New Money Review podcast

New Money Review podcast


Why the dollar era will end slowly—then suddenly

December 10, 2024

The latest New Money Review podcast focuses on Trump, tariffs, deglobalisation and the currency markets.


My guest, Mark Astley, is a former colleague, a currency and fixed income specialist who recently retired as chief executive of asset manager Millennium Global Investments.


“We are living in an epochal time in the history of exchange rates and trade policy,” Astley says in the podcast.


During the recording, Astley suggests the 53-year experiment with a dollar-based floating exchange rate system may be coming to an end—and he suggests that tariff wars and rising geopolitical turmoil may bring an end to dollar dominance as well.


Listen in for a 30-minute discussion of the backdrop and outlook for global currencies. We cover:


  • The benefits and costs of post-1971 exchange rate flexibility
  • The great disinflation of 1981-2021 and the recent return to higher inflation
  • Trump, tariffs, supply chains and interest rates
  • Which global economies are least and most exposed to a trade war?
  • Why dollar dominance may end slowly, then suddenly
  • The breakdown of post-WW2 global institutions
  • Implications for currency markets, precious metals and cryptocurrencies