Turning Hard Times Into Good Times

Alasdair Macleod, Michael Oliver & Michael Wood return. So far, sanctions have backfired on those described by Vladimir Putin as the unfriendly nations. It is setting in train a series of events likely to undermine the whole western financial system, as prices rise, driving interest rates higher and shrinking economic activity. These developments alone are leading to the contraction of bank credit, crashing stock markets and sharply higher bond yields. Last week, I wrote about the impact on the banking system and the likely consequences. Russia, China, and associated nations who depend upon them for trade and economic development are now moving to protect themselves from what is emerging as a full-scale systemic and fiat currency crisis for the dollar and the entire western financial system. These developments are hastening the end of the petrodollar era and the dollar’s role as a reserve currency. A central Asian replacement of the petrodollar is planned to be a new super-currency used for cross-border