The U.S. may still be able to cajole China and Japan into buying our soon-to-be-worthless Treasury debt, but members of the so-called BRIC alliance -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- have been easing toward the escape hatch.   A subscriber of ours whose firm trades in far-flung global markets sent us the following dispatch -- a cautionary note for all who may have been unduly impressed by last week’s nominally successful Treasury auction. Our correspondent writes as follows:

“Stop me if you've heard this one.  Four men met in a room (see picture below) yesterday somewhere in Central Russia to discuss how they were going to spend their money. Oh sure, they made a rousing and high-minded statement of their commitment to advance the reform of international financial institutions, asked for a greater voice for emerging and developing countries, and lastly expressed a 'belief' that there is a 'strong need' for a stable, predictable, and more diversified international monetary system. That last clause smacks of diplomatic delicacy over the words that no one seems to want to speak, the unmentionable US Dollar.

“Let the impact of this meeting sink in, particularly since it was barely covered by U.S. media and in fact the U.S. was not invited. We think these guys actually talked about where their massive US$ reserves are going and whether they are prepared to continue to support our deficits -- or are they going to spend their Franklins before they lose value acquiring minerals, assets, and businesses world-wide to support growth in their own economies?  I don't know about you, but if I had to read between the lines of the slippery official ministerial poppycock, I'd sure bet that all of them went home thinking that door #2 is a much better option for them. Bottom line: Since I can still buy for the equivalent of $12, a meaty T-bone at the Marlin restaurant in Lusaka, you can be sure that someone from BRIC  is also buying copper using their still over-valued US Dollars.”