Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System

CHAPTER 1

THE DOLLAR WILL REMAIN ON FIRST

GARY SHILLING

“I just don’t see at this point there is a major shift away from the dollar.”

—Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman, March 2011

“Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know is on third,” and so it goes in Abbott and Costello’s marvelous routine that deliberately confuses baseball players’ names with questions. In the game of global reserve currencies in future decades, we need to ask, Who’s on first, Is Anyone on second, and Who Cares What’s on third? By its nature, the currency roster always requires a batting order, since no currency operates independently in the international ballpark. The dollar doesn’t stand alone, but against the euro, the yen, and even gold.

Reserve Currency ...