Future voting members of the Fed’s policy setting committee waved off concerns regarding a declining dollar on Thursday, Nov. 19, suggesting that unless the decline becomes volatile or otherwise erratic, concerns about an inflationary impulse are unwarranted.

In commentary that seems to suggest the dollar’s decline may be a counterbalance to a historically undervalued renminbi (RMB). Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told Market News International (MNSI) that the declining dollar value was simply one factor out of many the Fed used as an analytical input for its policy setting model.

Fisher told reporters that “a gradually depreciating dollar” would not necessarily add an “enormous inflation impulse”, and that the Fed’s answer to concerns over a weaker dollar was to pay attention to the dollar’s activity. Fisher also mentioned that there are “trade-offs” to be made between the strength of the dollar and deliberately low interest rates existing over a protracted

Asian economies are recovering faster than previously thought and will lead the charge out of the worst global downturn since the 1930s, according to new forecasts by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – a Manila-based institution that promotes economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region.

After slashing its forecast for the region in March, the ADB reversed course in its updated Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2009. The bank said developing economies in Asia would grow by 3.9% this year, up from its previous forecast of 3.4%.

“Despite worsening conditions in the global economic environment, developing Asia is poised to lead the recovery from the worldwide slowdown,” said ADB Chief Economist Jong-Wha Lee.

However, the growth will not be evenly distributed. Economic growth in East Asia will be driven largely by China’s dynamic economy. But economic growth in Southeast Asia will be sluggish, because the recoveries of Vietnam and

The number of traders betting that oil prices will drop outnumbers the number of traders who believe they will rise by the largest margin ever. Some analysts believe prices will fall significantly lower in the near future – at least into the low $60 a barrel range – after soaring to $75 a barrel in August.

Supply has outrun demand this year as a global recovery has yet to accelerate. Yet, oil prices more than doubled from February to August and are up about 50% from where they started the year.

Now, many traders are positioning themselves to profit from a pullback. The gap between prices of options betting on a decline in prices and those that would profit as a result of a rise in oil has widened to a record 10 percentage points, according to five years of data compiled by Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch.

Put options, which give traders

The just-concluded Group 20 (G20) meeting left us with a chorus of very “prudent” governments and central bankers singing the praises of easy monetary and fiscal conditions. So where can we take refuge when all the central banks in the world print money and governments run deficits in order to spend like drunken sailors? The answer is gold.

Fortunately for us, we foresaw this scenario a while ago. On April 20, I recommended that investors diversify their portfolios by adding the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD).  The fund is up about 14% since that recommendation, but it’s not yet time to sell, as there are still a number of factors working in gold’s favor.

For starters, there is more and more talk of the U.S. dollar losing some of its luster as a reserve currency.  But this debate is moot for the moment.  The reality is

The $300 Trillion “Recovery” No One’s Talking About The biggest mega trend in 100 years is already taking over half the world. Early investors could stand to make initial gains of 237%, 139%, 163%, 356%, 341%, and 600% on six companies driving this trend. Click here for details.

The worst global recession since World War II is ending faster than previously thought, but the recovery will still be a slow one, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said today (Thursday).

For the combined economy across the Group of Seven (G7) nations, the OECD expects a contraction of 3.7% this year, down from the 4.1% drop it projected in June. Still, the organization sees ample spare production capacity, low levels of profitability, rising unemployment and “anemic” growth in incomes will keep an uptick in consumer demand in check, and it says the need remains high for businesses …

Chinese stocks rise 5%! Risk Assets follow! OECD forecasts faster global rowth…Gold & Silver kicking sand again! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! Let’s hope it remains a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday later today, as I head downtown to watch my beloved Cardinals play a day game! For those of you who are baseball fans, you know what I mean when I carry on about how baseball should only be played during the day!

OK… Before I get to the currencies, economies and the dolts in the world, I wanted to briefly talk

Lingering economic uncertainties kept stocks under pressure for the fourth straight day on Wednesday even as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting showed the economy is slowly turning a corner and inflation is likely to remain restrained.  Trading was mostly rangebound as investors chose to remain on the sidelines.  As investors went into risk-aversion mode, Treasuries jumped and corresponding yields declined, with the yield on the 10-year tanking to its lowest in more than seven weeks.  

Trading may remain subdued as the Labor Day weekend approaches.  Nevertheless, today’s trading could benefit from last afternoon’s optimistic FOMC minutes coupled with improved growth expectations from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Chairman of China’s Securities Regulatory Commission advising regulators will promote stable markets.  China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.8% in an otherwise normal day for Asian bourses.  This morning’s stock futures are pointing to a higher opening

The world may be headed for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production. The scenario may come true according to Dr. Fatih Birol, the chief energy economist at the respected International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA is charged with the task of assessing future global energy supplies by countries of the OECD – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Recently, the IEA conducted the first-ever assessment of the world’s major 800 oil fields, which cover three quarters of global reserves. The IEA found that most of the biggest fields have already peaked and that the rate of decline in oil production is now running at nearly twice the pace as calculated just two years ago. On top of this, there is a problem of chronic under-investment by both oil companies and oil-producing

China’s economy grew by 7.9% in the second quarter, exceeding most analysts’ expectations, and lending credence to Beijing’s goal of 8% annual growth. Now, with the nation awash in liquidity and the economy picking up steam, the only task ahead of the central government is deciding when to rein in lending and let the economy stand on its own two feet.

The momentum behind China’s economy is staggering.

“China is increasingly becoming a responsible citizen in the global community,” economist Allen Sinai of Decision Economics told The Associated Press. “No longer lawless, no longer difficult to deal with, much more responsible. It is now a powerhouse among economies and finance. And it’s a rich country.”

In just the past few weeks, two of the world’s key global institutions – the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – and a large swath of investment banks raised their 2009

Stephen Blank has an interesting new article on Forbes in which he assesses the economic damage being caused by Russia's inability to effectively reduce legal nihilism and corruption, both of which are dragging on the country's attempt to recover from the crisis.  Sticking out like a sore thumb is of course the second trial of Mikhail Khdorkovsky, which will be in full session during the first state visit of President Barack Obama.  Blank describes the Khodorkovsky trial as a "palpable judicial farce," and if President Dmitry Medvedev is unable to take action to solve the situation it will "confirm the widespread belief that he is merely a tool of his predecessor, a placeholder until Putin resumes the presidency."

When he was a candidate to lead Russia, Dmitry Medvedev denounced the country's "legal nihilism." Now, as president, he has often spoken