imported post
Pete1 wrote:
The article makes a diversified account with a significant I fund exposure sound very solid for theintermediate and long-term. Read someplace else that the Bush Administration is not worried about a soft dollar.
That's what I think too.
It seems we are either playing monetary chicken withAsia inorderto reverse our trade deficit bycontinuing to drop our dollarin an effortmake our products more attractive overseas(as long as they are willing to keep buying our bonds it won't work)or it's a case of if you scratch my back I'll scratch yours meaning we can keep spending like crazy (the federal government) as long as Asia keeps buying those bonds andwe keep buying their products.
The problem is this. It gets more risky for Asia to keep buying bonds because as our currency drops they incur increased risk oflosing money. But they may stop buying bonds at some point and in fact there are signs it is already happening. They have dramatically cut back on bond buying of late according to some article I read recently. It is also possible they may want to liquidate their holdings to address their own domestic issues. There is talk of that as well.
If that happens theremay be a mass exodus out of bonds causinginterest ratesto shoot up and the bond yield to increase. That is why I believe ifyou are going to park your money somewhere put it in the "G" fund and not "F". At least you are practically guaranteed to get a return in the "G" fund. Also, if interest rates start rising consumers will begin to curtail spending. That has its own ramifications. Having said al this, I will also say that despite my previous statements the bond market is still not nearly as volatile as "C", "S", or "I", but we need to understand the potential for loss of capital.
I have been watching the bond market for some time and I can tell you that in my opinion it is a very pricey place to be. Itis wound up like a spring and is just waiting to unwind. Some of that occured Friday, but it can go a lot further under the right circumstances.
Understand, this is all speculation at this point. I am not saying anyone should shun the "F" fund ( although I don't like it right now), but we need to be aware of the potential pitfalls inherent in our allocations.
The "I" fund mayalso be affectedin this scenario, but I think that even if Asia pulls back, unless we change our stance on the dollar it may not matter (I think that's what the article is saying, we want to maintain a weak dollar). We want to export more products. A weaker dollar can do that, but carries other risks as described above.
The mechanisms that underpin our economy are complex indeed and subject not only to our own monetary policies, but those of foreign governments as well. You can bet I'll be keeping on eye on it and if anything changes I'll let you know.