There's a major shift under way, one the U.S. mainstream media has left largely untouched even though it will send the United States into an economic maelstrom and dramatically reduce the country's importance in the world: the demise of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. For decades the U.S. dollar has been absolutely dominant in international trade, especially in the oil markets. This role has created immense demand for U.S. dollars, and that international demand constitutes a huge part of the dollar's valuation. Not only did the global-currency role add massive value to the dollar, it also created an ... (full story)