#ECB
Hard Power Rising Means Less for U.S. or China: Cutting Research
Simon Kennedy
2012-11-16
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-16/hard-power-rising-means-less-for-u-s-or-china-cutting-research.html“Hard power” -- military and economic might -- is dispersed across more countries than at any period since 1815, curbing the dominance of the U.S. and China and throwing up challenges for economic stability, according to a study by SLJ Macro Partners LLP, a London-based hedge fund.
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As if central banks don’t have enough to worry about, along come “virtual currencies.”
Technological developments and the increased use of the Internet have spawned digital communities in which consumers can transact using money peculiar to those worlds. Examples include Bitcoin, which can be used to trade goods and services on some websites, and Linden Dollars, which feature in the online game Second Life.
While these currencies provide no unit of account or physical manifestation with legal tender status, the European Central Bank says the increased use of them bears monitoring by policy makers.
