![zimbabwecurrency.jpg](http://www.trevorhoppe.com/blog/images/zimbabwecurrency.jpg)
This is fucking ridiculous:
Zimbabwe's troubled central bank introduced $100 billion banknotes Saturday in a desperate bid to ease the recurrent cash shortages plaguing the inflation-ravaged economy.
The bills officially come into circulation Monday, although they were on the foreign currency dealers market Saturday.
As high as they are, though, the bills still aren't enough to buy a loaf of bread. They can buy only four oranges.
[snip]
In January, the government issued bills in denominations of $1 million, $5 million, and $10 million -- and in May, it issued bills from $25 million and $50 million up to $25 billion and $50 billion.
The new bills are actually bearer checks and have an expiration date of December 31. Zimbabwe has not had formal currency since the introduction of bearer checks as a temporary measure in 2003.
Just how bad is it there? Well, for example, a local cell phone call in Zimbabwe today costs about $58,000,000 / min, while international calls can cost up to $1,500,000,000 / minute. Yes, that's anywhere from $58 million to $1.5 billion dollars per minute:
NetOne subscribers now have to part with $58 million a minute for a call to another NetOne subscriber during peak periods.
Calls to subscribers on the Econet network will now cost $60 million, those to TelOne subscribers $63 million and $72 million to a Telecel subscriber.
Regional calls to landlines in Group 1 countries are now pegged at $155 million and $160 million for mobile receivers.
Calling a cell phone in Group 2 and 3 countries will cost as much as $1,5 billion a minute.
Zimbabwe's Dictator-in-Chief since 1980, Robert Mugabe, is to blame. Get him the fuck out of there! What a scumbag. He has singlehandedly destroyed his country's economy and spirit. It's absolutely devastating.