Friday, January 8, 2010

Currency Devaluation: First North Korea Now Venezuela

(AP:CARACAS, Venezuela) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced a currency devaluation for the first time since 2005.

Chavez says Venezuela's currency, the bolivar, will now have two government-set rates depending on the use, either 2.60 to the dollar for transactions deemed priorities by the government or 4.30 to the dollar for other transactions.

The currency's official exchange rate has been held steady by the government at 2.15 bolivars to the dollar since 2005.

Chavez also said Friday night that the government will intervene in the lucrative parallel bond market, where the bolivar has recently been fetching about one-third of the official rate. He did not give details about what actions the government would take.

15 comments:

  1. Dolar Devaluation anyone?

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  2. Reminds me of the way the Roman setup their currency system before they collapsed. Government gets paid in gold while the citizen deal with constantly devaluing currency

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  3. Slowly happening to the USA, while the sheep watch Dumbass Idol, their money is worth less and less everyday!

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  4. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/01/08/general-lt-venezuela-currency_7261582.html

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  5. Yeah, and forget about gold even a million dollars weighs about 80 lbs how you gonna lug that around when things get really bad and
    at some point they will , it always happens
    just when is the question , perhaps now??
    I don't know the answer to that,but when it does portable wealth will be the investment of choice, not real estate or anything paper we see what paper is
    worth any time there is a major crisis
    basically a fancy bathroom acccesory , just look at the peso or rouble or the roman experience or the bolivar, diamonds are the way a person or
    organization can put a fortune in a coffee cup
    and it isn't controlled by any government and
    it is a very very small market compared to the absolutely gigantic amount of paper floating around out there, furthermore
    it's really all just electronic entries, I worked the investment business for ten years
    and was always amused when someone actually
    brought in share certificates.
    Diamonds, precious stones and rare priceless art and artifacts, gold? hope you got a strong back and a big pistol,
    Oh yeah one other thing that will be worth something in that scenario , prayers to your creator, and that's not meant to be a joke.

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  6. All americans should have a little gold and
    some silver physical (coins)there is a need
    for other things too including cash. The PM
    people on here are not advocating all assets
    in PM.

    The following reality works like the beauty of
    cross multiplication and division to find an
    answer:

    China encourages its populace to own silver and
    gold (to safeguard their wealth against a US
    dollar caused crisis)

    USA discourages gold and silver ownership by
    limiting bullion coins, encouraging plated coins
    and the derogatory "goldbug" or "Dr Doom" terms
    (because they dont want the wealth of the middle
    class preserved and less work in the future if
    the devalue or confiscate)

    Know when to hold, know when to fold
    Know when to walk away, know when to run.

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  7. Those last 2lines are absolutly correct. There always has to be a demand before "something" can be worth "anything" an there are no laws written
    in stone that say Gold has to be worth anything.
    The world remembers when a pound of common table salt was the most expensive substance on earth - it's now 25 cents a pound. Intertwined with all we deem "worthy" is a sense of when to buy when to sell and when to run like hell & that applies
    to everything we buy, sell an trade worldwide. It's usually like clothes though - if you wait long enough -- it'll come back into fashion.

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  8. Ha! like the bearskin fashion??

    I'm not saying it's armageddon time and head for the hills with a bunch of precious rocks,
    but at the same time as the rich start being taxed more and the IRS is investigating numbered
    offshore accounts which is happening right "NOW" and the capital markets are seeing
    unprecedented volitality which is happening
    right "NOW" the list is a long one for the right "NOW" case, besides it's not a genuine market economy anyway , the Fed and the IMF
    and all the other players in the game have been
    pulling out every stop and then some to prevent
    a world wide finacial and I might add human catastrophy, you could see investors realize that it really is all just another Bernie Madoff
    to the power of the nth degree and all you would need is a small fraction of all that illusional
    wealth to get really shit in the pants scared
    and I can guarantee that, for what it's worth
    nobody of that mindset will want anything but portability of their wealth, it does not have to be the whole world coming to and end, just the perception of that by even a small fraction of the holders of that wealth.
    its more like
    You got to Know when they fold them
    and know when they hold them etc..

    what I think about anything makes no difference
    whatsoever it is what the big money thinks
    that makes all the difference

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  9. Chavez is also fighting to get out of the dollar and control from the US govt. He has enemies on his borders as well as his seas (the US) not to mention continual Jekyll's from the CIA attempting to assassinate him.
    Unfortunately, thanks to the US, it may be a long road to independence & recovery. He has signed pacts with Russia, Iran and China as well as several other SA countries that have eliminated US dominance in their countries or are in the process of kicking the US out of their countries, i.e Ecuador.

    Many SA countries are realizing or have realized the US dominance in Central and SA, and are attempting to form coalitions to oust the US. Countries like Columbia, Panama & Brazil are still under US influence. Columbia has been bribed to house thousands of US troops, no doubt to attack Venezuela, and it's huge oil resources. Chavez is readily aware of the US's attempts to set up a coup.

    Remember, any country with natural resources or strategic locations, the US will do everything to own it, in case you don't know this, look at Iraq, S Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Columbia, Panama, Mexico and many more. Read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" to learn more or study the REAL history of the United States and the genocide of the American Indians or the REAL history of the Spanish Inquisition.

    Of course, now, the question is how long can the US afford to continue its inquisitions? Probably not much longer, 2010 may be the year the dollar dies and the US looses it's world dominance.

    Of course, if you ask any of the sheep about this situation, no clue...

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  10. Well, the question you raise is a good one and I certainly wish I had the answer - but I fear no one does & we are just going to have to wait and see.
    I will say however; that every major world economy is pretty much in the same boat. All currencies are just Fiat monies based on paper nothing more.
    That being said - i am wondering if there is not
    a collaboration of these top economies to keep each other propped up; I mean Europe is swapping paper with us all the time - the paper shuffles just keep on getting bigger and bigger.
    So - if there is no one dominant "real" currency
    and they're all just feeding each other - what's to keep them all from just injecting whatever they need into all of them as needed - it's just blue smoke and mirrors anyway.

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  11. the US, China, Japan the EU. are all just governments ran by committees of well wishing
    but ultimately political persons, they all have
    a political agenda not a free market agenda
    and this is why we have to endure all these
    endless contortions to our plain common sense.
    The volatility in almost every financial vehicle and the mind numbing sums of money thrown at that problem says that most investors don't
    have a clue what those vehicles are worth
    and the money throwers don't either, but they don't care about that they just print some more
    and hope things settle down before re-election
    it's NOT a market focused approach to the problem it's a political approach to the problem, and I think that if markets of all
    types were truly market driven we would have a better less volitile system overall, put a
    individual earnings cap on any person on the planet at a reasonable and socially responsible limit and use that extra money to throw at the
    less fortunate. Like who needs a annual income of
    250,000,000 like Fuld at Lehman , he's a sick man right alongside Madoff and a whole bunch of others. As for the empire building designs of
    the US or any other nation for that matter
    it's all just bunk , look at the Roman Empire , what about the jolly old British, Spain,
    Portugal,the German attempt, Russia ,Iraq was the center of civilization at one time it doesn't ever last and to me that is as obvious as the seasons, but I guess you can't knock someone for trying, but why?? why not just construct a civilized socially responsible market place and let everyone have a decent life and if things get a bit wonky with pricing
    have the well wishers throw some money at those
    who are affected and then maybe the real power hungry greedy guys won't like it and build a spaceship to Mars so they can continue
    cheating and abusing each other , I would like that and so would they I bet.
    but in the mean time diamonds is were they will
    more than likely go if this spaceship starts to
    self destruct in a big way
    #####
    @(($|$))@
    ({"})
    /===> <===\
    /|\

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  13. Please allow me just one more diatribe about enormous wealth and what is likely to take place in a bona fide crises where the rules and
    status quo are obsolete
    , Fuld, for example his annual take at Lehman of $250,000,000
    is 80 lbs x 250 = 10 tonnes of gold , he will need a convoy of armoured cars for that one year of dubious effort when a trunkful of diamonds in his Mercedes would suffice.
    What about Warren Buffet liquidating and hitting the road with a sixpack of cherry colas and some lamb chops? and of course his chump change
    80lbs X 60000 = 2400 tonnes of gold
    like he will either need a train for the gold or an armoured car packed full of diamonds , now he is a frugal businessman and my bet is he goes for the rocks it's more economical, besides who's going to operate the train, his wife??
    Do you see why it is all so ridiculous, but
    don't ever doubt that if push comes to shove
    these two guys and many many more just like them
    will do everything they possily can to protect
    at least some of their wealth but how? when
    the entire system of payments and order and ownership goes into disarray, even the thought of that happening will get some but not all
    of these very rich people looking for a source
    of portable undetectable wealth.
    cheers

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  14. I am NOT surprised ! And anyone who has followed the situation (somewhat) in Venezuela shouldn't be surprised as well.

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