BRICS Plan to Abandon U.S. Dollar Will Hurt U.S. and Help Gold

"Frustrated with what they viewed as being ignored by the West and not having a prominent role in institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (also known as the BRICS countries) have held their second summit...

The BRICS countries represent 40% of the world’s population and 20% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP)…[and] are growing their portion of world GDP faster than the West, which means that, even in a decade, the BRICS countries are going to represent a lot more than 20% of the world’s GDP.
The BRICS countries emerged from their meetings in New Delhi to declare that:

1. trade between their countries would take place in their own currencies, doing away with the use of the reserve U.S. dollar,
2. trade among the BRICS countries themselves would be increased in order to reduce the influence of exporting to countries in Europe and to the U.S. (Trade among the BRICS countries is growing at a 28% annual rate and is expected to double in just a few years from the $230 billion worth of trade being transacted today in the BRICS countries, increasing their GDP influence.)
3. their finance ministers would study the possibility of creating a BRICS development bank that would offer an alternative to the U.S.-dominated World Bank and report back with a proposal at next year’s summit. The proposed development bank would allow not only member BRICS countries to apply for loans for infrastructure projects and other development initiatives, but also all developing countries in the world..."

at http://www.munknee.com/2012/04/brics-plan-to-abandon-u-s-dollar-will-hurt-u-s-and-help-gold/

SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC POINTS TO GLOBAL SLOW-DOWN

"Here’s an indicator I had never seen before. Reuters is highlighting the slow-down in Suez Canal traffic as a possible harbinger of stagnating global economic growth:

“As this week’s Chart of the Week indicates, traffic through the Suez Canal in Egypt – a key cargo transportation route – has nosedived in recent weeks and months. Currently, Suez traffic is only slightly better than flat compared to year earlier levels. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the trends in global GDP growth tend to mirror those in traffic transiting the Suez canal; it is logical that trade volumes would flag during periods of contraction or sluggish growth, as is most vividly illustrated by the close correlation between the two indicators at the height of the financial crisis from late 2008 through 2009.”

at  http://pragcap.com/suez-canal-traffic-points-to-global-slow-down