Stick a Fork in it, The Dollar is Done

News junkies, currency buffs, and economists of an Austrian tilt have been having quite an entertaining few weeks. Between massive blizzards from Virginia to New England, another baseless Dollar rally, and the hilarious notion that a little Greek debt could unwind the Euro, there certainly has been plenty to talk about. These ‘black swan’ events are certainly becoming more and more commonplace these days; almost to the point where they can’t even be called black swans anymore. What would previously have been considered ridiculous is now normal, and what was normal is now considered ridiculous. Such is the way of things as empires unwind. Our circumstance today is no different.

The Dollar – The Ultimate Opportunist?

It should not be lost on even the most casual of observers that the US Dollar is dead. How can I say this when it is in the middle of yet another ‘rally’? And aren’t the folks in Washington telling us how strong the Dollar is more and more vapidly and with greater frequency? The fact of the matter here is that the Dollar has, for quite some time now, not been able to rally itself based on its own merits. Remember that currencies are essentially a zero-sum game. Their value is measured in terms of other currencies. One goes up, another must go down. Taking a look at recent Dollar rallies, they’ve happened essentially because bad things have happened in Euroland or elsewhere, whether it is the latest debt crisis with the PIGS (an unfortunate acronym, but who wants to be called a BRIC anyway?) or the massive liquidation of 2008. These were not exhibits of the Dollar’s strength, but rather of a mental model that still hasn’t adjusted to the fact that the Dollar’s run is over. Add to that the lack of an available substitute and voila – instant dollar ‘strength’. (more)