I’ve been thinking a lot about the money market on and off in the last year. I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s been kind of interesting to notice some of the trends happening. For instance, in the last year, there has be a nearly global drop in the value of foreign currency, while the dollar comparatively has pretty much held it’s value. On top of that, just noting the fact that our current recession is, in fact, a global phenomenon, and not just a domestic problem makes me realize how connected the world economies are any more. A failure by a company like GM for example has an impact on several other countries throughout the world. Subsidiaries such as Opel are split off. Industrial plants in other countries are sold or scrapped. Workers are laid off or redistributed. When you look at the big picture, it’s difficult not to see the connections.

That said, as the value of foreign currency drops, many smaller countries are looking for more stability in their currency, some have turned to more Universal Currency such as the Euro, while others have relied on more traditional means such as reserve currency. In recent time, the dollar being the recommended reserve currency in use by the world.

That taken into account, it seems like we are really moving into a new world in regards to currency exchange, since it seems that as companies become more global, many of the stressors that cause economic turns are affecting us on a much more global level than ever before. A poorly performing industry for example could send world markets into a tumble before anyone even know what hit them or a lack of a certain resource could do the same. Whereas in the past, this was often considered more of a local event.

It’s kind of interesting to think about and makes me wonder what it’s leading up to. Could we be looking at the beginnings of a Universal Currency? As more and more countries become more dependent on any one currency, could the adoption of that currency be the eventual conclusion for everyone? What about the global impact of industrial and market wide failures? How do you even deal with a global wide failure, since the affects on the system as a whole could ultimately effect a much larger segment of the global market. It gives pause for thought.