On this Monday, I want to talk to you about national selfishness and chess games. Rest assured, I know that I am in charge of an economic column and I do not intend to deviate from the rule.
Let’s talk about selfishness. It may not be intentional, but in the meantime, the global currency that is doing well in this horrible war in Ukraine is the dollar. The greenback has climbed against the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Chinese yuan and even the Swiss franc. It’s normal, in times of crisis, worries, the dollar is the currency in which all investors will take refuge. They do so all the more easily since the United States was the first to raise their interest rates. Converting your money into dollars pays more than leaving it in euros, for example.
I was talking to you about national selfishness, because by the very admission of Jason Fürman, a former adviser to Obama, the United States is exporting American inflation. What he means by this is that by boosting their currency, Americans buy less and less expensive foreign products, and therefore, they reduce inflation as a result. Exactly the opposite is happening here in Europe. As the euro has weakened against the dollar, all our imported products are more expensive and therefore this is fueling inflation in Europe. Is it for this reason that this ex-adviser to Obama tells us that his country exports American inflation? This is obviously not nice in terms of cooperation. On the other hand, products made in Europe are less expensive for export. But for now, the priority is less exports than calming inflation. And there, it is missed, because the United States is only concerned with its navel.
This is where I come to chess. The Russians and the Saudis have somehow colluded to drive up oil prices. No need to make up your mind to explain Putin’s motives. For the Saudis, it is the will to take revenge on Joe Biden, because they know that there are important elections in the United States in November and that the voters very often vote by taking into account the price of the essence. The White House is furious, but it can’t do anything, it can’t even block the delivery of American arms to Saudi Arabia, because the latter would quickly find other suppliers. The other reason why the cartel of oil-exporting countries has lowered its production to push up the price of a barrel is precisely because they are not stupid: they see clearly that the Americans and the Europeans would like to cap Russian oil price. They know that if we succeed, tomorrow we will also cap the oil of other exporting countries. The cartel of exporting countries therefore does not want a cartel of oil buyers to form under the influence of the United States. You have to have the courage to speak against the wind, constantly remembering that the world is not black or white, but gray and dotted.
Let’s talk about selfishness. It may not be intentional, but in the meantime, the global currency that is doing well in this horrible war in Ukraine is the dollar. The greenback has climbed against the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Chinese yuan and even the Swiss franc. It’s normal, in times of crisis, worries, the dollar is the currency in which all investors will take refuge. They do so all the more easily since the United States was the first to raise their interest rates. Converting your money into dollars pays more than leaving it in euros, for example. I was talking to you about national selfishness, because even Jason Fürman, a former adviser to Obama, admits that the United States is in the process of exporting American inflation. What he means by this is that by boosting their currency, Americans buy less and less expensive foreign products, and therefore, they reduce inflation as a result. Exactly the opposite is happening here in Europe. As the euro has weakened against the dollar, all our imported products are more expensive and therefore this is fueling inflation in Europe. Is it for this reason that this ex-adviser to Obama tells us that his country exports American inflation? This is obviously not nice in terms of cooperation. On the other hand, products made in Europe are less expensive for export. But for now, the priority is less exports than calming inflation. And there, it is missed, because the United States is only concerned with its navel. This is where I come to the game of chess. The Russians and the Saudis somehow colluded to push up oil prices. No need to make up your mind to explain Putin’s motives. For the Saudis, it is the will to take revenge on Joe Biden, because they know that there are important elections in the United States in November and that the voters very often vote by taking into account the price of the essence. The White House is furious, but it can’t do anything, it can’t even block the delivery of American arms to Saudi Arabia, because the latter would quickly find other suppliers. The other reason why the cartel of oil-exporting countries has lowered its production to push up the price of a barrel is precisely because they are not stupid: they see clearly that the Americans and the Europeans would like to cap Russian oil price. They know that if we succeed, tomorrow we will also cap the oil of other exporting countries. The cartel of exporting countries therefore does not want a cartel of oil buyers to form under the influence of the United States. You have to have the courage to speak against the wind, constantly remembering that the world is not black or white, but gray and dotted.
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