Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. before Febuary 2nd 2006

ال مصدر في مكتب رئيس مجلس النواب العراقي محمود المشهداني اليوم الخميس إن رئاسة المجلس قررت تأجيل الجلسة المقرر إقامتها بعد غد السبت إلى يوم الأحد .A source in the office of the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mahmoud Almshahadani today, Thursday, to the presidency of the Council decided to postpone the meeting due to be held the day after tomorrow, Saturday, to Sunday.....

The official added that the reason behind the postponement, the media is to ensure the presence of members of the parliamentary session,
لكن مصادر برلمانية أخرى أرجعته إلى إنشغال عدد كبير من أعضاء البرلمان في الإحتفالاتBut parliamentary sources other Arjath concern to a large number of members of Parliament in the celebrations.

The wife will make me go shopping now.
وکالة ال�رات العراقية للانباء

Originally Posted by DayDream

This was probably posted yesterday but I just found it and wanted to make a comment on it. Please read the part I highlighted paying special attention to the word AND

Finance Minister : seven billion value of government support for petroleum products during this year's budget

History : 31/01/2007
Source : New Sabah


Mr. Baqir Jabr counterpart, Minister of Finance that the government is continuing to support oil derivatives through the allocation of seven billion dollars to support oil products.

He pointed out that 2007 will be lifted Mizanihame support from the derivatives Alenaftyhama with regard to the application of a new salary stressed that the ministry decided to strike work under a new salary from this month, pointing to the allocation of amounts necessary.

In regard to the new policy pursued by the Central Bank of Iraq and to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar through the opening of the auction's daily buying and selling of foreign currencies minister explained that this policy aimed to raise the value of the Iraqi dinar against other currencies, especially the dollar through a fixed exchange rate of exchange and the value of '1260' dinars to the dollar with a financial policy for the Iraqi dinar to normall, pointing out that the House did not approve a plan of implementation so far.

He added : that the government had allocated in the budget for the current year, three billion dollars to cover the costs of construction of new lines and maintenance of the filter with the current allocation of $ 300 million for the purchase of kerosene.

The Iraqi Oil Ministry had announced earlier in the termination of negotiations with foreign companies for the construction of three new division for refining crude oil in the cities of Sulaymaniyah and Karbala and Nasiriyah to the tune of three billion dollars to secure the domestic consumption of oil derivatives.

http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?hl...x%3Fid%3D11612

I found this use of the word AND interesting.

Why didn't they say... raise the value of the Iraqi dinar against other currencies especially the dollar through a fixed exchange rate of '1260 dinars??

How does the use of AND change this sentence instead of using OF? I'm seeing 2 "tools" being used here to return the dinar to normal....a fixed rate AND a financial policy. Please re-read this paragraph, several times if need be and see if you see this also. Seems to be that the 1260 rate will be used to reach a fixed rate once they use their financial policy that is written into the budget to return it to "normal". Meaning...$1.26 fixed? I just think there is more than meets the eye in this statement. Any thoughts?


Cheers!
DayDream

OK If we read into this. I think this is what they really mean!
To raise the dinar back to normal. Which could mean the all time high value. So this 1260 number could actually mean 2.61 x 2 ='s $ 5.22
This would put Iraq back on top. Plus with all of the debt relief. I believe this figure to be very accurate!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by PAn8tv

IMO I don't think they will or can trade it on the Forex before a reval, so I think that kind of answers the question as to when they might trade on the Forex. I also think that it will still take CBI intervention to encourage the currency speculators with all the violence that is still taking place on a daily basis. By the CBI continuing to influence in a positive manner this will prove to outsiders that they are still confident in the potential of the dinar and encourage speculators to jump in.

I am a fan of your posts, thank you for them.

There is no "the forex". All exchanges are privately held or publicly held companies. They are in business for profit. As with any business, risk is an issue. If a currency is too risky to deal in, no company who acts as a foreign exchange will take it on. A foreign exchange acts as the seller to the buyer and a buyer to the seller. In other words, there is a bit of a, and I use the word very loosely, guaranty, that the exchange will buy back when you want to sell and will sell when you want to buy. The SEC and the CFTC regulates this stuff. There is no central authority waiting to decide whether to admit the Dinar onto its exchange. There are only private (versus government) businesses deciding whether or not to take on the Dinar. To date, no private company (read the "forex") has been willing to take on the Dinar. There is obviously very good reason for this This is where WE come in. We are real speculators. We serve an irreplacible function in economics. We all know that we can loose everything, yet here we are. We are here even when the mechanism for speculation, "the forex" is too afraid (read, risk averse). This is the absolute cutting edge of investing, the ultimate in speculation - it is us.

As an eternal student of economics (which I have taught at the college level, and which I know to be a study of human behavior) we shall prevail. Go Dinar.

Scott Paye

BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 Iraqi officials say the Kurdistan Regional Government was given authority to sign fuels deals with Turkey because of a growing fuels crisis.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh responded Wednesday to growing criticism from Ankara after Turkish fuels companies were directed by the central Iraqi government to deal with the Kurds directly, the New Anatolian reported.


Turkey has refused to recognize Kurdistan as any authority and insists on dealing with the Iraqi central government. Turkey has threatened to invade if Kurdistan secedes from Iraq or is given extra autonomy and is amassing troops at its border now.

Saleh said the KRG had complained that the fuels rationing conducted by the central government in Baghdad was not reaching the northern region, thus creating shortages of transportation, cooking and heating fuels and leading to instability in the most stable part of Iraq.

Kurdistan, which has been semiautonomous since 1991, is relatively free of the violence that affects the rest of Iraq. It even has begun signing deals with foreign companies to develop its vast oil reserves.

Despite having the world's third-largest oil reserves, Iraq's oil production has been hurt by poor infrastructure and war. These are factors hurting Iraq's oil refining capacity, as is a lack of electricity and bottlenecking at facilities.

Iraq suffers form an expensive oil-smuggling racket as well.

Last week Iraq's state fuels company told Turkish companies looking to resign contracts that it should talk to Irbil, Kurdistan's capital, instead of Baghdad.

If Turkey recognizes the Iraqi constitution, then Turkey also has to recognize the legality of the KRG, Saleh said. The KRG has been created by this constitution. If not, then Turkey does not recognize this constitution, then it means it does not recognize Iraqi sovereignty and that may create a very serious situation.Saleh said the central government will handle fuel imports for the rest of the country, aside from the KRG.


Copyright 2007 by UPI

POL-UN-IRAQ-OFP
UNSC disappointed at Iraq's slow progress in closing Oil-for-Food Prog

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 31 (KUNA) -- The Security Council on Wednesday expressed disappointment at the Iraqi Government for the "slow progress" in implementing the remaining contracts and the associated letters of credit under the Oil-for-Food Programme.

In a letter to the Secretary-General, current council president Vitaly Churkin of Russia said the members "took note with concern and disappointment" at Iraq's slow progress in implementing the remaining contracts and the associated letters of credit under the programme, recalling that the council had recommended that it be closed during 2007.

Churkin was responding to a letter by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan before he left office last December, in which he said he informed the Iraqi government of the "need to make every effort to execute all outstanding contracts and letters of credit within the recommended time frames so that the programme can close as currently scheduled during the course of 2007." Annan also indicated that he had received complaints from two vendors that authentication documents have been "improperly withheld" by the Iraqi authorities which have allegedly requested payments as a condition for authentication.

"These complaints have been shared with the Iraqi authorities but, regrettably, we have received no response," Annan said in his letter to the council president at that time - Qatar.

In his letter, Churkin said the council members "want to reaffirm the importance of promptly finding a final solution to the remaining issues, and in particular the question of processing of the authentication documents for the arrival of goods in Iraq, so that payments can be made to the concerned companies and so that the programme can close, as currently scheduled, during the course of 2007".

Churkin also indicated that the members stressed the "high importance" that the UN Controller consults with the relevant Iraqi authorities "as soon as possible" with a view to solving these pending issues.

The programme, originally rejected by Iraq, began in December 1996, one year after the council established it in resolution 986. It first permitted Iraq to sell up to two billion dollars worth of oil in a 180-day period to pay for humanitarian goods in an attempt to alleviate the suffering of its people after a wide range of sanctions were imposed on the Iraqi regime on August 6th, 1990 for invading neighbouring Kuwait four days earlier.

The ceiling on oil sales was later eased in 1998 and finally lifted in 1999, enabling the programme to move from a focus on food and medicine to repairing essential infrastructure, including the oil industry.

The programme was finally closed in May 2004, with some contracts still pending, but not before Annan ordered an investigation into allegations of fraud and corruption which resulted in the indictment of its former Chairman Benon Sevan. (end) sj.

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KUNA 312120 Jan 07NNNN

POL-IRAQ-KUWAIT
Iraqi parliamentary team to visit Kuwait

BAGHDAD, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- An Iraqi parliamentary delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, is expected to visit Kuwait early next week for talks with Kuwaiti officials.

The Iraqi team will include, in addition to the speaker, his deputy Sheikh Khalid Al-Attiya, prime minister's advisor and Unified Alliance member Hassan Al-Sanneed, Al-Mshhadani's Information Office Chief Mohannad Abdul-Gabbar told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

"The delegation will head for Kuwait early next week upon an earlier invitation from Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi," he said.

Abdul-Gabbar quoted the Iraqi parliament speaker as considering the visit a good opportunity to have face-to-face talks with Kuwaiti officials aiming to clarify facts and to implore them to waive off Iraq's debts to Kuwait.

For his part, Al-Sanneed told KUNA that the visit was proposed following a request by 100 members of the Iraqi Parliament to the Kuwaiti National Assembly to write off Iraq's debts to Kuwait due to Iraq's current circumstances.(end) mh.

mt
KUNA 011152 Feb 07NNNN

Published: 02/02/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

Sunnis and Shiites plan to form two legislative blocs
Los Angeles Times-Washington Post



Baghdad: Sunni Arab and Shiite Muslim lawmakers announced plans on Wednesday to form two new blocs in Iraq's parliament which they hope will break away from the ethnic and religious mould of current alliances and ease sectarian strife.

But while both blocs said they hope eventually to draw in members of all ethnic and religious groups, one initially will be made up entirely of Shiite politicians and the other of Sunnis.

Moderate politicians across the sectarian divide have voiced mounting frustration at parliament's seeming impotence in the face of escalating violence that killed at least 32 Iraqis and injured dozens on Wednesday.

A group of mostly independent legislators in the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) the dominant Shiite faction, said that within days they will launch a new "Solidarity bloc" intended to be a voice of moderation within parliament's largest political formation.

Members hope to appeal "to Iraqis' patriotism and not their sect or ethnicity," said Shatha Moussawi, one of Solidarity's founding members.

Organisers claimed the support of at least 10 of the UIA's 128 legislators, but said others had expressed interest in joining them. For now, the group plans to remain within the alliance. But members said they would reach out to representatives of other ethnic and religious blocs and could unite with them in the future.

On the Sunni side, a number of independent lawmakers said they had already broken away from the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament with 44 members. The new "Gathering of Independent Iraqis" is led by Abid Mutlaq Jabouri, a former major general in Saddam Hussain's army, said Abdullah Eskandar, another founding member.

"We were hoping the major blocs like the Accordance, the UIA and Kurdish Alliance would get us out of this crisis we are facing, but these groups have also turned to sectarianism. We are trying to break out of these alliances in order to serve the interests of Iraqis," Eskandar said.

He claimed the support of more than 10 Sunni lawmakers, but said the group hopes to become a major opposition party drawing in representatives of other communities.

Iraqi central government is only party to strike deals with Turkish companies

2/1/2007 AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization is the only party allowed to grant and renew contracts with Turkish companies, the oil ministry said Wednesday, in a bid to ease Ankara's concerns about dealing with ethnic Kurds in the oil-rich north.

Turkey warned Iraq on Monday not to involve the Kurdish administration in oil business between the two countries after the organization - known as SOMO - asked Turkish companies, whose contracts were about to expire, to deal with local Iraqi Kurdish authorities to obtain new contracts earlier this month.

State Minister Kursad Tuzmen, who is in charge of foreign trade, said Turkey would only deal "with the central Iraqi government" and not with Iraqi Kurdish authorities, adding that he had sent Iraqi authorities a "strong letter," outlining Turkey's stance.

"There was a misunderstanding. The Kurdistan regional government asked the central government to let it be in charge of importing oil products from Turkey instead of SOMO, but this was not approved," ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

"Old regulations are still valid and SOMO will be the only party that strikes deals with the Turkish companies," Jihad said. "We are keen to maintain and develop relations with Turkey in economic fields and other fields."

Tuzmen's warning to Iraq came amid unconfirmed reports that Turkey has halted or slowed down export of oil products to neighboring Iraq in alleged retaliation.

Turkey, which faces hostilities with Kurdish separatists at home, is concerned about the growing power of the minority in Iraq.

It also has warned Iraqi Kurdish groups against trying to seize control of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, saying Turkey will not stand by amid growing tensions among ethnic Turkmens, Arabs and Kurds in Iraq's oil-rich north.

"If Turkey is ... tested, then the price of it would be dear," Tuzmen said. "If there is a serious state, it must stand behind its signatures."

Turkey had suspended sales of oil products to Iraq on Jan. 19, 2006, after SOMO's debts to Turkish companies exceeded $1 billion. The suspension was lifted in April.

Iraqi Kurds, who claim the region as their own and hope to eventually include Kirkuk in a region of self-rule in northern Iraq, accused Turkey of interfering in Iraqi internal affairs.

Turkey fears Iraq's Kurds want Kirkuk's lucrative oil to fund a bid for independence that could encourage separatist Kurdish guerrillas in Turkey, who have been fighting for autonomy since 1984.

Al-Maliki Calls for End of Iraqi Fighting
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted GMT 2-1-2007 17:15:19
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BAGHDAD (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for U.S. and Iranian forces to cease using his nation as a battlefield for their ongoing struggles.

CNN reported that as U.S. officials continue to investigate if Iran was involved in a deadly attack in the Iraqi city of Karbala, Maliki demanded that the two foreign countries take their fight outside his nation's borders.

"Iraq has nothing to do with the American-Iranian struggle, and we will not let Iran play a role against the American Army and we will not allow America to play a role against the Iranian army, and everyone should respect the sovereignty of Iraq," he said.

Maliki's comments come after five U.S. soldiers were killed in the Jan. 20 attack of a military compound in Karbala, an action that some U.S. officials have linked to Iran.

CNN said that while Maliki did not specifically say that Iran was behind the deadly attack, he did confirm that there is currently a major Iranian influence in his nation that is linked to attacks on U.S. forces.

"It exists, and I assure you it exists," the Iraqi leader said.

© 2007, Assyrian International News Agency.

CBS) This story was written for CBSNews.com by correspondent Cami McCormick, who is based in Baghdad.


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At the Iraq Assistance Group headquarters in Baghdad, where Colonel Kent Abernathy and Captain Mike Hastings work, their desks sit facing one another.

One is an Indianapolis Colts fan. The other a diehard Chicago Bears fan.

"We just stare at each other," says Abernathy, 50, who grew up in Indianapolis. "I've got my Colts football on my desk."

"I wear my Bears cap and I have the Bears blanket on my chair," said Hastings, 26, a Chicago native.

Their football wagering usually involves the loser bringing breakfast to the winner the next morning.

"He's going to get me oatmeal with raisins, egg whites with tomatoes, green peppers, and ham - - you writing this down, sir? And orange juice," Hastings jokes of the morning after the Super Bowl. "The Bears are going to kill them, I'm very confident of that."

Hastings was born during an October 6,1980, Monday night football game between the Bears and the Green Bay Packers.

"Ever since then I was a diehard Bears fan," Hastings said. As a child, he had "vinyl and blue fleece pajamas with the Bears emblem. They zipped up from your feet to your neck. I wore those pajamas every night until I was 18. My mom still has them in the attic. I'm looking for an adult pair today."

Hastings is 6'2" and 230 pounds.

Hastings' parents have been season ticket holders since 1982, and may travel to Miami for Sunday's game, and delay renovating their home to pay for the trip.

In Iraq, soldiers and Marines will gather in designated facilities to watch the game, others in their tents or trailers. Kickoff is at 2:30 a.m. local time.

Hastings and Abernathy are debating watching the Super Bowl with their unit, even though it will mean a sleepless night and hours of friendly ribbing.

"We may slug each other a few times," Hastings said. "I'll be at war with Colonel Abernathy for the duration of the game, and after that we can become friends again."

"It'll be a different kind of war zone," Abernathy adds. "But at the end of the day, we're all comrades in arms...even if they're Bears fans."

By Cami McCormick