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☆ A new class of executives on Wall Street is gaining a ton of power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I still need questions for a future mailbag. As Wall Street grapples with how to deploy AI, the executives overseeing the tech are rising in prominence. Bianca mapped out the 12 executives leading AI strategy at Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. Meet the 12 executives leading the AI strategy at the biggest US banks. The bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, which was helped along by social media, has bank executives reconsidering their online presence, Reuters reports.

☆ A bright spot in the economy is at risk as 30 million Americans face student loan payments for the first time since the pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

More than 43 million Americans together owe $1.6 trillion in student loans. That additional load could weigh on consumer spending, and eventually increase delinquencies on other payments like credit cards and personal loans, strategists said. "We view the resumption of student loan debt payments as an incremental headwind for borrowers and consumer finance companies," BofA said. This, in other words, means the odds of the hotly-anticipated recession are about to go up as consumers divert cash back to student loan payments. Do you have student loans?

☆ The dollar will remain dominant because most countries 'don't want to own their own currency,' Chamath Palihapitiya says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Most countries "don't want to own their own currencies," Chamath Palihapitiya said. For this reason, even if the dollar would weaken, it would still remain the dominant currency. Again, you have to remember a lot of these foreign governments — 187 or whatever the number is — countries outside the United States, rely on the US dollar," Palihapitiya said. At the same time, some countries have raised the idea of using local currencies over the dollar, such as Indonesia and India. Meanwhile, a weaker dollar could manifest sooner if the ongoing debt ceiling crisis failed to resolve before the US defaulted, which could happen as soon as June 1.

☆ China expands de-dollarization push as global central banks use record amount of yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

That's as central banks want to move away from the dollar, and deal with domestic difficulties. These are arrangements that allow central banks to exchange one another's currencies, guaranteeing to return the money for the same exchange rate at a future date, with interest. The yuan's increased use may also indicate a global de-dollarization swing, as many central banks are moving away from reliance on the greenback. The PBOC did not make public which central banks relied on the swap lines in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the US has standing currency swap agreements with five national banks in Canada, England, Japan, Switzerland and Europe.

ORLANDO, Florida, May 15 (Reuters) - China's yuan faces significant long-term obstacles to becoming a global reserve currency of any great import, but the biggest challenge in the near term is the fact that nobody wants to buy Chinese bonds. Reuters ImageReuters Image"It is very hard to create a reserve currency, without attractive reserve assets. Exante Data's figures show foreign investors bought a net $558 billion of Chinese bonds between 2010 and 2021. But in a pool of $12 trillion global reserves, of which nearly 80% is denominated in dollars and euros, these are very small numbers. Reuters ImageRESERVE STATUSAny currency that has designs on attaining international reserve status must meet several criteria and fulfill several roles.

☆ Timing the market isn't easy during a debt-ceiling showdown. Investors should stick to this strategy instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesMark Hamrick is senior economic analyst for Bankrate. Phil Rosen: How should investors be positioning themselves as the debt-ceiling fiasco drags on, and a potential default nears? If making a play around the debt ceiling is a no-go in your view, what should investors opt for instead? Homeowners are "quiet quitting" as low inventory and high mortgage rates keep a key market participant sidelined. That has a dual impact: each owner that postpones looking for a new house also marks one less seller on the market.

☆ China's mounting such a strong attack on the dollar's dominance that it's paying for almost all of its Russian oil imports in the yuan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Much of the trade was done in the Chinese yuan, per Reuters. China has ramped up the use of the yuan to buy commodities such as oil and coal from Russia. The country has been using its own currency — the yuan — for almost all of the Russian oil it bought over the past year, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing multiple trading executives with direct knowledge of the matter. The executive was likely referring to Russian crude being subject to a $60-a-barrel price cap imposed by a G7-led coalition. To contextualize this, China imported $88 billion worth of major commodities including crude oil and fuel oil from Russia in 2022 — up 52% in value from 2021.

☆ 5 ways Russia's been sidestepping Western sanctions and keeping its economy alive, from switching to the Chinese yuan and dabbling in ghost trades
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A fleet of aging oil tankers that do not turn on their tracking signals is suspected of secretly transporting sanctioned Russian oil globally. Russia has also put together a "shadow fleet" of more than 100 oil tankers to skirt the sanctions, the FT reported in December. By August, such gray market sales reached nearly $6.5 billion, said Denis Manturov, the Russian trade and industry minister, according to an Interfax report. Russian oil is still getting into Western countries, thanks to intermediaries. Western nations that banned Russian oil have collectively imported nearly $46 billion worth of Russian oil products, according to a study by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA, published in April.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Androids v. iPhones in ‘Succession,’ AI tools besides ChatGPT, and a check signed by Steve Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's reportedly frustrating customers who are prompted to add a tip when they haven't interacted with the people they're tipping. Before I begin discussing eradicating tipping culture (and replacing it with a living wage for workers), let's dive into today's tech. But the hype cycle around generative AI — that started with ChatGPT — threw them a lifeline. AI tools — besides ChatGPT — to boost your productivity. A $175 check signed by Steve Jobs is up for sale.

☆ Quiet quitting hits the housing market: Tight inventory and still-high mortgage rates keep would-be buyers sidelined
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today we're talking housing — but before we get to that, the big thing to watch today is President Joe Biden's meeting with congressional leaders. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe housing market seems to be taking a page from the labor market's playbook right now. Daryl Fairweather, Redfin's chief economist took to Twitter last week to describe the sluggish sector:"Homeowners are quiet quitting the housing market." In effect, more and more homeowners are choosing to stay put with their low mortgage rates locked in, rather than trying to finance a new home at rates that are hovering around 20-year highs. That's due mostly to high rates causing homes to sit on the market longer than usual, which leads to accumulating inventory.

☆ China's yuan is emerging as a strong challenger to the dollar's dominance. Here are 5 countries that recently turned to the yuan instead of the USD for trade.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China's yuan is gaining increasing usage globally, pointing to the de-dollarization of transactions worldwide — graduallyChina's yuan slid on Monday. Future Publishing/Getty ImagesThe US dollar has been the world's reserve currency since the second world war, playing an outsized role in the world's trade. Amid these dire tidings, the Chinese yuan is seizing the opportunity and is mounting a challenge to the dollar's dominance. Of course, it does create a desire on the part of China, of Russia, of Iran to find an alternative," Yelled said. Read further for five countries that have recently turned to the yuan for trade and other transactions — either to skirt sanctions or as an alternative to the greenback.

☆ Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway just hosted its legendary annual investor weekend. Here's what to know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Before we get to the news, we've got a dispatch from Theron — our in-house Warren Buffett expert — on the legendary conference. That's how Todd Finkle, the author of a new biography on Buffett, described the investor's yearly bash. There were also investment panels, cocktail parties, steak dinners, fun runs, and shopping events during the weekend. The stock market could become "untouchable" if the bank crisis keeps spiraling. Four of the world's top investors agree on the biggest risks that will cause the next recession.

☆ Dollar dominance isn't going anywhere. Here are 5 myths about de-dollarization.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The dollar's dominance isn't at risk, three currency experts told Insider. Vocal observers, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have warned that the threat of de-dollarization is real, as countries like China take measures to supplant the dollar. They debunked five myths and misconceptions that are commonly touted by dollar doomsayers:1. The dollar is losing its stance as the top currency in global tradeThis claim also isn't supported by data. Though the percentage of dollar reserves has slipped, he estimates it would take around 24 years for global dollar reserves to drop another 12%.

☆ De-dollarization fears are overblown, but rising debt and US brinkmanship are top threats to the greenback, Bank of America says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

De-dollarization fears are overblown, and the greenback remains strong globally, BofA said. But the main risks to the dollar are rising US debt and "fiscal brinkmanship," according to a note. "Therefore, the key threats to the USD's dominant role seem largely domestic, as opposed to competition from other currencies." "Therefore, the key threats to the USD's dominant role seem largely domestic, as opposed to competition from other currencies." Amid the looming risk of default, BofA said there are no real alternative currencies, even as others have also pointed to a rise in non-dollar arrangements as evidence of de-dollarization.

And Ecuadorian authorities have struggled to tackle this public security crisis “efficiently because it is mired in (a) political crisis,” González says. Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso is at the center of this storm, and his popularity has tanked amid widespread discontent with spiraling crime rates. Before President Guillermo Lasso took office, Ecuador had already become a key transit hub for cocaine due to its location between Peru and Colombia. Lasso told Ecuador’s legislative commission investigating him that he had not evaded taxes and that his tax trajectory was legally supported. Members of unions and civil society groups march on International Workers' Day to demand that Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, who is facing an impeachment process, leave office on May 1, 2023.

☆ Nobel economist Paul Krugman takes a jab at Elon Musk and says dollar dominance isn't worth much to America.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Zinya Salfiti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paul Krugman said dollar dominance is overrated, and isn't worth more to America than "a fraction of 1% of its GDP." The Nobel Prize-winning economist criticized Elon Musk for being among those warning that the US is "weaponizing" the dollar. Sign up for our newsletter to get the inside scoop on what traders are talking about — delivered daily to your inbox. "The point is that tugging on one or two strands of this web isn't likely to cause it to unravel. But Krugman argued that fears of an end to dollar dominance are made to seem important because global currency issues naturally come across as "glamorous and mysterious", but in reality very little is really at stake in them.

☆ Idea that China will replace U.S. dollar 'is not a story for today', says Niall Ferguson
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailIdea that China will replace U.S. dollar 'is not a story for today', says Niall FergusonNiall Ferguson, Stanford University Hoover Institute Senior Fellow, joins 'Last Call to discuss the state of the U.S. dollar as call for 'de-dollarization" pick up steam.

☆ De-dollarization and global reserves dominance, explained by a top currency economist and the inventor of the 'dollar smile' theory
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Stephen Jen, CEO of Eurizon SLJ Eurizon SLJStephen Jen is a leading economist, the cofounder and CEO of Eurizon SLJ, and inventor of the "dollar smile" theory. Phil Rosen: You pointed out recently that the dollar saw a steep erosion in 2022 as a global reserve currency. More likely, we will evolve from a unipolar reserve currency world to a multi-polar world. Here's what he said on a potential "tripolar" reserve currency setup if the dollar loses dominance. And here are the top stories from markets this week:Lauren Simmons, a trader at the New York Stock Exchange.

☆ 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O'Leary dismisses de-dollarization talk and says he won't accept the yuan due to distrust of China's government
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The "Shark Tank" star also said he won't accept the yuan due to lack of trust in the Chinese government. "So I don't care what form of transaction you want to do with me in Asia, I will not take Chinese yuan." "How much of an institution's money or a sovereign wealth fund would you put into the Chinese yuan? "Because it's not that I don't trust the Chinese people, I don't trust their government. So I don't care what form of transaction you want to do with me in Asia, I will not take Chinese yuan."

☆ Argentina will pay for Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars to preserve its shrinking greenback reserves
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Argentina will start paying for Chinese imports in yuan instead of dollars, Reuters reported. A historic drought has hit Argentina's agricultural exports, meaning fewer dollars are coming in. "Following the worst drought in history, Argentina must keep its (foreign) reserves robust," Sergio Massa said, per Anadolu Agency. The South American nation will aim to buy around $1 billion of Chinese imports in April using yuan. After that, it hopes to pay for around $790 million of monthly imports in the Chinese currency.

☆ A US recession looks more and more unavoidable as key parts of the economy slow to a crawl
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

For many months now, I've been having conversations and writing about economic indicators that all point to a recession. The US is in the midst of a "freight recession," meaning there's fewer trucks delivering goods around the country. In a call last week, JB Hunt reported a bad earnings miss, and executives said a recovery for trucking looks uncertain. Outside the trucking sector, the classic recession indicators are blaring, too:The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index just dipped for the 12th consecutive month. The New York Fed's Recession Probabilities Model puts the odds of a downturn at 57%, the highest mark since 1982.

Analysis of global central bank coffers does show the dollar's share of overall reserve holdings is gradually being chipped away - but the official sector is not selling dollar-denominated assets. In fact it's still buying them on aggregate, and the private sector is too. The overseas private sector was also a solid buyer of U.S. agency debt, further calling into question the narrative in some market quarters that the dollar's status as the world's preeminent currency is rapidly eroding. Jen calculates that the dollar's share of official global reserves slumped to 47% last year, down from 55% the year before and 73% in 2001. Including the private sector, total foreign inflows into Treasuries over the past two years have been substantial.

☆ What is de-dollarization? Here's everything you need to know about rival countries' efforts to dethrone the greenback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The US dollar has dominated global trade and been the leading reserve currency for nearly 80 years. But rival countries – including China and Russia – are trying to change that. But a growing list of countries – including Brazil, China, and Russia – are trying to unseat the greenback. Rival countries China and Russia are spearheading the effort to wean the world off the buck. "There is a lot of inertia in reserve currency status," a team of strategists led by Kamakshya Trivedi said.

The top-tier Asian economic data cupboard on Thursday is bare, meaning regional markets will probably feed off U.S. earnings, banking sector woes, debt ceiling developments and geopolitical events for direction. This was followed up on Wednesday by Meta (META.O), whose shares surged 12% after hours after the company’s strong earnings beat. First Republic Bank's (FRC.N) shares plunged to another record low, but PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) jumped 8% after beating estimates and stemming deposit outflows. The yuan was used in 48.4% of transactions, Reuters calculated, while the dollar's share declined to 46.7%. China added to its Treasuries holdings in February, but not enough to make up for the fairly heavy selling in January.

☆ Calls to move away from the U.S. dollar are growing — but the greenback is still king
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Penny Chen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Kacper Pempel | ReutersCalls to move away from relying on the U.S. dollar for trade are growing. The U.S. dollar accounted for 58.36% of global foreign exchange reserves in the fourth quarter last year, according to data from the IMF's Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER). China is one of the most active players in this push given its dominant position in global trade right now, and as the world's second largest economy. The IMF estimates that Asia could contribute more than 70% to global growth this year. In the Middle East, major oil exporter Saudi Arabia has reportedly signaled it's open to trade in other currencies other than the greenback.

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