We've been talking about it, as has a lot of people on the 'net, but every story that comes out about this takes us one step closer. Have you noticed that there aren't any stories on how this isn't going to happen? At least, I haven't seen them (not from anyone credible).

The key to this lies in the last paragraph:
"The countries hope to expand the amount of business they do in their own currencies, rather than the US dollar."

Are you prepping yet?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8302016.stm

The word "boned" comes to mind.

Here's my question for this.

With Russia and China trying to get a new global standard via the BRIC currency and their currency being rated less than the U.S. dollar right now, would it be a good idea to exchange some U.S. currency to those monetary units as insurance just incase they become stronger than the dollar?

Figure 1 oz of silver is roughly $20, but $20 will get you 136.522 CNY (Chinese Yuan) or 590.440 RUB (Russian Rubbles).

Yes its like betting on stocks but is it worth the risk in small amounts?

That's a good question. I'm not sure if I'm qualified to answer it knowledgeably. But that's never stopped me before!

How I look at it is that the price of gold and silver are indexed against world currencies already. For example, let's say that US$20 can buy 1 ounce of silver right now, and that same US$20 or 1 oz of silver can get you 136.5¥. If the dollar loses value and you now have to spend US$30 to buy 1 oz of silver, but that same oz of silver still costs $137¥, then you don't have to "bet" on the Chinese Yuan (¥) or the Russian Rubble, you only need to worry about the metal itself.

This way, if all currencies devalue, then you're still ahead as you have physical metal. Another thing that I think of is this: if you converted some of your Dollars for Yuans, but now need to buy bread, milk, eggs... who you gonna buy it from? I'm not sure if the chinese markets would take it, and even if they did, you'd probably still lose out on the conversion (because all they can do with it is convert it back into US Dollars).

I see how having silver or gold is good incase all currencies devalue. It makes for good insurance.

There's a money exchange at the airport I visit when relatives stop buy so I could always exchange it there if I couldn't find a bank to do it.

The reason why I asked about it is that it sounded like the U.S. Dollar was going to spiral into a freefall when inflation triggers the next crash in the market.

As I write this, the USDX is at 75.568; that's lower than what it closed at today when the US markets closed. Gold is sitting at just over $1069 and silver has breached $18.

We are seeing the dollar collapse right now. We don't need inflation for people to lost confidence in the US Dollar. While you may not see the affect of this in the supermarket, you will eventually feel it as imported goods start increasing in price, or are simply unavailable.

I think now is a good time to making sure you have hard assets and tangible goods instead of worthless fiat money.

I think we will see more, and more of these non-dollar-denominated deals in the future. The BRIC countries have already signed a number of bilateral agreements to do these transactions in each others currencies and avoid the dollar altogether. This will reduce their need to keep dollars in their foreign currency reserves, and will send more dollars home.

A (huge) pillar supporting the dollar is its status as the currency used to settle OPEC oil purchases. This amounts to trillions of dollars in exchange each year. Every country has to buy dollars to pay for OPEC oil, at least for the moment. How will oil be denominated in the future, probably something like the "basket of currencies" idea supported by the BRIC nations. The dollar would allegedly still be a part of that mix of currencies, but not the sole currency as it is now. As those huge transactions start switching away from the dollar, trillions will be coming home to roost.

I think one likely scenario for the dollar demise, is similar to the sinking of a famous ship, it starts sinking slowly at first, and begins to settle faster and faster as the water pours in, then suddenly it upends, breaks in half and disappears beneath the surface. I personally believe the US dollar has already hit the ice burg, and unfortunately most Americans seem to be buying the captain's announcement, it's unsinkable", "it cant happen here", etc. For those of us that are paying attention, it is time to forget about the "2-for-1" drinks being handed out in the ships bar, and get outside and pay attention to where our life boat is located. I am getting my life jacket on, where is yours? I can see more ice ahead, and ship we are on is still steaming at full speed ahead.

I agree. The UDSX has already dipped into the 74 range and we are hearing more and more of these global transactions falling outside the USDollar. Exactly where this leads, when do we get there, and how badly we'll be affected remains to be seen. But it can't be good.