| After Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and its allies froze over $58 billion in assets from Russian oligarchs and blocked major Russian banks from using the international payment system, known as SWIFT. Did the US cross a line in terms of weaponizing the dollar and denying access to the global financial system—opening the door to other nations losing confidence in the US dollar? Saleha Mohsin, a senior Washington correspondent for Bloomberg News and my guest today on Global Macro Update, pegs the watershed moment for dollar weaponization back decades earlier, to the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. She covers this in detail in her book, Paper Soldiers, which has been one of my favorite geopolitical reads of the year. We delve further into dollar weaponization in our interview, along with Saleha’s unique take on US populism. She sees the US’s strong dollar policy as a primary driver of the hollowing out of the US middle class and the loss of our manufacturing base. Find Saleha Mohsin new book, Paper Soliders here: https://rb.gy/k5obdk Follow Saleha Mohsin on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saleha-mohsin-a8758b35/ Follow Ed D’Agostino on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-d-agostino-415475296/ Time stamps: 00:00 – Introduction 02:50 – Bullying in the currency markets 05:30 – Long shadows in the Treasury Department 07:36 – The downside of a strong dollar 12:49 – Rise of populism 16:57 – Decline of US manufacturing 22:19 – The aftermath of 9/11 27:05 – Ramping up sanctions 33:37 – Alternatives to weaponizing the dollar? |
Each week, investors and financial professionals around the globe turn to John Mauldin to better understand Wall Street, global markets, and the drivers of the world economy. And for good reason. John is a noted financial expert, a New York Times best-selling author, a pioneering online commentator, and the publisher of one of the first publications to provide investors with free, unbiased information and guidance—Thoughts from the Frontline—one of the most widely read investment newsletters in the world.
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