currency and will soon be abandoned.

When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, the US will no longer be able to pay its bills by borrowing more from foreigners.

I sometimes wonder if the bankrupt "superpower" will be able to scrape together the resources to bring home the troops stationed in its hundreds of bases overseas, or whether they will just be abandoned.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

Edited March 18, 2008 by johnnyk

[LaoPo]

Where's the US dollar headed to?

Here are some signposts on the road....

A Bankrupt Superpower

The Collapse of American Power

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

In his famous book, The Collapse of British Power (1972), Correlli Barnett reports that in the opening days of World War II Great Britain only had enough gold and foreign exchange to finance war expenditures for a few months. The British turned to the Americans to finance their ability to wage war. Barnett writes that this dependency signaled the end of British power.

From their inception, America's 21st century wars against Afghanistan and Iraq have been red ink wars financed by foreigners, principally the Chinese and Japanese, who purchase the US Treasury bonds that the US government issues to finance its red ink budgets.

The Bush administration forecasts a $410 billion federal budget deficit for this year, an indication that, as the US saving rate is approximately zero, the US is not only dependent on foreigners to finance its wars but also dependent on foreigners to finance part of the US government's domestic expenditures. Foreign borrowing is paying US government salaries--perhaps that of the President himself--or funding the expenditures of the various cabinet departments. Financially, the US is not an independent country.

The Bush administration's $410 billion deficit forecast is based on the unrealistic assumption of 2.7% GDP growth in 2008, whereas in actual fact the US economy has fallen into a recession that could be severe. There will be no 2.7% growth, and the actual deficit will be substantially larger than $410 billion.

Just as the government's budget is in disarray, so is the US dollar which continues to decline in value in relation to other currencies. The dollar is under pressure not only from budget deficits, but also from very large trade deficits and from inflation expectations resulting from the Federal Reserve's effort to stabilize the very troubled financial system with large injections of liquidity.

A troubled currency and financial system and large budget and trade deficits do not present an attractive face to creditors. Yet Washington in its hubris seems to believe that the US can forever rely on the Chinese, Japanese and Saudis to finance America's life beyond its means. Imagine the shock when the day arrives that a US Treasury auction of new debt instruments is not fully subscribed.

The US has squandered $500 billion dollars on a war that serves no American purpose. Moreover, the $500 billion is only the out-of-pocket costs. It does not include the replacement cost of the destroyed equipment, the future costs of care for veterans, the cost of the interests on the loans that have financed the war, or the lost US GDP from diverting scarce resources to war. Experts who are not part of the government's spin machine estimate the cost of the Iraq war to be as much as $3 trillion.

The Republican candidate for President said he would be content to continue the war for 100 years. With what resources? When America's creditors consider our behavior they see total fiscal irresponsibility. They see a deluded country that acts as if it is a privilege for foreigners to lend to it, and a deluded country that believes that foreigners will continue to accumulate US debt until the end of time.

The fact of the matter is that the US is bankrupt. David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the US and head of the Government Accountability Office, in his December 17, 2007, report to the US Congress on the financial statements of the US government noted that "the federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting (including safeguarding assets) and compliance with significant laws and regulations as of September 30, 2007." In everyday language, the US government cannot pass an audit.

Moreover, the GAO report pointed out that the accrued liabilities of the federal government "totaled approximately $53 trillion as of September 30, 2007." No funds have been set aside against this mind boggling liability.

Just so the reader understands, $53 trillion is $53,000 billion.

Frustrated by speaking to deaf ears, Walker recently resigned as head of the Government Accountability Office.

As of March 17, 2008, one Swiss franc is worth more than $1 dollar. In 1970, the exchange rate was 4.2 Swiss francs to the dollar. In 1970, $1 purchased 360 Japanese yen. Today $1 dollar purchases less than 100 yen.

If you were a creditor, would you want to hold debt in a currency that has such a poor record against the currency of a small island country that was nuked and defeated in WW II, or against a small landlocked European country that clings to its independence and is not a member of the EU?

Would you want to hold the debt of a country whose imports exceed its industrial production? According to the latest US statistics as reported in the February 28 issue of Manufacturing and Technology News, in 2007 imports were 14 percent of US GDP and US manufacturing comprised 12% of US GDP. A country whose imports exceed its industrial production cannot close its trade deficit by exporting more.

The dollar has even collapsed in value against the euro, the currency of a make-believe country that does not exist: the European Union. France, Germany, Italy, England and the other members of the EU still exist as sovereign nations. England even retains its own currency. Yet the euro hits new highs daily against the dollar.

Noam Chomsky recently wrote that America thinks that it owns the world. That is definitely the view of the neoconized Bush administration. But the fact of the matter is that the US owes the world. The US "superpower" cannot even finance its own domestic operations, much less its gratuitous wars except via the kindness of foreigners to lend it money that cannot be repaid.

The US will never repay the loans. The American economy has been devastated by offshoring, by foreign competition, and by the importation of foreigners on work visas, while it holds to a free trade ideology that benefits corporate fat cats and shareholders at the expense of American labor. The dollar is failing in its role as reserve currency and will soon be abandoned.

When the dollar ceases to be the reserve currency, the US will no longer be able to pay its bills by borrowing more from foreigners.

I sometimes wonder if the bankrupt "superpower" will be able to scrape together the resources to bring home the troops stationed in its hundreds of bases overseas, or whether they will just be abandoned.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

Interesting but very shocking at the same time.

Can you provide a link please, johnnyk ?

LaoPo

[PeaceBlondie]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

[johnnyk]

Interesting but very shocking at the same time.

Can you provide a link please, johnnyk ?

LaoPo

LaoPo, here it is...

http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts03182008.html

[johnnyk]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

And one day people will say "no thanks" and stop picking up the IOUs.

Numerous countries have already started selling oil for euros having cottoned on that they were selling their finite resource for monopoly money.

[lannarebirth]

So, I'm the only one long the $USD Index? Maybe it's finally time to be a contrarian.

[Monroe]

So, I'm the only one long the $USD Index? Maybe it's finally time to be a contrarian.

I'm thinking there will be a time to go long on the USD. I wouldn't say now is that time, but it's coming up. That's assuming the Democrats get the office.

If you look at the records, the US has been in similar or worse situations during the last 100 years and it's pulled out and come back on top as soon after the liberals regain control.

Adjusted for inflation, Bush Jr. did to the economy what it took both his father and Reagan to do (not in a good way, either). The biggest problem I see here is that the US is falling while the rest of the western world is rising. In previous years, they were mutually screwed.

[AFKAFSinLOS]

....The biggest problem I see here is that the US is falling while the rest of the western world is rising. In previous years, they were mutually screwed.

Agree with that quote. The markets YTD haven't really differentiated this much yet, and been tarring a lot with the same brush, although a few escapees. On the other hand, the economic problems are largely for the US themselves. At some point people are going to realise they've been marking too many others down because of the US. As we're in Thailand for example, that's just one market gagging to get going.

One positive I think is that many Americans will emerge better people for it. The US politicians in particular will start to realise they aren't as important as they think they are or should be, and have less right to dictate to other countries how they should behave. This will help them reconcile with many of the countries they've alienated. All in all a more balanced world is on the horizon, with the power being less and less in a single nation.

[lannarebirth]

As far as I'm concerned there is only one major financial market on earth, and that is the $USD trade. Every other market is the other side, or bears some association to it. You can say those other currencies are better if you want, but the rality is, they just happen to be "not dollars", and that's good enough in the recent past.

[kangeroo]

For what its worth if you have good blue chip stocks that are going down at the moment hang on to them dont turn them into cash , if you can handle the stress that is . the US will recover and the people that hang on to there stocks will be rewarded .

I think the economy will be better of in years to come because of all of this .

Cheers

[VegasVic]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

Come on PB, all the U.S. has to do is run up the talley another 20 or 30 trillion and then decide to go isolationist and renig on the debt, end of problem I really don't mean to be flip, but I had to post something to counter JohnnyK and lao's doomsday propoganda! I just bought 6 beautiful N.Y. steaks at the market today for Easter weekend at $3.97/lb., now if that is what a weak dollar gets me then I am rooting for the EURO to go to $1.80/dollar. I am still waiting for all this inflation I hear so much about, but as of yet I still don't see it, as a matter of fact about the only thing that costs me more now than a year ago is gas, and that has just recently risen to around $3.15-$3.20/gallon here in AZ which by comparison to many countries in the world is still relatively low! Anyway, its good to see that lanna and a few others here still have a level head their eye on the prize. The markets will indeed digest everything that is happening and come out of it stronger than ever, and the dollar (I am kind of sad to say) will rebound and likely be in the low $1.30's vs. the Euro by years end. When you have the worlds largest economy like the U.S. does, it is far easier to deal with and get through an economic crisis than many other countries (to be left nameless) with smaller economies. Now I will let you guys and gals get back to discussing the end of the world as we know it or whatever doomsday scenario dejour is being passed around lately!

[LaoPo]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

Come on PB, all the U.S. has to do is run up the talley another 20 or 30 trillion and then decide to go isolationist and renig on the debt, end of problem I really don't mean to be flip, but I had to post something to counter JohnnyK and lao's doomsday propoganda! I just bought 6 beautiful N.Y. steaks at the market today for Easter weekend at $3.97/lb., now if that is what a weak dollar gets me then I am rooting for the EURO to go to $1.80/dollar. I am still waiting for all this inflation I hear so much about, but as of yet I still don't see it, as a matter of fact about the only thing that costs me more now than a year ago is gas, and that has just recently risen to around $3.15-$3.20/gallon here in AZ which by comparison to many countries in the world is still relatively low! Anyway, its good to see that lanna and a few others here still have a level head their eye on the prize. The markets will indeed digest everything that is happening and come out of it stronger than ever, and the dollar (I am kind of sad to say) will rebound and likely be in the low $1.30's vs. the Euro by years end. When you have the worlds largest economy like the U.S. does, it is far easier to deal with and get through an economic crisis than many other countries (to be left nameless) with smaller economies. Now I will let you guys and gals get back to discussing the end of the world as we know it or whatever doomsday scenario dejour is being passed around lately!

I feel relieved by the words of Professor Vic and happy the US is in a much better shape than Wall Street is trying to tell the world.

Of course GW said so already but I wasn't quite sure until I read Vic's words.

Bernanke can go home now; VegasVic's coming to town

If VV's comments weren't of such an ignorance it would be funny, but it's not, unfortunately.

Some people will not even listen to the most intelligent people in their own country and that's ignorance at it's finest.

Sad, very sad because the US is bankrupt because the US didn't save...it just spends and if other countries are no longer willing to buy more US Bonds, shares, companies and real estate, the system will collapse even deeper.

And, because the US is indeed, still, the largest economy in the world, the rest of the world will suffer too and Thailand is one of the countries which will suffer even more.

Tourism, investments, real estate will drop, big time.

But, I'm a propaganda doom sayer? I didn't create that financial mess in the US, so don't shoot the messenger, start shooting some financial whizzkids in your own country instead rewarding them with bags full of money.

Put some more guys behind bars like you did with Enron. Put some of those guys behind bars from Bear Stearns telling the world some 2 weeks ago all was fine and they had Billions in cash...right....

That's why Bear Stearns was Nationalized......(FED supplying JPMorgan with 30 Billion US$'s; so I can't find another word for it who in turn offered $ 2 for a stock that was worth $ 170 a year ago...

Oh, and your average 60 months gas price in AZ went from $ 1,50 to $ 3.28....so no inflation, right ?

Don't Bla-Bla anymore VV, without facts.

LaoPo

[steffi]

How long do you think it is before there's a run on the banks or capital controls are introduced?

I reckon it's got to be coming soon. I'm wondering if it's time to act soon or not.

[LaoPo]

How long do you think it is before there's a run on the banks or capital controls are introduced?

I reckon it's got to be coming soon. I'm wondering if it's time to act soon or not.

I don't know and suppose nobody knows.

But some people think it's NORMAL that Governments (UK and USA) Nationalize/help/supply deep rotten -almost bankrupt- Banks like Northern Rock (UK) and Bear Stearns, Countrywide, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac (the latter 3, Giants in mortgages in the US). But there are many and many more in trouble.

I tell you it's NOT normal; if those banks were ordinary companies the governments would let go and do nothing to help unless they were of National and/or Defense important interest.

They just do it to try and 'ease' the markets and try and fool the man in the street. Factually, the financial markets are in deep <deleted> and the mortgage system in the US was just an accelerator of a rotten system. The Credit card crisis will be next.

I'm not a doom sayer, I'm following financial/economy markets all over the world and there is a pattern, it's not an isolated problem here or there.

So many financials, banks and mortgage institutions have still hidden rotten assets they're trying to cover up....because the CEO's and CFO's on top are trying to hide their mistakes and bad 'buys' and decisions.

I don't know what you mean by "I'm wondering if it's time to act soon or not" but I wold stay mostly cash if I were you or at least spread your assets with 2 or 3 banks, rather than 1 bank, but that depends on your total assets of course and the (banking) laws in your own country.

LaoPo

[jumnien]

When the dollar is high one can assume it will fall, when it is low one can assume it will rise. I think the dollar is relatively low at the present moment. We'll all know in a few years from now. In the meantime, it's relax and take it easy. Don't worry and most of all - be happy!

[LaoPo]

Deutsche Bank strategists say: $ versus Euro likely to fall to 1.60...

Dollar's Fluctuations Force Whispers of `I' Word as G-7 Frets

By Gavin Finch

March 24 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time in 13 years, people who trade currencies say confidence in the markets to determine exchange rates is dwindling.

The crisis that may bring the so-called Group of Seven nations to coordinated intervention is the result of a sinking U.S. economy, the weakest dollar since 1971 and the biggest currency fluctuations this decade.

``The risks of coordinated intervention are going to increase in the second quarter for sure as the dollar weakens further,'' said Mitul Kotecha, head of foreign-exchange research in London at Calyon. The firm is the securities unit of Credit Agricole SA, France's second-biggest bank.

Even with the latest gain against the euro, strategists at Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt, the world's biggest currency trader, say the dollar is likely to fall to $1.60 versus Europe's common currency from $1.5447 on March 21 because of a recession. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the fourth-largest trader, says the risk of intervention is increasing and ``would become severe'' if the dollar depreciates below $1.60.

``The strength of the recent euro-dollar rally came as a surprise to many people, and such swift moves certainly raise the specter of coordinated central bank intervention,'' said Hans- Guenter Redeker, global head of currency strategy in London at BNP Paribas SA, the most accurate forecaster in a 2007 Bloomberg survey. ``As volatility rises, the likelihood of such an intervention increases.''

`Disorderly Movements'

After the Federal Reserve's U.S. Trade Weighted Major Currency Dollar Index declined to 69.2631 on March 18, the lowest in 37 years, Redeker said he sees parallels between now and 1995. That was last time central banks stepped in to arrest a slide in the greenback by purchasing and selling currencies to influence exchange rates.

The most obvious is implied volatility on options for the dollar, which rose to 14.5 percent last week, the same as in 1995 and up from the low this year of 9.62 percent on Feb. 26. Morgan Stanley is on ``intervention watch,'' Stephen Jen, the New York- based firm's head of foreign exchange research, said March 14.

The G-7, which comprises the U.S., U.K., Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, said Feb. 9 that ``excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates are undesirable.'' The group next meets April 12-13 in Washington.

Volkswagen Avoids U.S.

Finance ministers and central banks object to rising volatility because it complicates the assessment of economies, interferes with monetary policy and gives companies little time to adjust by cutting costs.

Peter Loescher, the chief executive officer of Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company, said March 4 the current level of the euro is ``not easy'' for the Munich-based company. Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, said March 3 that it won't sell its new Scirocco sports hatchback in the U.S. because of the dollar's decline.

The slump has accelerated since February, raising concern that international investors will avoid U.S. financial assets, making it harder for the Treasury to fund a growing budget deficit. Net sales of U.S. stocks and bonds by private foreign investors totaled $38.2 billion in January, the most since September, the Treasury Department said March 17.

While the dollar rose last week against the euro for the first time since the period ended Feb. 7, increasing 1.44 percent to $1.5448, it has fallen from $1.4365 on Jan. 22. It was little changed versus the yen, ending at 99.46. The dollar is below 100 yen for the first time since 1995.

Watch the Yuan

For clues to when officials may intervene, watch the euro's performance against the yuan, Adrian Schmidt, senior currency strategist in London at Royal Bank, said in a March 17 research report. The yuan fell to 11.2639 per euro last week, approaching its record low of 11.3076 in December 2004.

If the euro reaches a new high, ``the probability of coordinated intervention'' on the dollar ``certainly increases,'' Schmidt wrote. The bank's analysis also shows the dollar is as weak now versus the euro as it was at the end of 2004.

The comparison to 2004 is important, Royal Bank says, because central banks cut back on their euro-denominated reserves after a big increase in the fourth quarter of 2004 and a rally in Europe's common currency, setting the stage for the dollar to appreciate.

International Monetary Fund data show that official foreign exchange reserves denominated in the euro rose 0.9 percentage point in the final three months of 2004 to 26.4 percent. By the end of 2005, it fell to 24.1 percent, while the percentage for the dollar rose to 66.9 percent from 65.8 percent. The U.S. Dollar Index surged 12.8 percent that year, the biggest gain since it rose 13 percent in 1997.

Dollar Benefits

An effort to boost the dollar may not be imminent, according to Mansoor Mohi-Uddin, head of currency strategy at Zurich-based UBS AG, Europe's biggest bank.

The depreciating dollar has made U.S. goods cheaper to foreigners. Exports climbed to a record $148.2 billion in January, the Commerce Department said March 11. A strong euro may help the European Central Bank contain inflation, which is at a 14-year high. And the yen is still about 40 percent weaker than its 1995 peak on a trade-weighted basis.

``America, Japan and Europe all still have good reasons for now to eschew intervention,'' Mohi-Uddin said in a research report dated March 18.

The G-7 may find it politically difficult to support the dollar after lobbying China since 2000 to stop meddling in the foreign-exchange markets. China controls the yuan by buying foreign currency to limit the dollar's rise, a strategy which has led to accusations from the European Union and U.S. that it's keeping the currency undervalued.

Stepping Up Rhetoric

``We've had four years of G-7 policy makers encouraging China to intervene less, so its going to be a bit difficult for them to intervene themselves,'' said Jim O'Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the most profitable securities firm.

Policy makers have stepped up their rhetoric to break the dollar's slide. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said March 10 he's ``concerned'' by the euro's climb against the dollar, while European leaders meeting at an EU summit in Brussels on March 14 said ``disorderly'' currency moves are ``unwelcome.'' Japan's Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said March 18 the dollar's 9 percent decline in the previous four weeks was ``excessive.''

``I'm worried about the talk we continue to hear from European and Japanese politicians which suggests that they are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact the weak dollar is having on their economies,'' said Simon Derrick, head of currency strategy at Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in London. ``We may be heading toward coordinated intervention.''

Supporting the Euro

The G-7 hasn't acted together since September 2000, when they supported the euro after it dropped as low as 82.30 cents. The last time there was any action on the dollar was when it sank as low as 79.75 yen in 1995, sparking an 81 percent gain against Japan's currency the next three years.

The slumping dollar forced the Bank of Israel to buy foreign currency for the first time since 1997, it said March 13, causing the shekel to pull back from an 11-year high. Brazil's government imposed a tax on foreigners' purchases of local debt after the real appreciated 62 percent the past three years.

South Korean authorities will take preemptive measures if necessary to counter any ``drastic'' movements in the won, Vice Finance Minister Choi Joong Kyung said March 19.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

The Bear Stearns Roller Coaster:

Some people made a LOT of money...and some people LOST a lot of money.

BSC - Bear Stearns - shot up more than +90% today.

February 25: $ 86.00/share

March 17: it went down to $ 2.84/share

March 20: it went up to $ 5.96/share

March 24 -today- it went up +90%, still trading; at circa $ 11.30/share

JPMorgan offered $ 2/share (after receiving $ 30 BILLION from the FED (taxpayers' money...) but some shareholders weren't happy, so JPM offered $ 10/share instead.

What a mess in the US....it rhymes

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

Mea Culpa...I am sorry !

When I wrote +90% for Bear Stearns BSC in my previous post I was incorrect....

It's now +120%, less than one and a half hour later.

I should have bought 100.000 shares but I was in hospital... Well, you can't win 'em all.

LaoPo

[VegasVic]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

Come on PB, all the U.S. has to do is run up the talley another 20 or 30 trillion and then decide to go isolationist and renig on the debt, end of problem I really don't mean to be flip, but I had to post something to counter JohnnyK and lao's doomsday propoganda! I just bought 6 beautiful N.Y. steaks at the market today for Easter weekend at $3.97/lb., now if that is what a weak dollar gets me then I am rooting for the EURO to go to $1.80/dollar. I am still waiting for all this inflation I hear so much about, but as of yet I still don't see it, as a matter of fact about the only thing that costs me more now than a year ago is gas, and that has just recently risen to around $3.15-$3.20/gallon here in AZ which by comparison to many countries in the world is still relatively low! Anyway, its good to see that lanna and a few others here still have a level head their eye on the prize. The markets will indeed digest everything that is happening and come out of it stronger than ever, and the dollar (I am kind of sad to say) will rebound and likely be in the low $1.30's vs. the Euro by years end. When you have the worlds largest economy like the U.S. does, it is far easier to deal with and get through an economic crisis than many other countries (to be left nameless) with smaller economies. Now I will let you guys and gals get back to discussing the end of the world as we know it or whatever doomsday scenario dejour is being passed around lately!

I feel relieved by the words of Professor Vic and happy the US is in a much better shape than Wall Street is trying to tell the world.

Of course GW said so already but I wasn't quite sure until I read Vic's words.

Bernanke can go home now; VegasVic's coming to town

If VV's comments weren't of such an ignorance it would be funny, but it's not, unfortunately.

Some people will not even listen to the most intelligent people in their own country and that's ignorance at it's finest.

Sad, very sad because the US is bankrupt because the US didn't save...it just spends and if other countries are no longer willing to buy more US Bonds, shares, companies and real estate, the system will collapse even deeper.

And, because the US is indeed, still, the largest economy in the world, the rest of the world will suffer too and Thailand is one of the countries which will suffer even more.

Tourism, investments, real estate will drop, big time.

But, I'm a propaganda doom sayer? I didn't create that financial mess in the US, so don't shoot the messenger, start shooting some financial whizzkids in your own country instead rewarding them with bags full of money.

Put some more guys behind bars like you did with Enron. Put some of those guys behind bars from Bear Stearns telling the world some 2 weeks ago all was fine and they had Billions in cash...right....

That's why Bear Stearns was Nationalized......(FED supplying JPMorgan with 30 Billion US$'s; so I can't find another word for it who in turn offered $ 2 for a stock that was worth $ 170 a year ago...

Oh, and your average 60 months gas price in AZ went from $ 1,50 to $ 3.28....so no inflation, right ?

Don't Bla-Bla anymore VV, without facts.

LaoPo

I post facts regularly lao, you are the one with an agenda here and yoy constantly post propagandist articles or segments from articles that suit your slant. Its really sad that you waste so much of your time on your negative posting and its even more pathetic that when Bingo does the same thing you chastise him for it, now that post was one of your funniest posts yet! By the way I will be so good as to help you with your facts once again (this is getting bothersome though), the price of gas was considerably lower 5 years ago in Arizona just as it was all over the world, but it was more like $1.75/gallon if memory serves correct and currently it is $3.14/gallon (thats what I paid today), so that is a rise of around 75%, now when you consider that the U.S. has had very low inflation over that same time frame it is quite impressive ,even more impressive if you believe some of the posters here who claim that the U.S. has been printing dollars as fast as it can over that time frame(now wouldn't that lead to rampant inflation ). What you just can't seem to get a grasp of is that the weak dollar has had little or no effect on the average U.S. consumer, the price of steaks, wine, cheese, bread (OK bread has started to rise a little lately) spuds and many other staples have changed very little over the last 5 years, now of course the Americans who buy a foriegn car or travel to a foreign country or insist on buying French wine, I'm sure they are feeling the effects of a weak currency, but then again that's their choice! I think that when you see inflation rearing its head in europe and Thailand and roaring to alarming levels in many parts of mainland china, you think to yourself that the U.S. must have terrible inflation problem also, after all they have the weak currency and all that debt, well I am sorry that I can't help you there because like I said outside of paying a little more for gas most everyday items in the U.S. just are not rising. Try and chill out a little lao, you seem more defensive than usual OK one more confession before I leave you, real estate in most parts of the U.S. is also much more expensive now than 5 years ago so I guess that is an inflationary situation as well, but I hear that the real estate market is correcting so U.S. consumers might very well find themselves in a situation shortly where they can buy a house for only 50% more than it cost 5 years ago instead of 70-100% more than it cost 5 years ago By the way those steaks were fantastic, there's just nothing like good midwestern corn fed beef!

[LivinLOS]

By the way those steaks were fantastic, there's just nothing like good midwestern corn fed beef!

Seen the corn prices lately !!

[LaoPo]

The chief accountant for the USA federal government said, on his way out the door, that the real debt (liability) was $53,000,000,000,000 on 30/9/2007. That is not a 9 followed by six or nine zeroes, but a 53 followed by twelve zeroes. As the author of the article stated, none of the federal debt will ever be repaid. It will be refinanced and refinanced until judgment day.

Come on PB, all the U.S. has to do is run up the talley another 20 or 30 trillion and then decide to go isolationist and renig on the debt, end of problem I really don't mean to be flip, but I had to post something to counter JohnnyK and lao's doomsday propoganda! I just bought 6 beautiful N.Y. steaks at the market today for Easter weekend at $3.97/lb., now if that is what a weak dollar gets me then I am rooting for the EURO to go to $1.80/dollar. I am still waiting for all this inflation I hear so much about, but as of yet I still don't see it, as a matter of fact about the only thing that costs me more now than a year ago is gas, and that has just recently risen to around $3.15-$3.20/gallon here in AZ which by comparison to many countries in the world is still relatively low! Anyway, its good to see that lanna and a few others here still have a level head their eye on the prize. The markets will indeed digest everything that is happening and come out of it stronger than ever, and the dollar (I am kind of sad to say) will rebound and likely be in the low $1.30's vs. the Euro by years end. When you have the worlds largest economy like the U.S. does, it is far easier to deal with and get through an economic crisis than many other countries (to be left nameless) with smaller economies. Now I will let you guys and gals get back to discussing the end of the world as we know it or whatever doomsday scenario dejour is being passed around lately!

I feel relieved by the words of Professor Vic and happy the US is in a much better shape than Wall Street is trying to tell the world.

Of course GW said so already but I wasn't quite sure until I read Vic's words.

Bernanke can go home now; VegasVic's coming to town

If VV's comments weren't of such an ignorance it would be funny, but it's not, unfortunately.

Some people will not even listen to the most intelligent people in their own country and that's ignorance at it's finest.

Sad, very sad because the US is bankrupt because the US didn't save...it just spends and if other countries are no longer willing to buy more US Bonds, shares, companies and real estate, the system will collapse even deeper.

And, because the US is indeed, still, the largest economy in the world, the rest of the world will suffer too and Thailand is one of the countries which will suffer even more.

Tourism, investments, real estate will drop, big time.

But, I'm a propaganda doom sayer? I didn't create that financial mess in the US, so don't shoot the messenger, start shooting some financial whizzkids in your own country instead rewarding them with bags full of money.

Put some more guys behind bars like you did with Enron. Put some of those guys behind bars from Bear Stearns telling the world some 2 weeks ago all was fine and they had Billions in cash...right....

That's why Bear Stearns was Nationalized......(FED supplying JPMorgan with 30 Billion US$'s; so I can't find another word for it who in turn offered $ 2 for a stock that was worth $ 170 a year ago...

Oh, and your average 60 months gas price in AZ went from $ 1,50 to $ 3.28....so no inflation, right ?

Don't Bla-Bla anymore VV, without facts.

LaoPo

I post facts regularly lao, you are the one with an agenda here and yoy constantly post propagandist articles or segments from articles that suit your slant. Its really sad that you waste so much of your time on your negative posting and its even more pathetic that when Bingo does the same thing you chastise him for it, now that post was one of your funniest posts yet! By the way I will be so good as to help you with your facts once again (this is getting bothersome though), the price of gas was considerably lower 5 years ago in Arizona just as it was all over the world, but it was more like $1.75/gallon if memory serves correct and currently it is $3.14/gallon (thats what I paid today), so that is a rise of around 75%, now when you consider that the U.S. has had very low inflation over that same time frame it is quite impressive ,even more impressive if you believe some of the posters here who claim that the U.S. has been printing dollars as fast as it can over that time frame(now wouldn't that lead to rampant inflation ). What you just can't seem to get a grasp of is that the weak dollar has had little or no effect on the average U.S. consumer, the price of steaks, wine, cheese, bread (OK bread has started to rise a little lately) spuds and many other staples have changed very little over the last 5 years, now of course the Americans who buy a foriegn car or travel to a foreign country or insist on buying French wine, I'm sure they are feeling the effects of a weak currency, but then again that's their choice! I think that when you see inflation rearing its head in europe and Thailand and roaring to alarming levels in many parts of mainland china, you think to yourself that the U.S. must have terrible inflation problem also, after all they have the weak currency and all that debt, well I am sorry that I can't help you there because like I said outside of paying a little more for gas most everyday items in the U.S. just are not rising. Try and chill out a little lao, you seem more defensive than usual OK one more confession before I leave you, real estate in most parts of the U.S. is also much more expensive now than 5 years ago so I guess that is an inflationary situation as well, but I hear that the real estate market is correcting so U.S. consumers might very well find themselves in a situation shortly where they can buy a house for only 50% more than it cost 5 years ago instead of 70-100% more than it cost 5 years ago By the way those steaks were fantastic, there's just nothing like good midwestern corn fed beef!

From your own Gasbuddy Vic, at your service:

the RED is Arizona, the BLUE is US average.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24

Oh, don't yell at me if it's not correct; I'm just the messenger and didn't make the chart, ok?

And, for the rest of your message: It's good to hear your economy is in good shape.

LaoPo

[LaoPo]

The Bear Stearns Roller Coaster:

Some people made a LOT of money...and some people LOST a lot of money.

BSC - Bear Stearns - shot up more than +90% today.

February 25: $ 86.00/share

March 17: it went down to $ 2.84/share

March 20: it went up to $ 5.96/share

March 24 -today- it went up +90%, still trading; at circa $ 11.30/share

JPMorgan offered $ 2/share (after receiving $ 30 BILLION from the FED (taxpayers' money...) but some shareholders weren't happy, so JPM offered $ 10/share instead.

What a mess in the US....it rhymes

LaoPo

Cayne unloads entire stake in troubled Bear Stearns

Chairman sells more than $61 million in stock amid controversial acquisition

By John Letzing, MarketWatch

Last update: 7:22 p.m. EDT March 27, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Bear Stearns Cos. Chairman James Cayne sold $61.3 million in insider stock this week, his entire remaining stake, amid a controversial acquisition of the struggling investment firm by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., according to a regulatory filing.

Cayne and his wife sold two large blocks of more than 5.6 million Bear Stearns shares on Tuesday at $10.84, leaving them with no remaining shares, according to the filing.

Story continues here:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/cayn...D32F42AF99CC%7D

Note:

I advice interested readers to click on the above link and go to:

xxx Comments (view all) and read what American investors and insiders have to say about the scandalous heist going on with Bear Stearns....

I guarantee you...you will not believe your eyes...

And, that's just 1 company !

Oh, and I am attacked for being 'doom and gloom' and 'America-basher' ?

Instead, don't be angry with me, be angry with the sick system and greedy people. Where is the FBI report about the 14 Banks/Institutions ?

Yeah, right.

LaoPo

Edited March 28, 2008 by LaoPo

[LaoPo]

G-7 Signals Concern on Dollar's Slide, Weaker Growth

By Simon Kennedy and John Brinsley

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven nations signaled concern on the dollar's slide and said the global economic slowdown may worsen amid an ``entrenched'' credit squeeze.

``Since our last meeting, there have been at times sharp fluctuations in major currencies, and we are concerned about their possible implications for economic and financial stability,'' the G-7's finance ministers and central bankers said in a statement after talks in Washington yesterday.

The officials downgraded their outlook for the world economy from that of two months ago, blaming the U.S. housing recession, credit-market turmoil, commodity prices and inflation pressures. The dollar has lost 8 percent against the euro and 6 percent versus the yen since the G-7 last met in Tokyo in February.

``They ratcheted up the currency rhetoric a notch or so,'' said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in New York. ``They're trying to buy some time for the dollar.''

The new language was the first significant change in the G- 7's view of currencies since a February 2004 meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. The U.S. currency reached a record low of $1.5913 against the euro this week.

Monitoring Markets

``We continue to monitor exchange markets closely, and cooperate as appropriate,'' the G-7 said.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the change in the G-7 statement on currencies ``reflects market developments and changes in the markets.'' He also said he told the G-7 ``in very strong terms our commitment to a strong dollar.''

``They're trying to discreetly throw a lifeline to the dollar,'' said Sophia Drossos, a currency strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York, who used to help manage the Federal Reserve's foreign-exchange holdings. ``Had they not said anything, the dollar would have resumed its sell-off. This acknowledges there has been increased volatility.''

Policy makers laid out a 100-day plan to strengthen regulation of capital markets. They urged financial companies to ``fully'' disclose in their mid-year earnings reports their investments at risk of loss. Firms should also establish ``fair value estimates'' for the complex assets that investors have shunned and boost their capital as needed, the G-7 said.

`Entrenched' Turmoil

``The turmoil in global financial markets remains entrenched and more protracted than we had anticipated,'' the officials said in their statement. ``Near-term global economic prospects have weakened.''

The G-7 pledged to implement further monetary and fiscal policies ``as appropriate'' without giving details.

The officials met after the International Monetary Fund this week estimated a 25 percent chance of a global recession this year. A collapse in the market for U.S. subprime mortgages has pushed the U.S. toward its first contraction in seven years and prompted banks to shun lending after $245 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses since the start of 2007.

While the dollar's drop has helped support the U.S. economy by boosting exports, its acceleration triggered criticism from officials abroad worried that their own shipments may be hurt.

``We don't like the recent moves,'' Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads a group of counterparts from the euro area, told reporters in Washington. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the dollar's drop ``has been borne primarily by the Canadian dollar and also by the euro and the yen.''

Skepticism

The G-7 may fail to reverse the dollar's slump because there's no sign it's willing to intervene and the U.S. economy is weaker than its counterparts, said Samarjit Shankar, director of global strategy for the foreign exchange group at Bank of New York Mellon in Boston.

The Fed has tried to avert recession by cutting its benchmark interest rate 3 percentage points since August, yet the European Central Bank has left its unchanged at a six-year high of 4 percent amid inflation at a 16-year high.

``Growth differentials are still stacked up against the dollar and since there's no sign whatsoever that the group is about to intervene, that clears the way for further dollar weakness,'' said Shankar, who predicted the dollar will reach $1.60 per euro.

China's Yuan

The G-7 again urged China to allow ``accelerated appreciation'' in its currency, while acknowledging its recent rise through 7 per dollar for the first time since a fixed exchange rate ended in 2005.

The group pledged ``rapid implementation'' of recommendations from the Basel-based Financial Stability Forum published yesterday. The FSF report aims at increasing transparency and cooperation among international bank supervisors.

In the next 100 days, the G-7 demanded that regulators revise liquidity risk management rules, improve accounting standards for off-balance-sheet units and enhance guidance on how assets are fairly valued.

With the credit squeeze now in its ninth month, the G-7 highlighted ``downside risks'' to growth in a ``challenging and uncertain environment.''

Since the G-7 met in February, Bear Stearns Cos. was rescued by JPMorgan Chase & Co. with the help of the Fed, U.S. employers cut jobs for a third month and the price of oil and other commodities reached record highs.

`Very Tough'

``March was a very, very tough month,'' Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday. General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt said ``the last two weeks in March were a different world in financial services.''

Other than promising to ensure ``orderly'' financial markets, the central bankers and finance ministers stopped short of introducing new measures to boost liquidity, even as the cost of borrowing euros and dollars for three months holds at the highest since December. The group said previous efforts by some central banks to bolster liquidity were ``helping.''

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she hoped the warning from the Group of Seven nations against ``sharp fluctuations'' in currencies will strengthen the dollar.

``I hope this concerted wording on currencies will help,'' she said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington yesterday when asked how worried she was by the dollar's slide.

Bankers' Dinner

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government recently stepped up complaints that the euro's appreciation against the dollar is pushing France-based companies, including planemaker European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., to cut jobs at home and relocate some activities abroad.

Composed of the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the U.K. and Canada, the G-7 oversees two-thirds of the world economy. Its officials dined last night with 10 executives from financial companies, including Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann, Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld and Credit Suisse Group chief Brady Dougan.

---Bloomberg

LaoPo

[Naam]

Composed of the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the U.K. and Canada, the G-7 oversees two-thirds of the world economy. Its officials dined last night with 10 executives from financial companies, including Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann, Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld and Credit Suisse Group chief Brady Dougan.

fortunately none of my tax dollars/euros were used to pay for the dinner