Iran Snap Analysis: Ahmadinejad and The Economy's "Worthless Pieces of Paper"
Five years ago, as he called on OPEC members to convert their cash reserves into a currency other than the US dollar, President Ahmadinejad said of Americans, "They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper."
Today, Ahmadinejad awakes to an Iranian Rial which has lost almost half its value in the last nine days despite --- or possibly because of --- a Central Bank intervention which was meant to prop it up. Having traded at just over 10000:1 vs. the "worthless" US dollar a year ago, the Rial is posted on currency websites at 35500:1 to 35800:1. At one point on Tuesday, it reportedly touched 40000:1 in some exchanges before settling --- according to some accounts, assisted by arrests of currency traders.