Big Mac Called Upon To Supplant Dollar as Reserve Currency

We are predicting that The Big Mac will soon be taking on a expanded role in Global Finance as an alternative candidate to the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

Not a week goes by now without another Global financial indicator being tied to the Big Mac.

You will recall that this all began with the Economist’s Big Mac Index, which is a proxy for PPP (F2U Rio Linda, PPP is the acronym for Purchasing Power Parity).

The lastest tabulation is now is from UBS which converts the number of hours worked around the world into Big Mac Units, as reported by The Economist.

That a major global financial institution like UBS would spend their time and resources collecting this kind of data confirms they are either completely out of touch, or know something we mere mortals are missing.

Who In Their Right Mind Collects This Data?

On the other hand, I’m happy to verify that USB maintains their integrity these days thru their recent settlement with the IRS regarding hidden Swiss bank accounts.

UBS AG and the Swiss and U.S. governments have finalized a settlement in a tax-evasion investigation that will allow UBS clients to appeal to a Swiss tribunal before their account information is handed to U.S. tax collectors, according to a person familiar with the situation.

In any case the Chinese are on the case, witness their recent call for an alternative to the US Dollar in Central Bank currency reserves.

BEIJING — China’s central bank reiterated its call for the creation of a new international currency that could replace currencies such as the dollar in countries’ official reserves.

In its annual report on financial stability … the People’s Bank of China said the country will push reform of the international currency system to make it more diversified and reasonable. While it didn’t specifically target the U.S. currency, it said it aims to reduce over-reliance on the current reserve currencies, of which the dollar is the biggest.

Although Beijing didn’t spell out what candidates they would support as an alternative reserve currenty, our guess is that the UK staple of Fish and Chips will not suffice given Sterling’s recent (greasy) slide against the Dollar and Euro.

Should we proceed down the Big Mac road there is food for thought:

• Go Long McDonald’s Stock – MCD
• Like gold there are a finite amount of Big Macs.
• Unlike “Blood Diamonds”, there is  no such thing as “Blood Big Macs”.
• They can be ‘mined’ in underdeveloped countries, like ‘micro-loans’.
• And while you can’t take your money with you when you die, you can eat any surplus.

Flash to all you day traders: instead of betting on hedges in Commodities, the world is changing, it’s time to consider Condiment futures.

Just One Word

I have just one word: Ketchup.