{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"What the Iran War Reveals About the Dollar, Gold, and the End of US Exceptionalism - Ep 289","description":"The US dollar accounts for 58% of foreign currency reserves today, down from 70% two decades ago. The US government's freezing of roughly $300 billion of Russian central bank reserves turned the dollar into a political weapon and undermined the comfort countries (even adversaries) had in it. Central banks are now accumulating gold as if preparing for an Indian wedding. The Iran war, an unraveling of post-WWII alliances, and a US borrowing 6% more than it earns are all reacting to the same underlying shift: the assumptions behind US exceptionalism are quietly being rewritten. I walk through what that means for portfolios, and why our exceptionality was not a gift from the economic gods but partly gifted to us by Lady Luck. I work through how to think about the dollar's slow decline (not binary, but billions of incremental decisions, like Vietnam and Brazil settling trade outside it, or India buying Middle East oil in local currency). I discuss why we added to gold despite my hating the position. I explain our exposure to oil and natural gas through a Canadian, a Swedish, and a Norwegian producer, and why management matters more than geography in a cyclical industry where eternal optimists tend to buy at the top and dilute at the bottom. I also answer the crypto question. Bitcoin may have been a lottery ticket a decade ago. Today it is hardly one. The full letter, with the client questions that prompted it, is at investor.fm. _________________________________________________________  \ud83d\udd17 LINKS MENTIONED: Trump\u2019s call for a bitcoin strategic reserve is a very bad idea&amp;nbsp; https:\/\/investor.fm\/trumps-call-for-a-bitcoin-strategic-reserve-is-a-very-bad-idea\/  _________________________________________________________  \ud83d\udce9 Join 100,000+ readers on Vitaliy's FREE weekly newsletter: https:\/\/investor.fm\/sign-up\/ \ud83d\udcda Vitaliy's books: Soul in the Game -&amp;nbsp;https:\/\/amzn.to\/43CF73v  The Little Book of Sideways Markets - https:\/\/amzn.to\/3QWTlqZ Active Value Investing - https:\/\/amzn.to\/3u8zn3A \ud83c\udf10 Follow Vitaliy:&amp;nbsp;X\/Twitter - https:\/\/x.com\/vitaliyk LinkedIn - https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/katsenelson\/  Instagram - https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/vitaliyk\/  Website - https:\/\/investor.fm\/ _________________________________________________________   WHO AM I: Vitaliy Katsenelson is the CEO of Investment Management Associates (IMA) and an award-winning writer. Forbes Magazine called him &quot;The New Benjamin Graham.&quot; His work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Fortune, Institutional Investor, and Foreign Policy. He is the author of three books, including Soul in the Game: The Art of a Meaningful Life. _________________________________________________________  Please read the following important disclosure: https:\/\/investor.fm\/disclosure\/ View IMA's regulatory filings \u2014 including ADV Part 2A &amp;amp; 2B, Form CRS, firm brochure, conflicts of interest disclosures, sample quarterly letters, and privacy policy \u2014 at imausa.com. ","author_name":"The Intellectual Investor","author_url":"http:\/\/investor.fm","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/41294080\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/87A93A\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/201950595"}