“The eminent French economist Jacques Rueff once reflected on the chronic “oversupply of dollars outside the U.S. as a consequence of the prolonged deficit of the U.S. balance of payments.” He sounded that warning in 1967, 36 years before the warning now in front of you. So there is another warning: Timing is problematical.

For those who believe that, in the shadow of a presidential election year, the U.S. government will somehow succeed in its quest to make the dollar cheaper (and the bilateral deficit with China smaller): How to invest?

For anyone who does not happen to have a derivatives dealer on call, there is only one easy way to play the yuan. That is to open a yuan-denominated account at Everbank World Markets, a division of First Alliance Bank, Jacksonville, Fla. (See link at left under Related Sites.) You, the federally insured depositor, would own virtual yuan (recall that the currency is inconvertible). But if there were a revaluation vs. the dollar, you would be a winner. It costs one-half of 1% to get in and one-half of 1% to get out. While awaiting the triumph of arithmetic, you would earn interest of one-half of 1% a year. And you could wait a while. The inevitable always happens, but not always when it’s most convenient.”

James Grant in Forbes.