[Previous entry: ""] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Free Speech Zone Artwork"]

02/04/2005 Archived Entry: "Gates, Buffet and the US Dollar"

The following commentary in yesterday's WorldNetDaily should give everyone pause about their investment in U.S. dollars...

The article states, "Decisions by the world's two wealthiest men to bet on a further weakening of the U.S. dollar, coupled with China's lack of confidence in American currency should grab the attention of every working person, says Craig Smith, CEO of Swiss America Trading....Citing widening U.S. trade and budget deficits and a federal debt of $7.62 trillion, Gates said in a TV interview at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last weekend he expects the dollar to extend its three-year decline." I'm with Smith. Why hasn't this information been reported by any major media?

Bloomberg, as a financial 'zine and site, has picked up on the comments by Buffet and Gates at the World Forum. And the fellow-financial site NewRatings reported..."The world’s richest person and the founder of Microsoft Corp (MSFT), Bill Gates, is betting against the US dollar, saying that he expects the US currency to depreciate further. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Gates also mentioned that the tough visa regime in the US had caused a significant decline in the number of foreign computer science students. The tough immigration rules introduced by the US after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 had resulted in a significant decline in the number of overseas students, Gates said. This could jeopardize the country’s status as the 'IQ magnet of the world.' Gates added. Bill Gates, who has a net worth of $46.6 billion, said that the widening US budget and trade deficits would continue to have a negative impact on the US dollar. 'The ol' dollar, it's gonna go down,' Gates said. The US dollar has declined by over 21% against a basket of six currencies since 2002. Last week Warren Buffet, the billionaire investor, had also said that the US trade gap is likely to weaken the US currency further."

The World Forum remarks have been reported in Australia, in Ireland, in Canada, in India, in Russia, in South Africa, in Taiwan, in New Zealand, in the UK, and the list goes on.

But, so far, the only "major" media attention I can find in the States is in the San Diego Union Tribune, which quotes two paragraphs from the Bloomberg piece, and in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Microsoft, after all, is headquartered in Washington State.