Change the Guard

Tiana89 asked:


What are the different phases of us foreign policy during the 20th century?

i need help with my homework. please help me! thank you!

James William Smith asked:


Foreign aid was invented in 1948 with President Truman’s Four Point Program. In almost six decades , some 2.3 trillion dollars have been given worldwide in aid to poor countries by rich ones . U.S. aid comes in the form of various project grants and loans. Since the second World War , the United States has contributed more than one trillion dollars in assistance to various countries. Unfortunately, studies have shown that in that time not a single country has significantly reduced poverty as a result of foreign aid.

Here are some brief quotes from various studies concerning foreign aid and poverty:

In 1993, a task force for the Clinton administration reported that ” despite decades of foreign assistance, most of Africa and parts of Latin America, Asia and the Middle East are economically worse off today than they were twenty years ago.”

Studies by Peter Boone of the London School of Economics and the Center of Economic Performance in 1994 reviewed the experience of one hundred nations. The studies concluded that ” Long term aid is not a means to create growth.” He found no evidence “that aid transfers will allow countries to escape from a poverty trap.”

The United Nations Development Programme called the 1980’s the “Lost decade” for many poorer states. Over this period (it reported in 1996) , economic decline or stagnation has affected one hundred countries reducing the incomes of one quarter of the worlds population.

If we review U. S. foreign aid over the last decade, there is no relationship between the amount of foreign aid and a reduction in poverty. In Egypt, extreme poverty as a percentage of the population has remained the same despite the money given to that country. Egypt is the second largest beneficiary of U.S. foreign aid. Bolivia, one of the eleven largest beneficiaries of U.S. foreign aid has managed to double the percentage of its people living in extreme poverty.

So why isn’t foreign aid the solution to poverty? It really comes down to two reasons:

1. Aid is misallocated - Donors give aid for strategic reasons to the wrong recipients.

2. Aid is misused - Recipient governments pursue a non-development agenda.

History shows that sound domestic policies not foreign aid are what generate economic growth. This is how Europe escaped poverty, with markets that were allowed to operate freely, protected private property and the rule of law and permitted economic competition. This process is now happening rapidly in East Asia.

Foreign Aid is not the solution to global poverty. It does not generate economic growth. To make a difference in the reduction of global poverty, the U.S and other developed countries should allow poorer nations to participate more fully in the International Marketplace. Currently, one third of the exports from developing nations are subjected to trade barriers by wealthier nations . The elimination of these commercial barriers could well provide the economic stimulus necessary for poorer countries to reduce poverty. This is a much more practical solution than Foreign aid.

Mike P. Kulej asked:


 

Historically, central banks of just about every country, used to hold gold as national reserves, or some kind of last resort source of funding. That also was a storage of country’s wealth. To some degree it’s still true, but is not practical on a large scale. The role of gold has declined since the gold standard was abandoned 30 some years ago by most economies.

These days a lot of countries, apart from smaller gold positions, also hold Foreign currencies as part of national reserves. This mainly applies to currencies used in international trade. Mainly USD, EUR, JPY and to a smaller degree GBP, CAD and AUD. Strategic commodities are usually priced in one of these currencies and they are also most accepted form of payments and conversions in international banking.

There are two groups of countries that accumulate a surplus of foreign currencies. China, Japan and India, manufacture and export more finished goods than they import.

Second group comprises of producers of raw commodities like oil and metals. Russia and Saudi Arabia are the most prominent beneficiaries of those.

 

How much money are we talking about? Publicly available figures vary widely and are not necessarily precise, but both Japan and China hold in the neighborhood of 1 Trillion dollars of foreign currencies, while India and Russia’s hold about 500 Billions each. Other countries have smaller amounts.

Historically most of reserves have been held in US Dollars, or more correctly, US bonds and notes denominated in USD. As the amounts involved grow, it is only natural that the central banks responsible for their management diversify the funds. Every now and then there are announcements coming from official sources that a respective country plans to move certain percentage of the money involved into another currency.

That diversification process is not done overnight, but rather over a course of weeks and months. Perhaps even years. It is not in the interest of anybody involved to create wild swings in exchange rate by sudden conversions of huge amounts of money from one currency into another. Nonetheless, these moves definitely have an impact on Forex market.

Almost certainly current EUR-USD bull market is aided by steady and systematic diversification of “Foreign reserves” by central banks. EUR has proven, so far, to be a viable alternative to USD as a holding instrument. That said, USD is still, and by far,

the most prominent currency in those holdings and is likely to remain a first choice for the foreseeable future.

Official policy announcements from various central banks absolutely demand attention. Buying power behind the staggering amounts involved can not be overstated. What is, however, largely overlooked, is the staying power of these markets participants. They are not interested in quick trades, but rather remaining in a position for a long time. Months and years.

There is a new twist to this orderly, and somewhat predictable, market participation. China has just launched a 200 Billion dollars “super Forex fund”. That is a large chunk of their reserves. This fund is supposed to be more actively managed than a traditional central bank’s holdings. The exact trading formula of this fund is has not been disclosed, so it remains to be seen just how active it is going to be.

Should this new fund set a precedent for more entities of this kind, “Foreign reserves” will become even more important part of news to follow. More money available for active trading means more volatility and more short term movements. For traders of all stripes that is not bad news- more opportunities ahead.

BarackObamadotcom asked:

HBO Sports - Bryant Gumbel interviews Barack Obama on politics and basketball; complete with coverage of an informal game on the campaign trail.

Marie Dexter asked:


There are so many people who disagree with Barack Obama and they are obviously racists and lairs and should be reported at once. I am high school teacher and I can tell a lie when I see one.

But unfortunately I cannot figure out how to report them. Please, explain to me.