Russians Turning to The Euro

Russians Turning to The Euro

www.themoscowtimes.com

Russians increasingly favor euros over dollars when exchanging money or withdrawing foreign currency from bank accounts, the Central Bank said.

The demand for euros from individuals, measured by transactions at foreign currency exchange outlets and banks, increased 62 percent in October from the same month last year, the Central Bank said in a statement Thursday. Russians' demand for dollars declined 19 percent in the same period, it said.

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This is the way I have always fear that the U.S. will loose its standing in the world. When people in other country start to see you as weak, is like a snowball effect.

I at first didn't pay much attention when people predicted the downfall of the U.S. at least when it comes to the economic world stage, but the news that are been coming out of late IMO are indicating a tangible shift in the world economy from a U.S. driven world economy to a more diversified and globalized one, ultimately what I see happening is that the field is going to be level.

For all that we can thank the corrupted souls in Washington D.C. that keep legislating the downfall of this country.


www.themoscowtimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 14-12-2007 by Bunch]

reply to post by Bunch


who needs to invade the US these days?
it seems to be destroying its self from the inside out

dont know how americans seem to finance their lives when their goverment seems to printing bills that are going into Minus 24/7 on the world stage

Bunch, you are right. This is how a nation loses it's position as top dog in the world.

Happened with the British empire, our economy killed the superpower crown we once had.

The Euro may be strong and heading to be the worlds number one currency, but the Eurozone will have to live with a currency that is (currently) quite expensive.

[edit on 14-12-2007 by infinite]

This is the will of the interational bank, the will of the elite, united states never aquierd independence, it was always controled by europe, and alway played the pupet sting, simply because all the roiality is europian.
The pupet masters always controled united states with banking, they decide what value will be created and how united states is going down,
they control the value of the money, the federal reserve, they create money out of thin air, the mess that is now present is due to manipulation of value, people were sucked it in the banking game, make loans and alot of loans and money will be created for that loan, the bank creates money for loans out of thin air, in other words fake money with the ilusion of real money, everytime some one makes a loan money is created by the bank,
then who makes a loan has to pay it back, the money is then deposited and that is how banks make money.
Money is inexistet before credit is given out, and it is created out of nothing once some one asks for a credit, the bank gives the loan with telling the person in cause that it will loan the money, when in fact it's not a real loan because the money did not exist in the first place, then the bank makes money when the credit is returned, the value of the dolar go's down since they can print an infinite value, so it's a lie, the safe is empty, and it's really not a loan, because the money for the loan are not from the bank's deposit, they are printed out , that is what happens when the federal reserve is not own by the state goverment, it's sold out to the bankers.

I'm trying to think what would be the consequences of the U.S. not being the BIG BOY in the world economic stage.

How that would influence American foreign policy and how other countries would see is when they sit down at the table for some important issues like trade, terrorism and such.

I think that the U.S. will find it hard to get other countries behind any proposals they submit at the UN or other international organizations because other countries will have the same influence and are aligning themselves already without the U.S.

In the last couple of week I have seen France aligning with China for projects that cost billions of dollars, Russia finalizing deal with Iran in order to complete the nuclear power station, North and South Korea working together, Iran is becoming more influential in ME affairs, the U.S. has no longer the grip that they once had in the American continent.

I mean is happening, many people are not noticing it but is happening, at the end of the day it might not be a bad thing to see the U.S. being equal with other countries economically, at least someone would hope that that would stop the U.S. in the way the approach other countries and would stop the gun ho attitude many officials in this country have.

Originally posted by Bunch
I'm trying to think what would be the consequences of the U.S. not being the BIG BOY in the world economic stage.

How that would influence American foreign policy and how other countries would see is when they sit down at the table for some important issues like trade, terrorism and such.

I think that the U.S. will find it hard to get other countries behind any proposals they submit at the UN or other international organizations because other countries will have the same influence and are aligning themselves already without the U.S.

No, I think you are wrong.

Britain still manages to maintain influence since we declined as the superpower. We are a huge player in the EU and still have the Commonwealth to maintain influence on the global.

The United States would have no problem, in fact, you'll probably end up more respected and will be able to build stronger ties across the Americas.

reply to post by infinite


That's the other side of it that could pan out to be very much true.

That's what I would like happening, it will save this country from a lot of useless foreign policy decision that are based to protect "our interests" in some regions of the world. IMO the less interests and influence we have around the world the better, it would make politicians here focus more on the people.

The US has burned a lot of bridges in world relations . At least with the british there was an element of symbiosis in their empire. The british did bring about a catalytic change to the world for the better through it's empire with the industrial revolution. I think the american hegemony is a lot more one-sided it's more malevolent . Once nations escape their clutches I do not think they will willingly retain any relations with them such as the british have with the commonwealth.

[edit on 14-12-2007 by Gun Totin Gerbil]

reply to post by Bunch


But for that to happen, you will need something like the North American Union in order to main a good level of influence.

THE REACH PEOPLE OF US/UK ARE INVESTING IN EU/CHINA/INDIA , I GUESS THEY WILL NOT LOOSE VERY MUCH . IS THIS GOOD NEWS?

Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.
.

[edit on 12/14/2007 by Gools]

One big reason for fauvouring Euros is that Russians are more and more moving inside the Eurozone. My city gets at least a 1000 Russian tourists a day and they are all here for shopping. They have to use cash as most shops don't accept Russian credit cards...


[edit on 14-12-2007 by northwolf]

reply to post by infinite


May be what the elite in this country want it to happen all along with all the FTA's and such stupid economics policies.

I don't know much about the NAU conspiracy but it will be great excuse for politicians to try to shove NAU down peoples throat.

reply to post by northwolf


I think this is correct.

There's no reason why the average Russia citizen would need US dollars, especially when the world's biggest market is next door and has a stronger currency.

Domestically, Russians are only allowed to use the ruble now. See: Russia Tentatively Approves Ban on Dollar, Euro. I'm not sure if the ban on the dollar and euro for domestic use was ever formally adopted to get businesses to comply. It would be great if we had an ATS member who could give us some firsthand knowledge of the situation.

In addition, their government has already dumped the dollar for oil transactions. See:
Russia to trade oil in rubles - a new threat to the dollar
.

[edit on 12/14/2007 by Gools]

reply to post by Gools


lets not forget, one other factor.

some Russians see themselves as European and want to join the EU. Mainly the Liberal faction.

It makes economic and political sense for Russia to favor EURO over the Dollar - and that this has happened is not surprising to anyone except perhaps some Americans.

Russia is closer to Europe, and conducts vast majority of its international trade with Europe (besides the CIS countries). It has major cooperative energy deals with European nations, such as Germany. Furthermore there is increasing foreign direct investment in Russia from European companies, while the capital invested in Russia by the U.S. companies is largely stagnant.

And then there is political reason. Putin's foreign trade and economic development strategy focuses on more cooperation with European countries. And the recent cooling of relation due to the missile shield and Kosovo, also resulted in Russia favoring European and Asian trading partners over the U.S.

Russia has many incentives to turn to the EURO, and this is why it is doing exactly that.



And besides - I thought that low value of the dollar is good for the U.S. in terms of improving the trade deficit. Ideally it should result in increase of U.S. exports to countries whose currency is rising in relation to the dollar (like EU). Of course on the other hand U.S. capitalists would take a hit in that their abilities to invest abroad (foreign direct investment) are dimished. It would seem that low value of the dollar would not have a negative net effect, unless of course it is not temporary (trade cycle) but permanent. But I don't live in the U.S. and cannot say with certainty.

Normally it should , but America is primarily a consumer importing nation. It has a diminished manufacturing base , the lower dollar does not help as much as it should as US does not export much, except weapons . But it will help the deficit , foreign nations reserves are worth less, but at what cost if the world decides to dump their reserves , if opec decides to trade in euro's.
The US may use it's military to protect it's currency , I think the threat that it will is a good thing in a way . It stops most nations precipitating a general dumping of the dollar , apart from the giant economies of china etc who still have much to lose over a dollar crash. It is better for all that an orderly retreat from the dollar and a US led global economy is enacted.

reply to post by Gools


I was in Russian in 1993 and we could use US dollars there. In fact, they wanted it at that time (of course, it was worth more then) and different leadership in office. However, we didnt carry around American Dollars for obvious reasons.

They may want to stop using US currency. But it wont stop them from sticking their hand out when receiving US Aide.

There is a definite trend at the moment to shy away from the Dollar and favour the EURO, however, at the moment that is all it is, a trend. The idea behind the EURO is sound enough, a single currency across all European countries but it is still in its infancy.

However,

As of this moment, the US has a federal debt of:



[The National Debt of the US has continued to increase an average of
$1.51 billion per day since September 29, 2006!]

Source

...and this is still growing at an alarming rate. It does seem clear that, unless the US can reduce this spiral of debt, confidence in the Dollar WILL continue to fall, making the EURO a better alternative for future investments for countries still outside the EU.

[edit on 14/12/2007 by Freelancer]

1993 is not reflective of the economic situation of today . Russia is not the poor country you envisage . Wealth and power are never really lost . They are transferred . What you see in the US as loss in economy is only one side of the deal , that same wealth you have lost others have gained .

[edit on 14-12-2007 by Gun Totin Gerbil]