BRIC Bucks

We knew that as soon as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez started talking about introducing a new currency, the “sucre,” for the ALBA, I knew that it wouldn’t be long before we saw Russia get in on this new currency talk.  Instituting a BRIC currency is a very interesting idea, but it is hard to imagine any of these countries who would be willing to subjugate its central banking and budget/fiscal rules to foreign governments or collaborative decision making.  This is one of the reasons that some people think the euro won’t even survive much longer – having Greece manage budgets with monetary policy set by Brussels?  Probelms are bound to occur.

“I do not exclude that the Russian president’s idea about the creation of a supranational currency and the rouble as a (world) reserve currency will be discussed,” Medvedev’s spokeswoman, Natalya Timakova, told reporters.

When asked if the summit would include a discussion of ways to reduce dependence on the dollar, she said: “If one of the (BRIC) participants raises this question then I do not exclude it” (a discussion).

Russia has proposed the creation of a new world reserve currency that would be issued by international financial institutions to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.