IEO Virtual Seminar: The Birth of Bretton Woods III? A Commodity Currency Revolution

The IEO Seminar Series hosted a conversation with Alasdair MacLeod (Head of Research at Goldmoney) on "The Birth of Bretton Woods III? A Commodity Currency Revolution." This webinar discussed the implications of Zoltan Pozsar's (Global Head of Short-Term Interest Rate Strategy at Credit Suisse) view that “We are witnessing the birth of Bretton Woods III-a new world (monetary) order centered around commodity-based currencies in the East that will likely weaken the Eurodollar system and also contribute to inflationary forces in the West.”
Nicoletta Batini (Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF) served as the event chair.

[@frankbadalato513]

A.M. The Man With The Master Plan, A Real Wealth Of Knowledge, Thank You Sir!

[@johnellacott878]

Alasdair, this presentation truly was your Magnum Opus. Thank you.

[@ivangaeta3663]

Truly a master class discussion on macroeconomics

[@udaypai3253]

I really enjoyed the total description of current matters economically, politically,geocentrically and various possibilities with complexities behind, I feel we are infront of big Mess and since the current scenarios are urgent in nature to be resolved, the whole event may not last for years as many predict , but may last as early as in current financial year, Thank You Alasdair ,am following you since long

[@richardcychowski8380]

Such a brilliant man

[@jaytaylor1999]

Thank you all for this insightful discussion.

[@RadicallyFRUGAL]

Alisdair is invaluable. God Bless you Sir

[@martinrev8487]

Fascinating to see the questioners attempting to find alternate solutions (oil, bitcoin, other commodities). A necessary process, but one by one they will realize that all roads lead to gold.

[@markalexander5124]

Watching this in mid October 2022: it is prophetic.

[@jnucleo]

Bravo to Alasdair Macleod calling out the idiocy of the repeal of Glass-Steagal Act.

[@anonymousAJ]

I don't think Mr. MacLeod has it right on Glass-Steagal. It was a partial repeal. The intermingling of investment and depositor funds is still forbidden in the US. What is allowed is for a company to own both an investment bank and a commercial deposit bank. Bankers are still not allowed to take depositor funds and go play stocks. The banks that took advantage of this did better than either dedicated investment or commercial banks during 2008 GFC

[@ChrisWill]

VERY FEW people ever mention that. Bravo to you for commented on it.

[@lindamarsh3335]

Yes, Alasdair is objective, and fair. Clinton's tampering with Glass Steagall paved the way for derivatives whales, QE, and other abuses.1

[@josesanchez5920]

​@@anonymousAJ 10 months later and though banks didn't buy stocks they gambled with rates not going up, and faced a mismatch in duration.

[@longgowhereto]

I am a year late here, but I loved any minute.

[@josesanchez5920]

Guy is a Genius

[@danieljones908]

How can gold and oil be priced together in a basket when oil reserves and production are depleting and gold doesn't?

[@anonymousAJ]

I don't think they can. If you try to fix a single currency to both gold and silver, as the market exchange rate of the metals changes your legal ratio will be wrong. One asset will be treated as more valuable than it really is and will circulate. The other asset will be treated as less valuable than it really is and will disappear into private hoards or foreign countries. This is called Gresham's Law, often abbreviated as "bad money drives out good". I believe the exact same logic applies to other currencies as well

[@danieljones908]

@@anonymousAJ I think you have it backwards. Take US silver coins as an example. People hold the good money (silver) that is more valuable and they use the bad money (1965 and after coins) to use as a currency of exchange. My observation/question was the value between gold and oil. Almost all the gold ever mined is still around, but oil is rapidly depleting, and the true state of affairs in regards to how much oil can be extracted from the earth and at what rate it can be extracted is kept hidden from "we the people".

[@anonymousAJ]

@@danieljones908 "Bad money drives out good" when you're legally compelled to treat them as equal. I.e. the bad money circulates and the good disappears. You said yourself that the bad (65+) money is used as medium of exchange and the good (pre64) money disappears into private hoards. That's exactly in line with what I've said. Nothing is backwards.

[@danieljones908]

@@anonymousAJ " The other asset will be treated as less valuable than it really is and will disappear into private hoards..." The other asset would be considered more valuable than it really is and that's why it's hoarded. I have hundreds of silver half dollars that are far more valuable than their face value. See what I mean? I understand that you understand the concept. How you are making your point however seems backward to me.

[@anonymousAJ]

@@danieljones908 I'm assuming the usefulness and scarcity of the thing determine it's value, and the face value is simply an assertion of government that may or may not have anything to do with reality. The "real" value in economic terms is the international free market price, or the international black market price if there is no free international trade. Of course you assess usefulness and scarcity differently than others so your assessment of the value can differ from the market price, which generally implies an opportunity to profit by interacting with the market.

[@pratheepanuma881]

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