Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I keep hearing about a "dollar collapse"

I've been getting a lot of questions lately from readers and friends asking about what's going to happen with the dollar, gold prices, and future inflation. If only I knew.

One thing I can tell you is that discussion of a potential "dollar collapse" or US hyperinflation has ramped up noticeably in recent months; an idea that seemed fringe two or three years ago is now openly discussed on blogs, economic and investing/trading forums, mainstream news sites, and business television.

John Rubino's website which tracks these dour trends, aptly named Dollar Collapse, is starting to look prescient, as well as gloomy. Is the trend towards dollar destruction inevitable, or will we somehow manage to escape this fate with some successful maneuvering by the Fed?

While you ponder that, here are two recent articles from Bloomberg (see Christopher Wood's comments near the bottom) and The Financial Times which caught my attention, due to their frank discussion of dollar devaluation and the possibility of a dollar collapse.

One thing we know for certain: the idea of a failing US currency is now a bit more mainstream.

Related articles and posts:

1. Hyperinflation and the bond markets - Finance Trends.

2. Jim Bianco: Fed acts are "hyperinflationary" - Finance Trends.

3. US inflation to approach Zimbabwe level (Marc Faber) - Bloomberg.