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Geithner Flubs, Dollar Flails

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10/17/09 Baltimore, Maryland

It’s Friday… let’s have some fun at someone else’s expense.

“So what have you done specifically to safeguard the dollar’s decline?” Maria Bartiromo asked Treasury Secretary Geithner last night. Get ready for this one…

Sec. Geithner: “Well, I think, Maria, if you look generally, you know, I don’t — I don’t talk about developments in the exchange markets, but — I generally don’t do that, but I think if you look at what’s happened over the last year, you’ve seen really a lot of confidence in the U.S. finance, a lot of confidence in the U.S. economy.”

Heh, we see you’ve been working with Sarah Palin’s interview coach, Mr. Geithner. Good choice. But we get your point… if there’s been a real underlying theme of the past year, it’s unwavering global confidence in American finance. Surely, there is no better gauge of that stalwart, badass, James Bond-meets-John Shaft confidence than the U.S. dollar. Behold, the mighty dollar index!

US Dollar Index

Perhaps the dollar and U.S. Treasuries were the investments du jour during the worst of the credit crisis in 2008. Was that thanks to confidence in the U.S., or simply the fact that there are lots of both and they are accepted anywhere? Either way, all this “strong dollar” talk sure isn’t speaking to the market.

Author Image for Ian Mathias

Ian Mathias

Ian Mathias is the managing editor of Agora Financial’s Income Franchise, where he writes and researches about retirement, dividend and fixed income investing. Much of his work is featured in The Daily Reckoning and Lifetime Income Report – Agora Financial’s flagship income investing advisory.  

Previously, Ian managed The 5 Min. Forecast, a fun, fast-paced daily look into the future of global markets and macroeconomics. He’s also worked in public relations, where media outlets like Forbes, AP, Yahoo! and MSN Money have syndicated his writing. If he’s not at work, you’ll probably find Ian on a bicycle, racing up and down the “mountains” of Baltimore County. Ian has a BA from Loyola University in Maryland. 

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5 Responses

  1. Bors said

    Geithner is a crook and has stolen trillions for his buddies in Goldman and Morgan. Strong dollar indeed. Shame on him and he really should be locked up.

    on October 17, 2009.
  2. Mark G. said

    Argh! Why do you guys place a link at the end of the story that says “read more” yet there is nothing more to read?

    on October 17, 2009.
  3. Barry Schatz said

    Mark G. -

    Roger that.

    on October 17, 2009.
  4. tradertom said

    Wasn’t Geithner in charge of the NY Fed in 2007/2008 and responsible for watching and regulating the big banks and financial institutions in NY? He testified with Paulson in reference to deciding whether to bailout AIG and Goldman. And he has the BALLS to now claim there was no supervision of these institutions and wanting more regulations !!!!!!

    on October 18, 2009.
  5. Elie said

    Puppets do not have balls, brains, or a heart of their own.

    on October 18, 2009.

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