>Fascinating quote in a NYT article this morning - and the very existence of the article on the front page of the biz section was pretty fascinating itself. It was about the postwar euphoria in the financial markets giving way to some longer-term concerns, e.g., the U.S. ability to fund its deficit indefinitely. Here's the quote:
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>>"America is more dependent on the rest of the world for capital than at any time in the past 50 years," said David P. Bowers, chief global investment strategist of Merrill Lynch. "What the rest of the world is being asked to fund is very different from what they were being asked to fund three years ago. Three years ago they were being asked to fund a private sector miracle. Now they're being asked to fund Bush's tax cuts and the war on Iraq."
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>Couln't have put it better myself.
I suppose it takes a certain kind of philanthropist to donate to the US military machine or the US super-rich. But no doubt there'll be plenty of investors so long as the rewards are there. The falling US dollar seems to be more to do with current low interest rates in the US (i.e. low/risky returns on investment) than with any moral qualms.
Perhaps greed *is* good after all? ;-)
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas