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March 18th, 2009, 16:36
I have Bush with getting the total debt up to 0.75 trillion then doubling it. Obama already added another .75 then .75 more still in 09 gets it to 3.0 trillion (doubles again). China pulls it all out then it goes 3.75 trillion. Not a good time for them to be complaining about human rights or anything else in China. Wne Jiabow seems to be in a good position to give someone a big headache.

The qusetion is, WD, where do we go now? Are muni's safe? Currency bets?


China Sends Obama a Message

What would happen if your boss cut your salary, you had no savings, and none of the banks or credit card companies would lend you any money? You'd be in some deep doo-doo, wouldn't you?

Well ... that's exactly the situation the U.S. is potentially staring at if foreign governments decide they don't want to loan us any more money by buying U.S. Treasury and other government-backed bonds.

And who buys most of our bonds? China and Japan ...

At the end of 2008, China owned $727.4 billion worth of U.S. Treasury bonds. And Japan was second, at $626 billion.

Japan has drastically curtailed buying U.S. bonds now that its economy is in shambles. But China has been тАФ and continues to be тАФ the most important lender to the U.S., essentially funding a big chunk of President Obama's $787-billion economic stimulus plan.

The problem is ...

China is Re-Thinking the Wisdom Of Holding So Much U.S. Debt
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is worried about the stability of China's huge portfolio of U.S. government bonds.

"To be honest, I am definitely a little worried. We have loaned huge amounts of money to the United States, so of course, we have to be concerned. We hope the United States honors its word and ensures the safety of Chinese assets."

They are a clear message to the Obama administration that it needs to stop spending like a drunken sailor if it expects the rest of the world to buy U.S. government bonds.

The line of Chinese policymakers, economists, and scholars voicing concerns about investing too much of their country's $2 trillion surplus in U.S. debt is growing longer and longer. Many are urging diversifying out of U.S. bonds and into more tangible assets such as natural resources and gold.

The reason is simple:

There is an expectation that U.S. bonds are headed for a big drop in value because we are simply printing too much money to fund our stimulus spending spree.

In fact, the Chinese are already starting to move out of U.S. bonds ...

So what can you do if you think the Chinese and Premier Wen Jiaboa are right?

March 19th, 2009, 02:47
I figure the US needs to run a balance of trade surplus to start paying China, Japan & all its creditors back.

Not much chance of that when China fixes it's currency at a level which is guaranteed to give China a competitive advantage.

While we are on the subject, fixing a currency is hardly free trade is it, so why should China have free access to western markets?