US Dollar, Gold, Brazil & MegaCap-8

Is the world “de-dollarizing”? Such chatter abounds, but the greenback’s role as the de facto reserve currency is secure, concludes Eric. While China has been buying a lot of gold, it’s not necessarily selling US assets to do so. Indeed, foreign investors have been snapping up US Treasury bonds steadily since 2021, and foreign governments have been swapping local currencies for dollars and investing in US assets at brisk rates. … Also: Melissa’s assessment of Brazil’s investment worthiness is an optimistic one notwithstanding recent flood damage. … And: Just how mega are the MegaCap-8 stocks and how distortive are their hefty capitalizations to the indexes and sectors in which they reside? Joe’s got the data.