HOT RISING CURRENCY

The late Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige advised: "Don't look back 'cause something might be gaining on you."

Though some might say this is panicky talk, if you're the U.S. government you might want to give old Satchel's advice a closer look.

Azerbaijan's a country most Americans would likely have a difficult time finding on the map. A former member of the Soviet Union, the oil rich country is an important wedge between Russia and Iran. Baku is the capitol city.

The country recently announced its sovereign wealth fund plans to invest $1.8 billion in the Chinese renmimbi this year. According to the FT, it is the "largest investment in the Chinese currency to be made public --and a further indication of its rapid move towards reserve currency status."

The CEO of the $37 billion State Oil Fund reported to the FT the fund was seeking permission to access the renminbi assets and start investing in the currency before the end of the year. As the renminbi grows in international important it was the seventh most used currency for international payment in April, an amount that doubled in a littler over one year.

The Azerbaijan fund is not alone in buying renmimbi. Some reports suggest central banks and other wealth funds are starting to buy the Chinese currency but only a few have publicly confirmed these purchases. The Reserve Bank of Australia, Chile and Nigeria's central bank hold renmimbi in their reserves along with Japan and Malaysia.

As noted those are the ones publicly known. The recent big energy deal between Russia and China and the fact there's talk about the BRICs finding an alternative currency to settle accounts if access to the dollar changes should also trouble U.S. officials.

In foreign policy the US is a victim of the damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't concept. But that hardly excuses the fact that it is also a country that continues to suffer from pitiful leadership hardly unique to the current feeble, pathetic administration. It breeches generations.

It's not our intent to name names because if we did one of the names that would have to be tossed into the ring is the name of the people themselves. They have and continue to tolerate it. They do so, apparently bereft, that it's their future economic welfare and freedom at stake here.