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

Originally Posted by Lakeway

What idea is this Paulie?

The idea that they will take a few trillion more out and then reval....

Originally Posted by Hslvrl9g

I am new here but hope this info will be of some use to all of you.
Market Scan
Bank of America To Buy U.S. Trust
Josh Lipton, 11.20.06, 5:02 PM ET

Bank of America announced Monday will that it will buy U.S. Trust, the "wealth-management" subsidiary of Charles Schwab in all cash deal for $3.3 billion. The resulting entity will be the largest manager of private wealth (this is US real soon ) in the U.S.

Based on assets under management by private banks, Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) is currently the second largest manager of private wealth in the U.S., while U.S. Trust is the fourth. The combined entity will be first, according to Bank of America, with a total of $261 billion in assets under management.

Schwab first bought U.S. Trust for about $2.8 billion in 2000, but the purchase never worked out well for the mass discount brokerage, according to Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst William Tanona.

“The sale of U.S. Trust will be viewed very positively by the street,” the analyst wrote in a client note. “Schwab has long struggled to turn this business around since it acquired the firm and the segment has the worst pretax margins of any of Schwab’s three business segments.”

U.S. Trust’s return on equity was paltry according to Tanona, “generating only mid to upper single digit returns.” He described the sale as “positive news.”

H- Silverling

Thanks for the interesting bit of investment news, but please try and post what pertains to Iraq and the dinar.

Does this article mean that the FIL has been passed and implemented?

EU to kick off 1st round of trade negotiations

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21 November 2006 (Kuwait News Agency (KUNA))
The EU and Iraq has commenced here Monday the first round of trade negotiations to reach a joint cooperation deal in diverse economic areas.

EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said negotiations show renewed European commitments towards Iraq, which were earlier announced by the EU.

For his part, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson stressed the significance of the deal that could help Iraq wriggle out of its deteriorating economic conditions and ensure stability which the Iraqi government seeks to bring to the country.

The deal is meant to reintegrate Iraq into the international community and the EU as far as economy and trade are concerned, he said, noting that the EU seeks to shore up efforts exerted to overhaul trade, economic and social institutions and to reconstruct the country.

EU-Iraq trade talks are expected to deal with goods, services and necessary means to stimulate and spur investment, as well as taxes and intellectual property rights.

Both sides will also mull over how to curb poverty and protect environment, along with cultural and academic issues.

The European Commission said in a release that all agreements hammered out between the EU and other countries attach much attention to human rights, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Due to insecurity in Iraq, bilateral talks will also deal with the political and security situations in the country, it said, vowing that the EU would promote Iraq's national reconciliation.

Minister of Trade Borham Saleh is leading the visiting Iraqi delegation.

Originally Posted by PaulieThaGreat

The idea that they will take a few trillion more out and then reval....

Yes I see it now. Great idea Paulie!

‘SYRIA PLANS TO PEG CURRENCY TO SDR IN FIRST HALF OF 2007’
LONDON: Syria plans to remove the pound from its US dollar peg and link it to the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights (SDR) in the first half of 2007, the central bank governor told Reuters on Monday.
“We will change the peg for the Syrian pound from the (US dollar) to the SDR. At present the Syrian pound is pegged to the dollar at 52 pounds to the dollar. We plan to peg it to the SDR in the first half of 2007, perhaps in May or June of next year,” Adib Mayaleh, Governor of the Central of Syria, said on the sidelines of a Commonwealth Business Council investment summit.
“We decided to do this because this IMF basket reflects our trade composition,” he said. The SDR consists of 44 percent US dollars, 34 percent euros, and 11 percent each of yen and the British pound. “Our reserves are 50/50 in dollars and euros. Last year it was 100 percent in dollars,” he said adding that total reserves are about $20 billion.
Syria moved to shift international payments to euros from dollars in second half of 2005. Mayaleh said Syria was already pricing oil its main revenue source partly in euros. He said that while the share of oil revenues was declining due to falling production, the income from tourism and financial services was steadily rising. Mayaleh said the share of foreign capital in the banking sector would be raised to 60 percent by the end of 2006 from 49 percent at present. (Reuters – October 31, 2006).

They have been doing these Auctions since I bought my dinars 3 years ago. What makes you guys think they are pulling the dinar from circulation? If they have been doing that all along they would have run out of dinar. If you look back at the auction history itn not that exciting, these Auctions

just what does this mean for us..........

Cabinet ministers desert offices following threats

21 November 2006 (Azzaman)
Many Iraqi ministers are staying away from work, fearing attacks from militias or insurgents.

Violence has exacerbated in Baghdad with street battles reported daily in several parts of the city.

Despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops, residents say there is no street in Baghdad where one can feel safe.

“We live in a city which has gone wild,” one resident, refusing to be named, said.

Gunmen have already kidnapped a deputy minister and attacked the convoy of another, killing two bodyguards.

Cabinet ministers desert offices following threats | Iraq Updates

Originally Posted by Elfwizard

They have been doing these Auctions since I bought my dinars 3 years ago. What makes you guys think they are pulling the dinar from circulation? If they have been doing that all along they would have run out of dinar. If you look back at the auction history itn not that exciting, these Auctions

I understand your point on this matter, but I think what I'm seeing is a slightly different use for the auctions lately. The only thing that makes me think that is the slow rise of the exchange rate. So, maybe in the past, the auctions did little more besides control the exchange rate (and the dinars that were bought were slowly re-introduced back into circulation), but now that the exchange rate is rising, perhaps they are holding on to the dinars to remove them from circulation.

I could be wrong on that, but that's just my opinion. Maybe one has nothing to do with the other - Who knows?

KRG welcomes appraisal test results for Taq-Taq oilfield
Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, 21 November 2006 (KRG)

The Kurdistan Regional Government welcomes the recent announcement of the appraisal well test results from the Taq-Taq oilfield by Genel-Addax, the oil exploration joint venture.

On November 20, Genel Enerji and Addax Petroleum, holders of the Production Sharing Contract for the Taq-Taq field in the Kurdistan Region, announced appraisal test results for the recently drilled and completed TT-04 well, the first development well on the Taq-Taq field.

Through a selective completion programme, three reservoir intervals were tested separately and flowed at a maximum aggregate rate of 29,790 barrels per day (on a 64/64” choke size) of light, 47 degrees API oil.

Dr. Ashti Hawrami, KRG Minister for Natural Resources, said, “This is a great achievement and we look forward to establishing our initial export of oil from the Taq-Taq field during 2007. Additionally, we will be utilising some of the oil resources from the Taq-Taq field to satisfy the local requirement for refined products and power generation. We will continue our exploration campaign to achieve our oil export target of one million barrels per day of new oil from the Kurdistan Region over the next few years. This will make a significant contribution to the oil revenues to be shared by all peoples of Iraq.”

Dr. Hawrami added: “Following the imminent entry into force of the Kurdistan Region Petroleum Act, we are expecting further investment activities in the near future to achieve our target."

To see the full text of the announcement of Genel Enerji and Addax Petroleum, click Genel

KRG welcomes appraisal test results for Taq-Taq oilfield | Iraq Updates

This makes you smile!

Basra reconstruction gathers pace
21 November 2006 (Azzaman)

The government has formed a working group to reconstruct the southern city of Basra, Deputy Prime Minister Burhem Saleh said.

Saleh was visiting Basra to communicate the news to the provincial council.

He was accompanied by Finance Minister Baqer Soolagh who promised Basra the lion’s share of reconstruction money for 2007.

Saleh said reconstructing and expanding the city’s port facilities would take priority in 2007 budget.

The government, he said, has suggested to the parliament to appropriated $160 million for the project from this year’s budget.

Basra council, he said, should start drawing plans of the development projects that are necessary to improve life in the city.

“We are going to pay extra attention to Basra and plan to turn it into a fee-trade zone.

“As for the port, we have plans to turn it into one of the largest in the region,” Saleh said.

He said the government would spend at least half a billion dollars on projects in the city in 2007.

Basra reconstruction gathers pace | Iraq Updates