The United States is facing what is shaping up to be a perfect storm of economic bad news, with higher than normal energy prices and inflation compounded by a spiraling debt crisis and fears of economic turmoil amid high stakes debt limit talks. Meanwhile, BRICS nations are brainstorming a way to de-dollarize the international trade order.
Emerging market investors are slowly but steadily moving away from dollar-denominated debt and assets, instead preferring to park their hard-earned money into local currency bonds, an analysis by fund flow and asset allocation data provider EPFR Global has revealed.
According to the company’s figures, investors pulled out a net $2.65 billion out of primarily dollar-denominated assets between January and April of 2023, but added a net $5.23 billion into local currency bond funds.
Market analysts attribute the switch to attractive yields and falling inflation on local bond markets, and an increasingly unattractive dollar amid uncertainty surrounding interest rate-related volatility. The latter put a major dent in US Treasuries’ attractiveness to investors, and culminated in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March, and panic among investors.
Fidelity International emerging markets debt portfolio manager Paul Greer expects the trend of weakened demand for dollar-denominated debt and assets to continue for the rest of the year. ABP Invest chief investment officer Thanos Papasavvas says there has been a “clear divergence between emerging market local and hard currency bonds [typically dollars and other major Western currencies, ed.] over the past few quarters with local currency debt looking more attractive on a fundamental and valuation basis.”
The trend of a cautious move away from the dollar, which continues to hold the coveted status of the world’s de facto reserve currency in trade, comes amid the growing risk of the US defaulting on its massive $31.8 trillion debt amid bickering between the White House and Republicans in Congress on federal spending and the debt limit.....More Below
A fresh wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes has crippled a major US air base in Bahrain, with strikes destroying command centers as Iranian forces continue launching firm response to the US-Israeli aggression.
"Ten key and strategic command points and equipment complexes of the American terrorist forces at the 'Sheikh Isa Air Base' in Bahrain were heavily hit by Iranian projectiles," The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on the 15th wave of operation "True Promise 4".
The targets destroyed included the air control command center of the American terrorist forces, aircraft fuel depots, and the building housing high-ranking American commanders, according to the statement.
Earlier in the day the IRGC announced that its naval forces launched a large-scale drone and missile operation on the US air base in the Sheikh Isa area of Bahrain early this morning .......more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced execution of the 16th wave of its underway Operation True Promise 4 against renewed Israeli-American aggression towards the Islamic Republic.
In a statement issued in late Tuesday, the Corps noted that it had struck the "heart and the northern parts of the occupied territories" with "effective" missile and drone operations conducted by its Aerospace Division.
It cited some of the targets as the general staff of the Israeli regime's army and its ministry of war in Hakiriya, the strategic infrastructures lying in Bnei Brak, military targets stationed in Beit Hakfa, northeast of Tel Aviv, and the military center in Western Galilee.
According to intelligence sources and field monitoring, enemy military casualties have increased to more than 680 killed and wounded by the fourth day of the reprisal, the Corps stated.
The statement pointed to "operational weakness, technical gaps, and the reduced computational capability in the multi-layer defense ...
The Iranian army has reported that its air defense systems successfully destroyed six advanced enemy drones over the last 24 hours as they were flying over the Iranian territory.
In a communique issued on Tuesday, the army stated that the drones were intercepted and shot down by the integrated systems of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base.
It further specified that six advanced “Hermes” drones were targeted and destroyed across various regions, including Isfahan, Qasr-e Shirin, Tabriz, Khuzestan province, and the greater Tehran area.
Since the beginning of the war on Saturday, a total of 35 advanced hostile drones have been intercepted and downed, the army reported.
These operations were executed by ground-based air defense units, fighter jets from the Air Force, and units of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), all operating under the country’s integrated air defense network.
Iran’s military has been conducting sustained retaliatory attacks against the American ...
