Thread: Iraq/Dinar News. 09/05 to 01/14/07

Voices of Iraq: Kurdistan-Egypt
Posted by: saleem on Sunday, November 12, 2006 - 05:26 PM

Kurdistan-Egypt
Egyptian company takes part in Arbil book fair
Arbil, Nov 12, (VOI) – The Egyptian United Arab Company for Marketing and Supply took part in a book fair inaugurated on Sunday at the central library within the campus of Salah al-Dein University in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
The event offered thousands of scientific, cultural and political books in various languages.
"The main fair is devoted to the Egyptian company as well as a number of Persian and Kurdish publishers in Iraq's Kurdistan region," Mr. Karawan Mumtaz al-Haydari, the official in charge of the fair, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) on Sunday.
He said the fair "is offering 3800 Arabic books in the fields of science, tourism and hotels, politics and children-related science books in addition to 1,000 non-Arabic books in medicine, engineering, chemistry and biology."
Al-Haydari said the ten-day fair also showcased 390 Arabic and foreign books with CDs, noting 55% of the books are put on display upon the request of universities in Iraq's Kurdistan region.
AE/

Kurdistan-Egypt :: Aswat al Iraq :: Aswat al Iraq

1,000.00 Iraqi Dinars = 0.70 United States Dollars
1 IQD = 0.0007 USD 1 USD = 1428.5714 IQD

Please note OzForex does not offer transfers in
Iraqi Dinar to United States Dollar.

Mid Market Rates1 Last Updated: 13/11/2006 @ 08:55 (Syd)

Originally Posted by ordinaryseawoman

1,000.00 Iraqi Dinars = 0.70 United States Dollars
1 IQD = 0.0007 USD 1 USD = 1428.5714 IQD

Please note OzForex does not offer transfers in
Iraqi Dinar to United States Dollar.

Mid Market Rates1 Last Updated: 13/11/2006 @ 08:55 (Syd)

Am I correct in reading that we went from 1465 to 1428?

Originally Posted by One Oar

Am I correct in reading that we went from 1465 to 1428?

Unfortunately, no. It's been reading 1428 for the past month or so. I don't know why different sites list different rates--you would think they'd all reflect the CBI rate, end of story. But no, OZFOREX usually lists around 1428, and yahoo's been listing dinar around 1466...Just a quirk I guess--maybe someone in the braintrust can explain the why of it....

Originally Posted by ordinaryseawoman

This directly from the CBI website:

Announcement No.(803)

D.G. of Foreign Exchange Control

The 803 daily currency auction was held in the Central Bank of Iraq day Sunday 2006 / 11/ 12 so the results were as follows :

Details Notes
Number of banks 10 -----
Auction price selling dinar / US $ 1465 -----
Auction price buying dinar / US $ 1463 -----
Amount sold at auction price (US $) 24.880.000 -----
Amount purchased at Auction price (US $) 2.500.000
Total offers for buying (US $) 24.880.000 -----
Total offers for selling (US $) 2.500.000 -----

Cash amounts sold to the bank and its customers were USD(22.180.000) at a rate of(1465+1+10=1476)IQD\USD .
The amount sold to make transfers abroad was USD (2.700.000) at a rate of (1465-2)+ one dinar as a bank fee and exempt the transferred amount from conversion fee.

Also--anyone else notice people posting the same articles over and over again...? I keep reading articles that have already been posted.

Like this one??? Yes I have.

12 November 2006 (BBC News)

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has called for a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle in light of the current situation in the country.

A statement from the prime minister's office said the call had come in a closed session of parliament.

The present government is a coalition led by religious Shias and Kurds, but includes Sunni Arab and secular groups.

It has faced criticism for failing to contain a wave of sectarian violence over the past six months.

Mr Maliki has said ministers should show loyalty to Iraq and to the government, not to their parties or religious sects.

Correspondents say Mr Maliki has often spoken of changing one or two ministers, but this is the first occasion he has spoken of a comprehensive change.

Deputy Speaker Khaled al-Attiya, who chaired the parliament session, said the government's performance had been "unconvincing" and Mr Maliki wanted to improve it.

The announcement came days after Sunni Arab politicians threatened to walk out of the political process and take up arms if the government continued to ignore demands to dismantle Shia militias.

Iraqi PM urges cabinet reshuffle | Iraq Updates

US military leaders debate size of US force needed in Iraq as well as withdrawal timelines.
By Jim Mannion
WASHINGTON, 12 November 2006 (Middle East Online)

US military leaders are making their own reassessment of the course in Iraq, the top US military officer said, signaling major changes ahead with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's departure.

"We should not expect to go with a plan that's chipped in stone and stay with that plan no matter what," General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday.

Key questions facing any new regime at the Pentagon will be whether to surge more US troops into the country to smother sectarian violence, and whether to move more aggressively against Shiite militias at the source of much of the bloodshed.

Last week, before his abrupt resignation, Rumsfeld and his generals opted to avoid a confrontation over the militias with Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in favor of a more rapid transition of the US-trained Iraqi military to government control.

Pace, in a series of television interviews and in comments to reporters, gave no hint of what the military brass will recommend to Rumsfeld's designated replacement, former CIA chief Robert Gates.

But he said he and the two top commanders responsible for the war in Iraq -- General John Abizaid and General George Casey -- were each taking a hard look at what the military is doing in Iraq.

"We need to give ourselves a good, honest scrub about what is working, what is not working, what are the impediments to progress, and what should we change about the way we're doing it, to ensure that we get to the objective that we have set for ourselves," Pace said in an interview with CBS television.

"We're making our recommendations. We're having our dialogue. And we'll make the changes that are needed to get ourselves more focused on the correct objectives," he said.

Pentagon officials said Pace has convened a study group of his own in the Joint Staff, bringing in mid-level strategists with recent experience in Iraq for fresh insights.

Each of the military services were asked to make them available for 60 days, an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Among the participants is Army Colonel H.R. McMaster, who commanded the cavalry regiment that retook the insurgent stronghold of Tall Afar a year ago in what has been touted as a classic counterinsurgency operation.

Pace told reporters that he will be meeting Monday with the Iraqi Study Group, a bipartisan panel that has emerged as a key outside player in redirecting US strategy in Iraq.

The group, which is led by former secretary of state James Baker and former representative Lee Hamilton, counted Gates among its members.

Even though he is now expected to rescue himself from its deliberations, his presence gives added clout to the group's recommendations, which are expected to be made public this month.

The New York Times reported Friday that a close friend said Gates returned from a recent trip to Iraq with the group expressing disbelief that Rumsfeld had not responded more quickly to the deteriorating security situation.

During the visit, Gates asked whether more US troops in Baghdad could stem the violence, and whether the training of Iraqi troops could be overhauled, but didn't take a view himself, the Times said.

Casey, who has beefed up US troop levels in Iraq to about 150,000 and concentrated them in Baghdad because of an onslaught of sectarian violence, said last month that adding more US troops had proved to have some effect in localized situations.

"But whether more US troops for a sustained period will get us where we're going faster is an open question," he said. "And that's part of the calculations that I make as I go through this."

Rumsfeld's departure is likely to open debate on what size force the United States needs to stabilize Iraq, as well as on the conditions and timelines for their withdrawal, a key demand by Democrats.

Pentagon team reviews Iraq war strategy | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by ordinaryseawoman

Unfortunately, no. It's been reading 1428 for the past month or so. I don't know why different sites list different rates--you would think they'd all reflect the CBI rate, end of story. But no, OZFOREX usually lists around 1428, and yahoo's been listing dinar around 1466...Just a quirk I guess--maybe someone in the braintrust can explain the why of it....

I believe i have the answer. The ozforex site only calculates to 4 decimal places, so if you take a flat rate of 0.0007 then it is working the rate out properly. But it is not using the correct rate, just a rounded amount. Since they are not trading it i spose this is why they are not showing it properly.

Originally Posted by Popadinar:

OK, this has to be a mis-print what I have in BOLD if not that would mean we got an RV of a $1.46... But it makes more sense that they ment to print 1,463... I almost jumped out of my pants when I saw 1.463...

No its not a misprint. You are just reading it the way that America writes numerically. We use a comma as punctuation for numbers. Overseas they use a period to denote every three digits to the left of zero in their numbers. Thus, $1,000,000 dollars in the U.S. would be written $1.000.000 over there. Their terminology gets confusing sometimes doesn't it...

Hope that helps.....

The key to the problem will be the auction in the am. Keep in mind that the CBIs behavior has been very strange for the last couple of weeks. They have placed 350Million USD into the local banks in the last five auctions and removed around 700Billion dinar from the sysyem. Just the behavior you would expect in anticipation of an increase in demand for the dollar. i.e.RV. Today was a sweep the floor, i.e. to remove the rest of the available dinar from the local banks. In the am, i expect either no auction or a very small exchange like today. (maybe other news). What other reason would they place that much USD in the local banks? I for one do not place much confidence in the political statements. After all I originated from Arkansas and I have heard political statements from the best, i.e. B.Clinton. The central Banks behavior is the key and their behavior in the last few weeks and especially the last five auctions suggest they are placing themselves in a position to handle a large demand for USD in their local banks, remove large amounts of currency from circulation (reducing inflation and the available currency they will have to buy at a higher level, and begginning to remove the larger denominations from circulation. Your comments are appreciated.