China-ASEAN Looking to New FTA, and Decoupling from US and EU
By CSC staff, Shanghai,Published:August 17,2009

http://www.chinastakes.com/2009/8/china-asean-looking-to-new-fta-and-decoupling-from-us-and-eu.html

SNIP
The decoupling process may be strengthened by an emerging hard currency in the region, China’s
yuan. ASEAN has been China’s fourth largest trade partner. China wants to test its strategy of
making the yuan a trade settlement currency in the FTA. In 2008, China-ASEAN trade reached US$231.12
billion, over 1 trillion yuan. Once the FTA is launched in 2010, the total trade among China and
ASEAN members should reach US$4.5 trillion. Yuan trade settlement will bring business to financial
institutions in the area.

UAE central bank governor Al-Suweidi is reiterating his confidence in the US authorities to solve the crisis they created. (1)

As European Central Bank president, the late Dr Willem F Duisenberg, said in 2002,
money represents the confidence that we place in each other. (2)

Ivo Cerckel

NOTES

(1)
UAE will see strong growth in 2010 – central bank
by Tamara Walid on Sunday, 16 August 2009
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/564945
http://business.maktoob.com/20090000364982/UAE_to_see_strong_economic_growth_in_2010/Article.htm
SNIP
[United Arab Emirates central bank governor] Suweidi reiterated the dirham would remain pegged to the U.S. dollar despite fluctuations in the currency.
“The UAE has significant foreign investments and the dollar remains an important currency,” he told the paper. (Reuters)

(2)
International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen for 2002
Acceptance speech by Dr. Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, Aachen, 9 May 2002
http://www.ecb.eu/press/key/date/2002/html/sp020509.en.html

Japan is still a dollar hostage.

Therefore, we need Yuan, not Yen, internationalisation.

The question is NOT:
What is the value of the Chinese c.q. Japanese economy?

Anyway, the Japanese economy is dead. (1)

Right, the Chinese economy also. (2)

But the Bank of China has Gold reserves.

Bloomberg on Friday: China May Boost Energy, Mining Acquisitions by Half (Update 2) (3)

Ivo Cerckel

NOTES

(1)
Japan Is Fading
One thing the nation’s next leaders don’t talk about is growth.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters-Landov
Fading: Confidence Japan’s government continues to decline.
By Rana Foroohar | NEWSWEEK
Published Aug 15, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Aug 31, 2009
http://www.newsweek.com/id/212121

(2)
Credit tightening threatens China’s ‘giant Ponzi scheme’
China’s loan growth plunged in July while exports fell 23pc from a year ago after grinding lower for nine months as consumers in the West tighten their belts further.

(3)
China May Boost Energy, Mining Acquisitions by Half (Update2)
By John Duce
Friday, August 14, 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aTZisOrCq1BY