Let’s say $40 of every barrel of oil sold to the US by large oil companies sourced in the middle east goes into a sovereign wealth fund. Let’s say there is $4 trillion missing from the US Treasury, and the majority is now offshore in the form of funds or Treasury securities.

Now suppose that money is invested back into the US.

Mizuho, Korea Fund Join in Merrill Cash Injection
By John Flowers, et al – Wall Street Journal (15 Jan 2008)

Citigroup Swings to a Loss, Plans to Raise More Capital
By Donna Kardos & Andrew Dowell – Wall Street Journal (16 Jan 2008)

Do you ever wonder who the real owner behind the curtain may be?