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Dear Stan, I enjoy reading what reporter Anasuya Kesavan writes in GulfWeekly, she has a very hearty way of writing that keeps me interested till the very last word.

I really enjoyed the experience-article she wrote about Sisi Mini Spa. I pampred myself there and it was a lovely experience. I met owner Sawsan and told her I knew about the place thanks to a story in your newspaper.

Aalaa Al-Laith, by email.

Dear Stan,

The dollar has just suffered a two-quarter downhill drop of 10 per cent in its value, the longest sustained exit from the dollar for 20 years and the biggest drop in its value since 1991. One swallow does not make a summer. So far it is the euro and yen which have gained, the euro by 11 per cent since March. But in the end it is Asia, the Gulf States and developing countries of the south that will gain.

Waiting in the wings of history is a new composite currency to compete with the dollar and the euro. It does not exist yet, but its time is coming.

The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) of the International Monetary Fund has only hinted at this, but the IMF may very well be involved in its creation.

When the new currency does see the light of day then the flight from the dollar that we have just seen for six months, will take on a longer term and more permanent trend, as part of a great new global rebalancing act.

The dollar will still be a global currency, along with the euro, but, in my opinion, they will be joined by a new composite currency combining the financial strengths of China and its Asian neighbours, the Gulf States, Brazil and Russia.

It's a bit of a shock to realise that what we used to call the West, thinking of the US and the EU, and leaving aside Japan for a minute, will eventually, but in the not-too-distant future, have less combined economic weight than all of the countries of the South, that used to be their colonies and poor relations.

Now three geo-political sets of interests must decide what to do, not because the dollar will die, but because it will not be as big and as strong as it was.

All of this is no longer a dream. And not doing it in the next decade could become a nightmare.

Dr Terry Lacey

Development Economist

Indonesia.