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
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has said preconditions include reparations and security guarantees
For the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US to conclude, the latter must withdraw its military forces from the Persian Gulf, according to a member of the advisory board of Iran’s supreme leader.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), added that Tehran would also seek full restitution for the damage done and ironclad security guarantees from Washington.
In an interview with Iran’s SNN TV broadcaster published on Saturday, the member of the Expediency Discernment Council said that the “presence of the US in the Persian Gulf has been the main cause of insecurity over the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” Rezaee claimed, naming the “US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” among the key prerequisites. Additionally, Iran expects to receive reparations from the ...
The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, designated “Lucas,” to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.
In an official statement released today, the spokesman explained that after suffering military setbacks on the battlefield and failing to build political coalitions against Iran, the enemy has resorted to deception.
The statement specifically warned that the objective of these operations is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while sowing discord between Tehran and its neighbors, thereby undermining the legitimacy of Iran’s defensive actions.
The spokesman pointed to a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets and hostile ...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the execution of the 51st wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missile strikes against US military installations across the region in retaliation for ongoing American-Israeli aggression against the country.
The IRGC announced the latest wave was carried out using a combination of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles against US terrorist army forces at the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
According to the IRGC statement, Al Kharj base served as the "origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland," functioning as the staging ground for US F-35 and F-16 fighter jets involved in attacks on Iran.
The base also houses fuel supply aircraft and serves as the main hub for American AWACS surveillance planes.
Concurrently, the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters confirmed that the fiftieth wave of the operation struck multiple US terrorist army bases.
They include the Al Dhafra Air Base and Fujairah in the UAE, Jufair in ...
