World Bank and IMF join global attack on the dolla

[EmptyTimCup]

World Bank and IMF join global attack on the dollar!

by Larry Edelson

In my emails to you over the past couple of weeks, I've shown you why Washington has no choice but to devalue the dollar — and how global leaders and even the United Nations have joined the attack on the greenback by demanding it be replaced as the world's reserve currency.

Now, just this week, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have begun adding their voices to the international choir calling for a new global reserve currency:

* Last week, World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned that the dollar's status will be challenged and shouldn't be taken for granted.

* According to Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, it's likely that the role of special drawing rights (SDRs) based on a basket of currencies will be discussed as an alternative to the dollar during meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Istanbul next week.

* Meanwhile, global governments, central banks, companies and investors continue to slash their dollar holdings. According to the IMF, in April through June of this year, the greenback's share of global currency reserves fell to the lowest level in a decade. Holdings of euros, in contrast, rose to a new all-time record high.

All this adds weight and momentum to the devaluation of the dollar. It is DEFINITELY ON THE TABLE. Indeed, for the first time I can remember, the G-7 finance officials, meeting this weekend, are rumored to be breaking with tradition and choosing not to release a statement on the global economy and currencies.