the trend is your friend, page-7

couple of key paragraphs in the Australian today
the Chinese are stirring??


"Economic contraction in most of the industrial world and steep export declines already posted in the early months of this year by most major economies - particularly those in Asia - make for an unusually bleak 2009 trade assessment," the Geneva-based WTO said in its annual assessment of world trade.

And China called for the creation of a new currency to eventually replace the US dollar as the world's standard, proposing a sweeping overhaul of global finance, reflecting growing unhappiness among developing nations with the role the US has played in the world economy.

The unusual proposal, made by central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, is seen as part of China's increasingly assertive approach to shaping the global response to the financial crisis.

Mr Rudd rejected the Chinese call for the creation of a global reserve currency in place of the US dollar.