Thread: Iraq/Dinar News until 6/17/07 8:30 PM CST

Direct lines tanker reform of electric power between the central and northern regions

Luna / June 12 / BAGHDAD / A source at the Ministry of Electricity to Maintenance teams from the Ministry of Electricity started work on the reform of energy carriers lines between the central and northern regions, which suffered the destruction caused in the process of exiting from work.
The source added today, Tuesday, that those lines were on Sunday to sabotage the process weakened the coherence of the system as well as the separation of one of the transmission lines linking South Downtown impacted negatively on the ability of citizens equipped, especially in Baghdad. stressing that the marked improvement experienced by the United electric energy during the past few days in Baghdad was the result of the completion of the maintenance on some stations, production / / completed / u p / b p / local

Translated version of http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.4330.5

The establishment of a warehouse for storing petroleum derivatives in the south

Luna / June 12 / Basra / South Oil Company announced that based on the Basra Oil Ministry sought to establish a repository for the storage of petroleum products in the province of Maysan.
The director said the South Oil Company Allaibi Jabbar told "Luna" today, Tuesday, that this repository hopefully be completed in one year with a capacity of the treasury total sixty million liters at six depots capacity per ten million liters at an estimated cost of about thirty billion Iraqi dinars.
Pointing out that the date of entry into force of this repository has not yet / / completed / p u / oo / local

Translated version of http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.4330.5

Basra is drowning in a darker place, complaining of fuel stations

Luna / June 12 / Basra / Basra Governorate plunge into darkness since yesterday morning and suffers from a complete cessation of electrical energy.
Large crowds were seen yesterday evening to owners of plastic packages to mobilize fuel stations in the city.
Overcrowding led to the anger of citizens and workers in the plants due to codify the rule Albanzin sold them to twenty liters only.
Citizens are asked to talk through the Iraqi national correspondent (Luna) the need for a pump or two pumps at least for owners of the packages. Noting that vehicles caused considerable confusion and praised them the same time and fuel station located on the Arabian Gulf street leading to eliminate Zubayr, which provided two pumps owners Maadi packages only to cruise in the process of supplying large fuel / / completed / p u / oo / local.

Translated version of http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.4330.5

President Talabani and Negroponte PROBE legislation and constitutional amendments

Luna / June 12 / BAGHDAD / met President Jalal Talabani today, Tuesday, with the Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, has been discussing the basic legislation and constitutional amendments.
A statement issued by the presidency said the meeting was attended by the Iraqi file in the Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield, the American Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. The Taliban at the meeting a detailed presentation of the situation in the country.
The statement added that the two sides discussed the latest developments on both the security and political side to the operation of the plan to impose law Baghdad, pointing out that he also discussed with Deputy Foreign Minister basic American legislation and constitutional amendments and political issues relating to this subject / / completed / p u / a, c / Presidency of the Republic ..

Translated version of http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.4330.5

The activities and accomplishments of the retirement and social security

Luna / June 12 / Baghdad / The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on the main activities and achievements of the retirement and social security for workers during the month of April.
An official source in the retirement and social security for workers today, Tuesday, that the inspection committees charged with following up the application of the retirement and social security (557) conducted a field visit to projects covered by social security, while the number of field visits to projects in non-guaranteed (985) while the number of transactions to support special service workers (227) treatment.
The source added that the inspection of the industrial services and costly application of the law of good industrial services No. (30) of 2000 has made (16) DISCOVERIES centrally and (262) field visit has been granted a lease to practice for ten projects.
For his part, was completed by the retirement and compensation (42) for the treatment of pensions (of service, age, disability) has also Itedkiq (32) to add the treatment of military service as well as auditing (15) Treatment of pensions to amend the salaries of retirees.
The source indicated that revenues Division estate in the constituency of rent allowances amounted (30483682) Thirty million, four hundred and eighty-three thousand six hundred and Eighty-two dinars as attorney (1733646) million, seven hundred and thirty-three thousand six hundred and forty dinars in accordance with the provisions of the debt collection governmental No. (56) of 1977.
And in relation to enable Section corporate profits in the collection (49787779) forty-nine million, seven hundred and eighty thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine dinars profit achieved Chamber / / completed / p u / a, c / local.

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Translated version of http://www.wna-news.com/inanews/news.php?item.4330.5

Iraq gov''t proceeds with key laws, reconciliation efforts -- Maliki

POL-LD IRAQ-NEGROPONTE
Iraq gov't proceeds with key laws, reconciliation efforts -- Maliki
(with photos) BAGHDAD, June 12 (KUNA) -- Iraq's government is carrying on with enacting important laws for welfare of the Iraqi people such as the oil and gas law, as well as boosting national reconciliation, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said.

Al-Maliki's statement was made on Tuesday during talks in his office in Baghdad with the US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte who arrived earlier in the day on a previously unannounced visit.

"The (Iraqi) national unity government proceeds with enacting new laws that serve the present and future interests of the Iraqi people, such as the laws on oil and gas, accountability and justice and provinces," the Premier told the UN official.

He added that his government was "boosting efforts for reconciliation, regardless of the regional interference and conspiracies impeding the political process" in the country.

"Several missions are ahead topped with developing our security bodies and armed forces to combat the terrorist al-Qaeda, Saddamists and militants, and extend the rule of law nationwide," Al-Maliki noted.

The Iraqi Premier referred to "the success by the national unity government overcoming the biggest danger, sectarian war, through the national reconciliation initiative supported by all the Iraqi people and political powers." Al-Maliki expressed appreciation the US support to the political process and reconstruction in Iraq.

Negroponte renewed the US backing to the Iraqi people and government to achieve security and stability in the face of challenges and external interference The surprise visit by the senior American official came a day after Britain's future prime minister Gordon Brown visited the country and held talks with the local leaders urging them to press ahead with measures to restore order and achieve political reforms.(end) ahh.
msa


KUNA 121300 Jun 07NNNN

Kuna site|Story page|Iraq gov''t proceeds with key laws, reconciliation...6/12/2007

Originally Posted by Wm.Knowles

Sorry, I lifted from another site:

The New Zealand central bank has sold a batch of NZ dollars in a move to steady the country's currency. The New Zealand dollar had soared to a 22-year high against the US dollar after an unexpected interest rate hike last week from 7.75% to 8%.
The sale knocked 2% off the currency to a low of $0.7467, but it has since recovered some of these losses.
The kiwi dollar has benefited from speculative inflows from international investors using borrowed money.
Further rate hikes?
Such investors often borrow money in Japanese yen to invest in currencies where interest rates are higher.
The strategy - commonly known as the yen carry trade because with base rates at 0.5% in Japan the yen is one of the cheapest currencies to borrow - has not been much affected by the New Zealand central bank's (RBNZ) actions, say analysts.
They argue that the bank's hawkish monetary policy would continue to provide good support for the kiwi dollar.
At last week's meeting, rate setters concerned about rising dairy prices unexpectedly raised interest rates to the highest rate among industrialised nations.
The announcement sent the currency to its highest level against the US dollar since it abandoned the peg to a basket of currencies in 1985.
"We still see risks skewed toward further RBNZ tightening in the third quarter and unless the RBNZ is willing to intervene on a sustained basis, the New Zealand dollar will eventually push to fresh cyclical highs," said Sue Trinh, currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
The New Zealand central bank was one of the first banks to be granted operational independence to control inflation.


A good example of how a central bank adjusts the base money supply to influence the rates of exchange. In this case, NZ pushes money into the economy and lowers the rate, In Iraqs case they are removing money. With eventual benefits all of us.Thank You. (IMHO).

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Hi Wm.Knowles, Very Interesting. Here is another piece of that article.


New Zealand dollar reverses run on intervention

MENAFN - MarketWatch.com - Monday, June 11, 2007
Kiwi dollar tumbles on central bank intervention
Reserve bank official regards kiwi's rate as 'exceptional' and 'unjustified'
By Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:45 PM ET Jun 11, 2007

NEW YORK (Menafn - MarketWatch) -- Less than a week after surprising the market with an interest-rate hike that boosted New Zealand's dollar to 22-year highs, the country's central bank now finds itself in a position to dampen the currency's rise.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand confirmed Monday that it had intervened in the foreign-exchange market by selling the New Zealand dollar to weaken it. It is the first time the central bank has intervened in the foreign-exchange market since the country's currency was floated in 1985.
"As stated in our June Monetary Policy Statement, we regard current levels of the exchange rate as exceptional and unjustified in terms of the economic fundamentals," Reserve Bank Gov. Alan Bollard said in a statement posted on the central bank's Web site. See statement.

The New Zealand dollar, or the kiwi, tumbled on Monday, falling 2% against the U.S. currency, 1.7% against the Australian dollar, and 1.9% against the yen.
"After raising interest rates to 8% last week, the last thing both analysts and traders expected was for [the central bank] to artificially weaken the New Zealand dollar by selling it outright in the foreign exchange market," said Kathy Lien, chief strategist at DailyFX.com. "The unprecedented move indicates that this is a very serious step for the central bank and not one that has been taken lightly."

The intervention came after the kiwi surged to its strongest level in 22 years against the greenback last Thursday, sparked by the central bank's unexpected move to raise its interest rate by a quarter-point to a record 8% -- the highest among major economies.
The global interest in carry trades -- in which investors borrow low-yielding currencies, such as the yen, and reinvest in higher-yielding currencies -- has boosted demand for the kiwi dollar in recent years.
The kiwi has appreciated about 20% against the dollar and 30% against the yen in the past 12 months.

A fight on its hands
The rise in the value of the New Zealand dollar has led to worries that currency strength would hurt economic growth by making exports more expensive. Both Bollard and finance minister Michael Cullen have repeatedly said this year that the level of the kiwi was unjustified based on fundamentals.
"If today's action by the [central bank] is a statement of intent, then the bank may well have a fight on its hands," said Simon Derrick, currency strategist at The Bank of New York, in a note to clients. "Whilst wanting to offer some protection for the export sector, Bollard has made clear that he wishes to maintain a tight monetary policy."

The central bank said after its June policy meeting that the increase in interest rates will help achieve the 1% to 3% inflation target over the medium term. "A sustained period of slower growth in domestic activity will be required" to alleviate inflation pressures, the bank said.
The surprising intervention could be a "distraction" from the central bank's core policy objective, which is to keep inflation under control, said Sue Trinh, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
And the effectiveness of the intervention "is even more questionable," Lien said. "Unless they intervene again, the effectiveness of this intervention will probably be limited."

The goal of intervention is generally to increase the money supply, which effectively reduces interest rates, she said. However, New Zealand's central bank clearly does not want interest rates to fall. In fact, it's expected to continue to raise rates going forward, she said.
Further move?
Masafumi Yamamoto, analyst at Citigroup, said if the kiwi dollar continues to appreciate, "it might be natural to assume that the bank may intervene again."

But without historical precedent, "it will be difficult to judge how long [it] will be in the market to weaken the New Zealand dollar, and how much weaker currency could go," Trinh said.
Any further move could be limited by the fact that New Zealand does not have much money to spend," Lien said.
The special fund that they have set up for intervention only has approximately 7 billion New Zealand dollars or US$5.3 billion," she said. "Their intervention war chest is small," Lien said.

Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said currency intervention typically "sees diminishing returns." Once the element of surprise is removed, "continued intervention is likely to have a smaller and smaller impact," he said.
What's more, the central bank can target inflation or the exchange rate, but not both. "It will be impossible for the [Reserve Bank of New Zealand] to both limit inflation with higher interest rates and prevent currency appreciation," Chandler said, in a note to clients.

Follow suit
The unusual policy action by New Zealand also sparked speculation that other central banks may follow suit.
For example, the Bank of Japan has come under increasing pressure from its trade partners for the low level of the yen. Speculation has also risen that the Bank of Canada may start verbal intervention soon after the Canadian dollar recently surged to 30-year highs.
Bank of New York's Derrick said the surprising intervention from New Zealand could help shift the Group of Seven leading countries' stance on currency market intervention.

The G7 nations have generally been aiming at prompting currency flexibility, as a way to pressure China to make its yuan more flexible.
"How long will the governments and central banks of the developed world be prepared to continue with a policy of non-interventionism when other nations continue to manage their currencies seemingly to their own advantage?" he said, in a note to clients. " As far as New Zealand is concerned the answer would appear to be: 'no longer.'"

Remains attractive
While the market remains wary, most analysts say the New Zealand dollar will likely continue to benefit from investors' search for higher returns and the weakness in the U.S. dollar.
Citigroup's Yamamoto said the kiwi dollar remains attractive for mid-to long-term investors like many Japanese investors.

The levels of the interest rates in New Zealand are the highest among major countries and "further tightening is expected," the analyst said. "Japanese retail investors tend to buy foreign currencies when they fall."
RBC's Trinh said unless the central bank is willing to intervene on a sustained basis, the New Zealand dollar "will eventually push to fresh cyclical highs above 0.7640" against the U.S. dollar.
"We continue to believe that the global search for yield remains intact, and that the New Zealand dollar will continue to benefit from this," Chandler said. "Indeed the intervention may be seen as offering a new buying opportunity."



MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network}

GCC Banks Urged to Hike Assets to Be Competitive

Arab News - 12/06/2007

(MENAFN - Arab News) DUBAI, 12 June 2007 — De****e the unprecedented growth and profitability witnessed by banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, "GCC banks are still small compared to the big international banks and eventually will need to grow externally to compete," one of the world's leading management consulting firms in the financial industry said in a study that examines the GCC banking industry and its future challenges.

Dr. Alexander von Pock, manager of financial services at A.T. Kearney consulting firm, said "local banks should start now to prepare for the challenges ahead."

The study found out that the banking assets per capita are still relatively low in most GCC countries, leaving ample room for growth for all participants. "Thus the factors that normally set off mergers are conspicuously absent," it said.

The study comes at a time where imminent mergers and acquisitions are making headlines.

Mergers tend to occur when the margin for organic growth is extremely tight, forcing participants to seek out external acquisitions instead, but the banking markets in the GCC recorded exceptional growth.

"We examined four areas that typically point to industry consolidation and found little evidence that a merger wave will occur in the GCC banking industry. As an example, relevant indicators show that domestic markets are already consolidated," said Dr. Dirk Buchta, vice president and managing director, A.T. Kearney, UAE. Yet, if domestic markets appear consolidated, the picture changes on a regional level. While certain banks might dominate the market in certain countries, no single bank stands out in the region as a whole. Regionally, the top three banks account for just 14 percent of market share.

All GCC countries are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which means they are expected to open up their banking sectors to allow foreign competition.

For example, UAE stopped granting licenses to foreign banks in 1982 and now restricts these banks to just eight branches.

The only exception is the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), where 100 percent foreign ownership is allowed.

"Given the significant competition among the GCC countries — and in the case of the UAE, among the emirates — we expect considerable opposition to mergers and acquisitions across countries or emirates, but the regional banks are only shielded for a limited time from the international competition," Buchta further said.

Aging assets and high demand for oil are driving the need for considerable investments into new productive oil and gas capacity.

Given the magnitude of the investments required, there are increasing calls for project finance and long-term structured funding solutions.

GCC banks are sidelined as "fringe" players and are effectively shut out from margins accruing to the more established global project finance players.

MENAFN - Middle East North Africa . Financial Network News: GCC Banks Urged to Hike Assets to Be Competitive

Number of banks 14 -----
Auction price selling dinar / US $ 1259 -----
Auction price buying dinar / US $ ----- -----
Amount sold at auction price (US $) 57.140.000 -----
Amount purchased at Auction price (US $) -----
Total offers for buying (US $) 57.140.000 -----
Total offers for selling (US $) ----- -----


Yesterday we learned that traders were waiting to see a change in dinar rate.

Well... this isn't it! A value of 1259 is really just another way of saying 1260.
We may see it go back and forth just to keep the traders on their toes.

What might it really mean? If we don't soon see evidence of genuine "slow grow" with small, incremental, downward changes, I believe it can only mean that the CBI is waiting for the precise moment to make "the big change".

Gooooooooooooooood Morning Rolclub


"The More They Take, The More We Make"
"Stay the Course, its the difference between Winners and whiners"



11.67 Trillion taken out and still the Party has not started


[B][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Purple"]1. "1" Dinar rate change today, it was 1260, it is now 1259

2. A (net) worth of dinars, IQD - 71,939,260,000 pulled out of circulation today 6/12/07.




How do you increase the value of anything? Well, what makes a diamond so valuable?

Scarcity! By increasing its' scarcity, you can increase the value of virtually anything.

By making the dinar increasingly scarce, the CBI is internally raising its' value. If the rate stays at or near 1260 while at the same time it becomes more and more scarce (valuable), at some point its' true value based on its' true scarcity will have to become known.

I believe that this building of value through scarcity is absolutely necessary if Iraq is going to successfully dedollarize.