The Federal Reserve Manages The Decline (And It Does Not Have To Be This Way)

A daily dose of realism from Inflation.us; China dumping American T-bills, the Fed’s predictions for slower recovery requiring more stimulus and more monetization of the debt, foreclosures, etc.  Keep in mind that the entire stated purpose of the Federal Reserve System is to set monetary policy to ensure economic stability.  The same formula as the United Nations’ Charter is to establish an end to war and genocide…and both organizations were brought to you by the same progressives.

Fed Gets More Power, Responsibility

After fending off most challenges to its independence and winning new powers to oversee big financial firms, the Federal Reserve has emerged from a bruising debate on the overhaul of U.S. financial rules as perhaps the pre-eminent regulator in the sector. But that could only bring it added blame if things go wrong again.

Instead, the new law gives the Fed more power and a better tool box to help prevent financial crises. It will become the primary regulator for large, complex financial firms of all kinds, such as American International Group, the insurer which built a massive derivatives portfolio that regulators didn’t see until it was too late.

This isn’t the first time Congress has expanded the Fed’s role. After the Great Depression, it passed the Employment Act in 1946, charging the Fed with averting the huge unemployment seen in the 1930s. After the double-digit inflation of the 1970s, the Fed was formally given a dual mandate of promoting both price stability and maximum sustainable employment. In the wake of the latest financial crisis, the Fed is effectively being told to add the maintenance of financial stability to its responsibilities.

Chinese rating agency strips Western nations of AAA status

China’s leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.

Dagong Global Credit Rating Co used its first foray into sovereign debt to paint a revolutionary picture of creditworthiness around the world, giving much greater weight to “wealth creating capacity” and foreign reserves than Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, or Moody’s.

The US falls to AA, while Britain and France slither down to AA-. Belgium, Spain, Italy are ranked at A- along with Malaysia.

Meanwhile, China rises to AA+ with Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, reflecting its €2.4 trillion (£2 trillion) reserves and a blistering growth rate of 8pc to 10pc a year.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund, agreed on Monday that the rising East is a transforming global force. “Asia’s time has come,” he said.

The IMF expects Asia to grow by 7.7pc in 2010, vastly outpacing the eurozone at 1pc and the US at 3.3pc. Emerging nations hold 75pc of the world’s $8.4 trillion (£5.6 trillion) of reserves.

For more about “Socialist Party of France” member, Dominique Stauss-Kahn, hit this link.

Dollar Declines Most in 14 Months on Signs of Economic Slowdown

July 17 (Bloomberg) — The dollar fell the most against the euro in 14 months and dropped to the lowest level this year versus the yen as economic reports added to evidence that the U.S. recovery is losing momentum.

The greenback touched a level weaker than $1.30 versus the shared currency as minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting last month indicated policy makers trimmed their forecasts for growth. The euro rallied for a third straight week against the dollar before partial results of stress tests on the region’s banking system due on July 23.

“It’s really dollar weakness based on some evidence the economy is slowing,” said Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist at Wells Fargo & Co. in New York. “The economic indicators are pointing strongly toward slower growth in the second half of the year.”

Fed Minutes

Minutes of the Fed’s June meeting indicated that U.S. central bankers were concerned about lingering high unemployment and risks that inflation could decelerate further. If the outlook worsened, the Federal Open Market Committee would need to consider whether additional stimulus was appropriate, the minutes said.

For those that are interested in the Federal Open Market Committee (that’s a joke) Meeting minutes of June 22-23, 2010, go here.