Sept. 11, Russian Oligarchs & the Death of the Middle Class
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and its allies froze over $58 billion in assets from Russian oligarchs and blocked major Russian banks from using the international payment system, known as SWIFT. Did the US cross a line in terms of weaponizing the dollar and denying access to the global financial system—opening the door to other nations losing confidence in the US dollar?
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Saleha Mohsin, a senior Washington correspondent for Bloomberg News and my guest today on Global Macro Update, pegs the watershed moment for dollar weaponization back decades earlier, to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. She covers this in detail in her book, Paper Soldiers, which has been one of my favorite geopolitical reads of the year.
We delve further into dollar weaponization in our interview, along with Saleha’s unique take on US populism. She sees the US’s strong dollar policy as a primary driver of the hollowing out of the US middle class and the loss of our manufacturing base.
In our interview, you will also hear Saleha’s explanation for the recent volatility growing out of the unwind of the Japanese yen carry trade, as well as the long tradition of currency manipulation by all governments.
Watch my interview with Saleha Mohsin by clicking the image above.
A full transcript of our conversation is available here.
You can find more about Saleha’s book here.
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Thanks for reading and watching.
Ed D’Agostino
Publisher & COO
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