D-d-d-d-d-d-did he just say "gold standard"?

 I am the operator of my pocket calculator

Robert 'Kraftwerk' Zoellick threw a spanner in the works this morning. Here's Reuters:

World Bank chief surprises with gold standard idea

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Leading economies should consider adopting a modified global gold standard to guide currency rates, World Bank president Robert Zoellick said on Monday in a surprise proposal before a potentially acrimonious G20 summit.

Writing in the Financial Times, Zoellick called for a "Bretton Woods II" system of floating currencies as a successor to the Bretton Woods fixed-exchange rate regime that broke down in the early 1970s.

The former U.S. trade representative, who served in several Republican administrations, said such a move "is likely to need to involve the dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound and (a yuan) that moves towards internationalisation and then an open capital account.

"The system should also consider employing gold as an international reference point of market expectations about inflation, deflation and future currency values," he added.

CONTINUES HERE


UPDATE: Sharp reaction from The Economist via its Free Exchange blog:

"...Mr Zoellick must know now if he didn't already; mentioning gold is a good way to get attention, albeit at the cost of having most of your substantive points ignored."

Ha! H/T to Salmon via his twitter.

Honduras: The World Bank "pauses", the coup is finished

I am the operator of my pocket calculator

Holy Moley, I never thought I'd see the day. Robert 'Kraftwerk' Zoellick (here pictured with Lula), is "working closely" with the OAS and as a result has "paused" lending to Honduras. This might sound rather meek to you, but to your humble LatAm moneyhead correspondent it's a damnation far stronger than anything Hugo could ever cook up.

This coup is official, total, utter toast and I wouldn't want to be in the usurper Micheletti's shoes next week. Here's Reuters;

WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The World Bank has "paused" all program lending to Honduras following a military coup in the impoverished country, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday. "We're working closely with the OAS (Organization of American States) and looking to the OAS to deal with its handling of the crisis under its democratic charter," Zoellick told reporters, "In the process we have put a pause with our lending." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by James Dalgleish)


UPDATE: Holy Moley The Sequel! Even the righties at The Miami Herald agree!

Exclusive: Zo-Lik the Financial Robot to Save World

At the G-20 conference today, Lula won the hearts'n'minds of the blue-eyed whiteys by unveiling his grand plan: Instead of putting the FateOfTheWorld™ in the hands of the very same robberbaron bankers that got us into this clusterf, top Brazilian scientists have designed and built the first ever fully automated financial robot to instil Hope™ throughout the world. Named Zo-Lik by Lula, one will be sent to the Central Banks of each G-20 member in the next 20 days.

• "The robot will perfectly implement all financial mandates and is 100% corruption and bonus-free" remarked President Lula. "As for the design, we decided to go for a mix of Kraftwerk's "I am the operator of my pocket calculator" and Arnie's Terminator, as the Semtex installed in each Zo-Lik will be triggered by the proximity to embezzled accounting files."

If all goes to plan, major banks will be equipped with one per boardroom by the end of 2009.