as seen on tv
Senator
Photo above - Howard Stern's game show "who wants to be a Turkish millionaire" and China's Xi promising the same thing with the yuan.
Not shown - Champagne glasses clinking now that the US spending limit has been raised.
One of my favorite radio shows used to be “Who Wants to be a Turkish Millionaire?" Hosted by Howard Stern, the zany drive time radio personality. To win, you had to answer irrelevant trivia questions. I'm not sure how much a T-lira was then, but some websites suggest it's lost 90% of its value in the last decade. Of course, Stern rigged his contest to make sure there were no actual winners anyway.
Fast forward. China today is trying to rig the conversion rate between it's hilarious yuan and the US dollar. Considerable efforts by Chinese media to persuade everyone the dollar is dead and buried. Economic powerhouses like Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Iraq and Pakistan have expressed interest in the yuan. China is now trumpeting its success. ¥4 Trillion trade deals have been signed since their campaign began last year. How much is that in real money? At the official exchange rate of 7 cents, it's a rounding error on the budget deal just signed.. Be forewarned, that link is to “DailyHodl”, which is NOT a top 10 name in financial news. In addition to touting China's economic shenanigans, Hodl's core mission is to stoke interest in the 633 Baskin Robbins flavors of worldwide crypto currency.
I'd still be impressed with China's announcement, if I hadn't learned the yuan “peaked” at about 9 cents more than a decade ago. China's currency has struggled to regain this lofty pinnacle ever since. But the yuan IS up from 6.9 cents a month ago to a smidge over 7 cents now, so I guess Chairman Xi Jinping has cause to break out their counterfeit champagne.
You would think the US budget crisis, and risk of imminent global default on T-Bills would have had more effect though, wouldn't you? The yuan soars one tenth of a cent? Puleeze . . . It almost makes one think all the hype about a potential US default was complete BS. Currency traders and stock markets didn't take it seriously.
I'm not trying to steal their thunder. Biden, Yellen, McCarthy . . . and whichever other wizened elders “solved the crisis”. I'm just saying that markets never took their warnings seriously. And look . . . those markets were right. There was no default. Nothing crashed. T-Bill holders didn't rush to sell. Banks didn't fail . . . well, okay, SOME failed, but that was because the Federal Reserve kept jacking up interest rates. Not because of the spending limit. And apparently no banks have failed since the beginning of the month. I hope Yellen isn't hiding/postponing the next failure? Let's wait and see if there's another FDIC takeover in June, before we actually declare victory over the banks too, okay?
In any case: kudos all around. To Biden, for fixing the crisis you created in the first place with ginormous spending. To Chairman Xi, for luring a bunch of repressive despots to take up your yuan free trial offer.
And most of all, kudos to American citizens. For not panicking. For holding our Memorial Day barbecues and family get togethers. In commemoration of the US servicemen – and women – who have given their lives so that we can live in this democracy.
Thanks to all. Enjoy your picnic today.
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