SDRs ~ Nobel laureate slams IMF for not including China’s renminbi
*** related article Link ~ Currency Chaos: Where Do We Go From Here? Where in the world is Robert Mundell when you need him?
(October 2009 Asian Currencies 40% undervalued) Time for currency realignment?
*** Economist Robert Mundell (layed groundwork for Euro) joins UAE's Central Bank
Joseph Stiglitz : ‘IMF Rerserve Currency Can Be Phased in within a Year and yuan phased in a "while" ...
(18 November 2009 'Yuan May Enter IMF Kitty (Basket) to Evaluate SDR') Joseph Stiglitz : ‘IMF Rerserve Currency Can Be Phased in within a Year and Dominique Strauss 'Yuan May Enter IMF Kitty (Basket) to Evaluate SDR' ...
IMF: Lessen Dependence on Dollar says Dominique Strauss ... CHINA C. BANK: "The changes are coming" ( they want a basket of currencies)
February 4th 2011 ~ US Clears China of Currency Manipulation
China asked to Lead on Single Currency ~ A unified currency in Asia that would boost trade ...
China PBOC's Yi: Convertible Yuan Not Needed For SDR ...
*IMF said China's yuan 'substantially' undervalued
China Should be Included in the SDR Basket ...
China's Currency Going Global with CNH
G-20 should urge U.S. to cut deficits, press China to end its opaque dealings
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/2011-02/11/content_21897757.htm
Yuan Currency Swap and CHINA-ASEAN FREE TRADE AREA (CAFTA) on January 1, 2010.
China Eases Corporate Rules on Renminbi
China Should be Included in the SDR Basket ...
SDRs ~ Nobel laureate slams IMF for not including China’s renminbi ...
China's baby steps to liberalisation ...
CNH becoming de facto new currency in Hong Kong ...
China's Currency Going Global with CNH ...
China urges exchange rate stability ~ more stable system of exchange rates and more currencies represented in the SDR or "Special Drawing Rights"
China warming to yuan appreciation: IMF official ...IMF ~ Yuan and SDR Basket ~ A convertible yuan which is widely traded will be considered for inclusion in the SDR basket ..
*Revaluing Yuan Would Create 2.24 Million U.S. Jobs, Says Research Group (different source, same pdf) ...
China official says U.S. could pursue weak dollar policy
Hong Kong plans offshore yuan fixing rate
July 2011 ~ U.S. Senator Brown ~ China's Yuan and Asian Currencies should revalue to an equilibrium level, it would create jobs for U.S. and reduce the deficit
*** Experts Say Yuan Will Go Global .. And is ready to Go ..
China Central Bank Sets Yuan Post at Record ...
New bill targeting Chinese currency manipulation introduced in Senate ...
China expected to launch RMB QFII
Renminbi may replace dollar in Sino-African trade
China should let yuan "float": former central bank adviser
China ~ Diversify its investments in foreign currencies
China vows to increase yuan flexibility, warns of fund inflows
Currency Wars: How Ben Bernanke Outsmarted China
This Year ~ China could act on currency this year: Kissinger
Senators Threaten Currency Bill Ahead of Hu Visit ...
Monday, January 31, 2011
UFO sightings spawn COMETA report, fear of world crisis ...
January 30, 2011
UFO sightings spawn COMETA report, fear of world crisis
EUGENE, Ore. – Confirmed UFO sightings over Cairo and the port city of Suez in Egypt early Saturday morning comes at a time when the United Nations is reviewing the French government produced COMETA Report that states “about five percent of UFO sightings defy conventional explanation” and often occur at a time of world crisis; while, also stating that UFOs “constitute a real phenomenon warranting immediate international attention.”
Foreign exchange students at Eugene’s Lane Community College told local media today that while there’s a news blackout in Egypt. But, there’s also reports of UFOs. Moreover, there have been BBC and other international media confirmations; news of lights and UFO sightings in skies over this ancient land.
Information about the COMETA Report and the photo that accompanies this story was researched in part by a review of National Archives and the Division of Special Collections and University Archives, at the University of Oregon here in Eugene.
In addition, British and French government freedom of information act type files about UFOs are also available to the general public, and contain details about the COMETA Report and various proposals for making first contact with ETs.
The COMETA Report is a kin to the Air Force Blue Book reports on UFOs, states a French government information source. Moreover, COMETA’s history is tied to senior French government officials who, after World War II, decided it was time to investigate and prove UFO sightings were real.
Thus, COMETA is the French government’s official document stating that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real.
At the same time, members of the United Nations scientific committee are said to be reviewing proposals for the United Nations to set-up a UFO task force that will coordinate any direct contact with aliens.
Moreover, it’s believed that the United Nations would serve as the center communications with alien civilizations. With that in mind, sources say COMETA is being reviewed because UFO and alien contact “would impact world security.”
Any alien contact means it is superior coming here to Earth.
The 1971 UFO photo (accompanying this story) helped make the COMETA Report an already historic document, say those who study UFO phenomenon.
“The COMETA Report photo is proof that UFOs exist because after 40 years nobody can prove it’s not a UFO. It’s real. It happened. The COMETA Report will be remembered because it begins the conversation about making contact.
In addition, a British government document titled “How to Report a UFO Sighting,” in the Freedom of Information Section of the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) website.
The National Archives also includes information about UFO sightings over the Caribbean during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Sixties; and, UFO sightings were reported in the Middle East during the Gulf War. For instance, the first group of 160 U.S. government UFO files were released on May 14, 2008 on the National Archives website. The files are said to have “more than enough evidence to confirm UFO existence.”
Crisis in Egypt and the region’s UFO connection
“An ancient civilization exists in Egypt, and it’s always been known as a center for UFO sightings and UFO history,” says Lyle Thorpe who’s a member of the Oregon UFO “watchers” group that meets monthly at Stonefield Beach, along Oregon’s central coast.
Thorpe points to the recent tour of Egyptian King Tut and the “Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition” that recently ended a long U.S. tour. The King Tut exhibition is said to “bring the golden age of the Pharaohs to life with 130 ancient Egyptian artifacts and treasures uncovered by the explorer Harry Burton in 1922.”
What the Tut exhibit does not detail is many of the artifacts include unusual graphics that point to UFO craft, alien life and out-of-this -world points of view that are expressed in these personal items of King Tut.
Still, even with King Tut’s collection of UFO art in gold, etched in jewelry and used in design, there’s nobody of international stature, who’s still alive, that will come forward and lead the United Nations in establishing a UFO Center, as the COMETA Report advises.
Not surprising, Thorpe noted that according to the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act “few UFO sightings in England and Europe were investigated in any meaningful sense of the word.”
The COMETA Report also states that a UFO crisis is possible because “there are so many unknowns.”
Also, the COMETA Report states that because there’s no scientific or world government consensus on how to best communicate or investigate UFOs and alien life on Earth, it will remain in the status quo until a world doctrine on the existence of UFOs is ratified by members of the United Nations.
The report says there’s proof that UFO civilizations have roots here on Earth and, thus, a vested interest in Earth and its people.
http://www.huliq.com/10282/ufo-sightings-spawn-cometa-report-fear-world-crisis
UFO sightings spawn COMETA report, fear of world crisis
EUGENE, Ore. – Confirmed UFO sightings over Cairo and the port city of Suez in Egypt early Saturday morning comes at a time when the United Nations is reviewing the French government produced COMETA Report that states “about five percent of UFO sightings defy conventional explanation” and often occur at a time of world crisis; while, also stating that UFOs “constitute a real phenomenon warranting immediate international attention.”
Foreign exchange students at Eugene’s Lane Community College told local media today that while there’s a news blackout in Egypt. But, there’s also reports of UFOs. Moreover, there have been BBC and other international media confirmations; news of lights and UFO sightings in skies over this ancient land.
Information about the COMETA Report and the photo that accompanies this story was researched in part by a review of National Archives and the Division of Special Collections and University Archives, at the University of Oregon here in Eugene.
In addition, British and French government freedom of information act type files about UFOs are also available to the general public, and contain details about the COMETA Report and various proposals for making first contact with ETs.
The COMETA Report is a kin to the Air Force Blue Book reports on UFOs, states a French government information source. Moreover, COMETA’s history is tied to senior French government officials who, after World War II, decided it was time to investigate and prove UFO sightings were real.
Thus, COMETA is the French government’s official document stating that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real.
At the same time, members of the United Nations scientific committee are said to be reviewing proposals for the United Nations to set-up a UFO task force that will coordinate any direct contact with aliens.
Moreover, it’s believed that the United Nations would serve as the center communications with alien civilizations. With that in mind, sources say COMETA is being reviewed because UFO and alien contact “would impact world security.”
Any alien contact means it is superior coming here to Earth.
The 1971 UFO photo (accompanying this story) helped make the COMETA Report an already historic document, say those who study UFO phenomenon.
“The COMETA Report photo is proof that UFOs exist because after 40 years nobody can prove it’s not a UFO. It’s real. It happened. The COMETA Report will be remembered because it begins the conversation about making contact.
In addition, a British government document titled “How to Report a UFO Sighting,” in the Freedom of Information Section of the British Ministry of Defense (MoD) website.
The National Archives also includes information about UFO sightings over the Caribbean during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the Sixties; and, UFO sightings were reported in the Middle East during the Gulf War. For instance, the first group of 160 U.S. government UFO files were released on May 14, 2008 on the National Archives website. The files are said to have “more than enough evidence to confirm UFO existence.”
Crisis in Egypt and the region’s UFO connection
“An ancient civilization exists in Egypt, and it’s always been known as a center for UFO sightings and UFO history,” says Lyle Thorpe who’s a member of the Oregon UFO “watchers” group that meets monthly at Stonefield Beach, along Oregon’s central coast.
Thorpe points to the recent tour of Egyptian King Tut and the “Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition” that recently ended a long U.S. tour. The King Tut exhibition is said to “bring the golden age of the Pharaohs to life with 130 ancient Egyptian artifacts and treasures uncovered by the explorer Harry Burton in 1922.”
What the Tut exhibit does not detail is many of the artifacts include unusual graphics that point to UFO craft, alien life and out-of-this -world points of view that are expressed in these personal items of King Tut.
Still, even with King Tut’s collection of UFO art in gold, etched in jewelry and used in design, there’s nobody of international stature, who’s still alive, that will come forward and lead the United Nations in establishing a UFO Center, as the COMETA Report advises.
Not surprising, Thorpe noted that according to the United Kingdom’s Freedom of Information Act “few UFO sightings in England and Europe were investigated in any meaningful sense of the word.”
The COMETA Report also states that a UFO crisis is possible because “there are so many unknowns.”
Also, the COMETA Report states that because there’s no scientific or world government consensus on how to best communicate or investigate UFOs and alien life on Earth, it will remain in the status quo until a world doctrine on the existence of UFOs is ratified by members of the United Nations.
The report says there’s proof that UFO civilizations have roots here on Earth and, thus, a vested interest in Earth and its people.
http://www.huliq.com/10282/ufo-sightings-spawn-cometa-report-fear-world-crisis
WTO talks to start in Geneva next month
January 31, 2011WTO talks to start in Geneva next month
In a bid to conclude the much delayed Doha talks for a global trade deal in 2011, deliberations in Geneva will start next month to resolve the pending issues.
"Next month onwards, we will have further intensive discussions (in Geneva) and the intention of all the members is to conclude the Doha Round this year," Additional Secretary in Commerce Ministry D K Mittal told reporters here at a Ficci function.
However, Mittal said that "political support" is very important to conclude the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in 2011.
Doha round of talks under the aegis of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) started in the Qatari capital in 2001 for achieving a global trade deal, but a breakthrough has not been reached upon yet.
On January 29 in Davos, 24 trade ministers from key WTO members, including India and the US, met on the sidelines of annual World Economic Forum meeting and agreed that efforts need to be stepped up to conclude negotiations this year.
After the meeting, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma had said that "there is optimism that a window of opportunity (for concluding the deal) in 2011 can be accessed".
On unresolved matters in the talks, Mittal said most of the issues have been resolved and negotiators of the 153- member WTO countries are on to solve the remaining ones.
"A large number of issues have been resolved but there are some issues (in agriculture and industrial goods) on which consensus has not been reached," he said.
He, however, added, "We should not forget that lot of water has travelled down the river, lot of work and effort has been done and lot many issues has been already agreed to, it is some of the outstanding issues which have to be resolved."
At the last meeting of the G-20 in Seoul in November 2010, leaders of the world's most influential countries, including the US and the EU, Brazil and India, had pressed for concluding the WTO talks for a multilateral agreement in 2011.
Differences between rich and developing nations have been a stumbling block. India and other developing nations have been defending their agricultural market to protect millions subsistence farmers from easy imports that may result from the multilateral agreement.
The US and the other developed countries, however, seek more market access in developing nations, including India.
As per the WTO estimate, successful conclusion of Doha talks could boost the global trade by up to $200 billion in a year.
Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/wto-talks-to-start-in-geneva-next-month-138566?cp
Shahristani: Iraq will be 4 million barrels of oil a day end of the year
31/01/2011Shahristani: Iraq will be 4 million barrels of oil a day end of the year
Erbil, The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Hussain al-Shahristani said on Monday that Iraq would be able to export 4 million barrels of oil per day by the end of this year.
Iraq currently produces about 2.4 million barrels per day of oil, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's revenues.
And Iraq signed oil contracts with international energy companies beginning of last year after two rounds of licenses, for the development of ten oil fields discovered untapped, and it is hoped that the country's production of crude oil to 12 million barrels per day within the next five years.
Observers are skeptical about Iraq's ability to gain access to the production target because of security challenges, as well as political instability.
According to the agency "Reuters", the al-Shahristani said at a conference of the United Nations in the Swiss city of Geneva, said that "Iraq will be able to export 4 million barrels per day of crude oil by the end of this year."
He pointed out that "contracts for the construction of a new bonded will help to increase energy from its current level," stressing that "the end of 2011 will own Iraq's export capacity of around 4 million barrels a day."
The Iraqi Oil Ministry had announced in October last that crude oil inventories in the country has 505 billion barrels of discovered fields and by tobacco 66 oil fields, with total recoverable reserves of 143 billion barrels.
The proven oil reserves of Iraq at 115 billion barrels, already the third-largest reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2&rurl=translate.google.com
Iraq Budget ~ Finance Committee Officially begin its work today after the parliamentary election of a President to discuss budget items
31/01/2011
Finance Committee begin its work after the parliamentary election of a President to discuss budget items
Baghdad, The member of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, on Monday, said the committee began its work officially today after being elected President and Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur held a meeting with Federal Minister of Finance to discuss the country's budget for the current year presence of the President House of Representatives Osama al.
Said Najeeba Najib MP for the Coalition Kurdish blocs of Kurdistan News Agency (AKnews) that "the Finance Committee and as its Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi was elected MP Haydar Abbadi for the National Alliance Chairman of the Committee and MP Ahmad Fayyad coalition Kurdish blocs as his deputy, what was the decision of the Commission Vice from the list of Iraq. "
It showed that "the Committee discussed with Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi the federal budget in 2011 was addressed to a lot of doors." Adding that he "agreed with al-Issawi to develop proposals and the outcome of the meeting and presented on the form of a report to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives."
They revealed that "The discussion dealt with the amendments made by the Iraqi government to change the price of a barrel of oil from $73 U.S. to 76.5 U.S. dollars per barrel, as well as reduce the production rate of oil exports from 2.5 million barrels per day to 2.25 million barrels a day."
She said it was "discussed in addition $ 900 million budget for the first down payment to purchase a number of American aircraft model of F16, also discussed the issue with al-Issawi grades that were agreed on the distribution of these grades to the provinces according to population density."
She pointed out that "House Speaker Nujaifi stressed the need to find a solution to the ration card in place, and suggested that the transformation powers to local governments in the provinces and the Government of the Kurdistan region of Iraq."
It noted that "the proposals will not be working out until after the meetings of the Finance Committee in the next two days, and invite members who have objections and suggestions on the draft budget, then the commission will write its report and submit it to be read before the Council to give deputies the remaining comments and if there were no observations of exposure to second reading to be voted upon. "
It explained, "It was agreed to re-draft budget to the government for a period of a few upon request to restore some of the proposals and the increase in some assignments that do not fall within the purview of the House of Representatives, to take the budget finalized." Adding that "it was agreed with al-Issawi to give the House about 15 days to review the draft budget and read it and then vote on it. "
The Iraqi government has approved the draft federal budget law for fiscal year 2011, so that the budget amounting to about 79.6 billion dollars, so when calculating the oil per barrel to U.S. $ 73, and the rate of export of 2.25 million barrels per day.
It is expected that the budget deficit to reach about 14 billion dinars (about $ 12 billion) in what is expected that the rate of spending 64 billion dinars (54.7 billion dollars).
Iraq relies He is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on oil revenues to finance about 95 percent of its annual budget.
This is the largest proposed budget and the largest budget since the founding of the Iraqi state in the event of approval by the House of Representatives in the coming days.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2&rurl=translate.google.com
Finance Committee begin its work after the parliamentary election of a President to discuss budget items
Baghdad, The member of the Finance Committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, on Monday, said the committee began its work officially today after being elected President and Vice-Chairman and Rapporteur held a meeting with Federal Minister of Finance to discuss the country's budget for the current year presence of the President House of Representatives Osama al.
Said Najeeba Najib MP for the Coalition Kurdish blocs of Kurdistan News Agency (AKnews) that "the Finance Committee and as its Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi was elected MP Haydar Abbadi for the National Alliance Chairman of the Committee and MP Ahmad Fayyad coalition Kurdish blocs as his deputy, what was the decision of the Commission Vice from the list of Iraq. "
It showed that "the Committee discussed with Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi the federal budget in 2011 was addressed to a lot of doors." Adding that he "agreed with al-Issawi to develop proposals and the outcome of the meeting and presented on the form of a report to the Presidency of the Council of Representatives."
They revealed that "The discussion dealt with the amendments made by the Iraqi government to change the price of a barrel of oil from $73 U.S. to 76.5 U.S. dollars per barrel, as well as reduce the production rate of oil exports from 2.5 million barrels per day to 2.25 million barrels a day."
She said it was "discussed in addition $ 900 million budget for the first down payment to purchase a number of American aircraft model of F16, also discussed the issue with al-Issawi grades that were agreed on the distribution of these grades to the provinces according to population density."
She pointed out that "House Speaker Nujaifi stressed the need to find a solution to the ration card in place, and suggested that the transformation powers to local governments in the provinces and the Government of the Kurdistan region of Iraq."
It noted that "the proposals will not be working out until after the meetings of the Finance Committee in the next two days, and invite members who have objections and suggestions on the draft budget, then the commission will write its report and submit it to be read before the Council to give deputies the remaining comments and if there were no observations of exposure to second reading to be voted upon. "
It explained, "It was agreed to re-draft budget to the government for a period of a few upon request to restore some of the proposals and the increase in some assignments that do not fall within the purview of the House of Representatives, to take the budget finalized." Adding that "it was agreed with al-Issawi to give the House about 15 days to review the draft budget and read it and then vote on it. "
The Iraqi government has approved the draft federal budget law for fiscal year 2011, so that the budget amounting to about 79.6 billion dollars, so when calculating the oil per barrel to U.S. $ 73, and the rate of export of 2.25 million barrels per day.
It is expected that the budget deficit to reach about 14 billion dinars (about $ 12 billion) in what is expected that the rate of spending 64 billion dinars (54.7 billion dollars).
Iraq relies He is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on oil revenues to finance about 95 percent of its annual budget.
This is the largest proposed budget and the largest budget since the founding of the Iraqi state in the event of approval by the House of Representatives in the coming days.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2&rurl=translate.google.com
Shabibi ~ Talabani discusses with the Governor of the Central Bank of the Federal Court decision regarding the independent bodies
2011-01-31Talabani discusses with the Governor of the Central Bank of the Federal Court decision regarding the independent bodies
BAGHDAD (Iba) ... Discuss President Jalal Talabani with Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shabibi the Federal Court decision regarding the linking of independent bodies, including the central bank, the government.
The statement quoted Talabani for the presidency saying during the meeting that: View the Federal Court decision which included the interpretation of the constitutional articles that regulate the work and functions of these bodies.
He stressed the importance of adhering to the Constitution, including articles on the Central Bank's functions and which gives him independence in its decisions.
For his part, the Governor of the Central Bank of explanation to President Talabani about the legal point of view and how they see what must be the central bank deal with the legislative and executive authorities. He explained the implications of the Federal Court decision on that link.
Iraq stated that the funds will not be affected by the decision of the Federal Court
01/02/2011Iraq stated that the funds will not be affected by the decision of the Federal Court
Two: Do not problematic to link the Central Council of Ministers
BAGHDAD - Haider al-Rubaie Filaih
Denied an economic advisor to Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Hussein Al-Anbuge the vulnerability of Iraqi funds abroad to risk by the decision of the Federal Court decision to link independent bodies of the Cabinet, saying there is no relationship between the subject of supervision of the Central Bank either by the government or parliament, with the object affected by the Iraqi funds in the abroad, with expert called on the financial and banking, Dr. Ahmed Rehn what those whom he called Baltrrin read the provisions of the Constitution well before release of the statements that said it confused a lot of economic action in Iraq, noting that the Central Bank of Iraq and all countries other body financially independent, whether linked to the Government or parliament ..
The Federal Supreme Court issued a decision in January 18 this provides a link independent bodies referred to in the Iraqi constitution, including the Central Bank under the chairmanship of Prime Minister directly, not under the chairmanship of the House of Representatives, the absence of the text in the Constitution explicitly on the side that is bound by the CBI and the predominance of the Executive his works and activities, sparking fears of a number of observers who have warned of the possibility of exposing the assets of Iraq abroad for the seizure and confiscation .. which was denied by an economic advisor to Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Hussein Al-Anbuge through impurity (morning) and during which he stressed there is no relationship between the government's supervision of Bank Central, or parliament, and the vulnerability of Iraqi assets abroad ..
He said Anbuge that Iraqi funds it and repositioning of an edema at the Central Bank, regardless of the authority supervising it, noting that most of the money available to the central bank is a reserves protected and the other part of which are open credit to businessmen and contractors and others, said Anbuge thereon : if it was allowed to enter the creditors on the subject of appropriations for the entered before that, whether the central bank back in terms of supervision of the government or the parliament ..
He noted Anbuge that the central bank is the monetary authority in Iraq, in the sense that he represents the part of the macro-economic policy and therefore, this policy is vested in the Council of Ministers has the right to create harmony between fiscal and monetary policies in the country according to Anbuge, who stressed that this harmony can not be receiving only if there is supervision by the government on the bank ..
Central Bank, warned of linking directly to the Council of Ministers, pointing through a statement that the Federal Court decision to link the Central Council of Ministers would endanger Iraqi assets abroad for the seizure and confiscation, stressing that the independence of the Central and its association with the House of Representatives is the only guarantee to avoid the seizure of funds by creditors international
He said the central according to the statement that the Federal Court "overlooked in its order did not address, is that the responsibility of the central front of the House of Representatives constitutionally it is only to confirm to the provisions of the law of the Iraqi Central Bank in force numbered 56 and published in 2004, days before the issuance of the Iraqi Constitution in late 2005," which stated explicitly that "the legislative authority is the authority that oversees the Central Bank on the basis of the first article of its law."
However, the banking and financial expert, Dr. Ahmed Rehn said during his speech for the (morning) that the provisions of the Constitution and Laws for the Government to oversee the central bank, saying that this oversight will not never hurts the interests of the Bank and Iraq's money abroad ..
Rehn did not move away much from the view Anbuge when he noted that the process of association of the Central Council of Ministers has nothing to do never Bank autonomy, which means the independence of monetary policy, as well as the government does not have powers to transfer funds from the bank to balance ..
And Abizaid Rehn said: that the government's supervision of whether or not the Central Bank of administrative cases should not be overstated its concerns, and those who promote false information on exposure of Iraqi funds abroad to the threat by the Federal Court decision was to make sure that the pure error and nothing to do with the decisions taken in Iraqi affairs under Chapter VII ..
He expressed his Rehn regret of some opinions, which was launched for comment on the order link the central government, noting that those views can not add only confusion in a country tired of instability and needs to be more calm to achieve justice and fairness and economic progress in the words of Rehn ..
Google launches Twitter workaround for Egypt
January 31, 2011Google launches Twitter workaround for Egypt
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc launched a special service to allow people in Egypt to send Twitter messages by dialing a phone number and leaving a voicemail, as Internet access continues to be cut off in the country amid anti-government protests.
"Like many people we've been glued to the news unfolding in Egypt and thinking of what we could do to help people on the ground," read a post on Google's official corporate blog on Monday.
The service, which Google said was developed with engineers from Twitter, allows people to dial a telephone number and leave a voicemail. The voicemail is automatically translated into a message that is sent on Twitter using the identifying tag #egypt, Google said.
Google said in the blog post, titled "Some weekend work that will (hopefully) enable more Egyptians to be heard," that no Internet connection is required to use the service. Google listed three phone numbers for people to call to use the service.
Internet social networking services like Twitter and Facebook have been important tools of communications for protesters in Egypt.
Oil hits US $101 a barrel as Egypt protests mount
February 1, 2011Oil hits US $101 a barrel as Egypt protests mount
NEW YORK: Oil prices smashed through $100 a barrel on Monday for the first time since the 2008 economic crisis, as traders worried that unrest in Egypt could disrupt oil flows through the Suez Canal.
Oil prices surged to $101 a barrel for London's main Brent North Sea crude contract, as protesters gathered for a seventh straight day amid threats of a general strike.
Egypt is not a major oil producer, but is home to the vitally important Suez Canal, which carries around 2.4 million barrels of oil a day - roughly equivalent to the daily output of Iraq or Brazil.
Egyptian authorities insist the canal is still working at full capacity, but unrest has caused major shipping giants such as AP Moller-Maersk to halt operations in the country.
The threat of delays have prompted some normally reticent oil industry honchos to sound the alarm.
OPEC secretary-general Abdalla Salem El-Badri warned "there could be a real shortage" of crude oil passing through Suez.
While stressing that the market was still well supplied, El-Badri said "if we see a real shortage, we will need to act."
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumps about 40 percent of the world's oil, with the bulk coming from member Saudi Arabia.
The oil cartel chief said there was no need for an emergency production meeting ahead of the next scheduled gathering in Vienna in June.
According to figures from Barclays Capital around two thirds of energy that flows through the Suez Canal heads northward toward the Mediterranean.
That dependence was enough to send European oil prices soaring above those in the United States.
Prices on London's InterContinental exchange ended the day up $1.59 per barrel after touching $101.73 during the day, the highest level since October 2008.
New York's main contract, WTI light sweet crude for March delivery, was up $2.85 to $92.19.
The market is pricing in an "Egypt risk premium", according to analysts at BMO.
But they said it was difficult to see supplies at crushingly low levels given OPEC's promise and large stockpiles at key US facilities.
"OPEC has already said that they will 'add barrels' if there is a supply disruption, and (the US central plains depot) Cushing has ample inventories, so it is hard to imagine a sustained global supply crunch."
But SEB Commodity Research analyst Filip Petersson said the threats to the canal and the Suez-Mediterranean oil pipeline (SUMED) warranted the higher prices.
"In the light of uncertainty regarding the Suez Channel, the SUMED pipeline and a spread of political unrest in the region, we consider the risk premium justified," he told AFP.
A sea of protesters flooded downtown Cairo on Monday, brushing aside concessions by President Hosni Mubarak and vowing to topple his regime with strikes and million-strong marches in the capital and Alexandria.
Protesters in Cairo vowed they would only be satisfied when Mubarak quits, and promised to step up their efforts to bring down his creaking regime, after a week of revolt in which at least 125 people have been killed.
Emma Pinnock, an analyst at UK energy consultancy Inenco, predicted that oil could soon strike $110, in part thanks to unrest in Egypt.
"Oil prices are set to move rapidly towards $110 a barrel as a weak dollar, greater global demand and tighter supplies create similar conditions to when prices reached a record high of $147 in 2008," she said.
"Prices rose by more than 15 percent during 2010 and $110 a barrel is looking more likely as we can see similar market conditions to when oil reached a record high in 2008."
She added: "The situation in Egypt has caused the market to worry about the flow of oil in the Middle East - and obviously decisions made by OPEC in the next few months will also have a huge impact on prices."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/1108134/1/.html
Iraq ~ An international report warns of the effects of decline and the reality of business in Iraq ...
01/02/2011
Economic stresses the need for an analytical working group to review the reasons for the degradation
An international report warns of the effects of decline and the reality of business in Iraq
بغداد - Ø§Ù„ØµØ¨Ø§Ø BAGHDAD - morning
A report by the strikingly issued by the World Bank regarding the reality of doing business where the most prominent deterioration of the sequence of doing business in Iraq to become a 166 out of 183 countries covered by the survey in the year 2011 with the sequence 153 in the survey in 2010.
He sees in the investment consulting engineer Amer Issa jeweler in the study sent to Sabah said that the economic performance of the business is an indication of reference and terms of reference for both economic and domestic investors and foreign investors.
Promise of this reality shock and needs to study the causes that led to the lower sequence of each indicator and called for the adoption of measures of the utmost seriousness and speed and at all levels to be able to guide and correct the course of the process of development and investment and provide an environment of fair work in a position to facilitate the expected economic developments and predict.
He said that the improvement actually require the combined efforts of all governmental and non-governmental organizations and consultancy from the private sector to review and study and analyze the causes of deterioration.
Jeweler is proposed that the National Commission for Investment axis coordination through a team expanded work includes the ministries and agencies related to the economy, investment and business that the team will be an analytical and operational work to make recommendations that reflect the executive bodies within the limits of the powers of the ministries or to the higher authorities for the purpose of obtaining the decisions and the need to the legislation.
It was also suggested a comprehensive review of all that was achieved during the past four years by the ministries and the National Commission for Investment and Investment Commissions in the provinces.
He called for follow up and assess the amount of the actual flow of domestic and foreign investment to Iraq, and the number of potential new projects and the number of jobs created and the degree of contribution to new investment projects and already implemented in the development of local history of product a year and by sector.
And calls on economic expert to diagnose the causes of the reluctance or delay international companies sober for actual investment in Iraq and research into the causes of ADHD investment companies that received licenses to start the implementation of the fundamentalist project.
He pointed to the jeweler that the reality of the business environment is encouraging to activate and attract direct investment, domestic and foreign.
He said the Economic Vision and promising market in Iraq and the region and provide surplus funds to investors and the perception of expansion in international and regional companies to open new markets to face the repercussions of the economic crisis and the requirements necessary reform and economic development in Iraq and attempts to transition to a diversified economy all require review and study the mutual influences of these goals and ways of achieving .
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://www.alsabaah.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwww.alsabaah.com%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dmozilla%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:unofficial
Economic stresses the need for an analytical working group to review the reasons for the degradation
An international report warns of the effects of decline and the reality of business in Iraq
بغداد - Ø§Ù„ØµØ¨Ø§Ø BAGHDAD - morning
A report by the strikingly issued by the World Bank regarding the reality of doing business where the most prominent deterioration of the sequence of doing business in Iraq to become a 166 out of 183 countries covered by the survey in the year 2011 with the sequence 153 in the survey in 2010.
He sees in the investment consulting engineer Amer Issa jeweler in the study sent to Sabah said that the economic performance of the business is an indication of reference and terms of reference for both economic and domestic investors and foreign investors.
Promise of this reality shock and needs to study the causes that led to the lower sequence of each indicator and called for the adoption of measures of the utmost seriousness and speed and at all levels to be able to guide and correct the course of the process of development and investment and provide an environment of fair work in a position to facilitate the expected economic developments and predict.
He said that the improvement actually require the combined efforts of all governmental and non-governmental organizations and consultancy from the private sector to review and study and analyze the causes of deterioration.
Jeweler is proposed that the National Commission for Investment axis coordination through a team expanded work includes the ministries and agencies related to the economy, investment and business that the team will be an analytical and operational work to make recommendations that reflect the executive bodies within the limits of the powers of the ministries or to the higher authorities for the purpose of obtaining the decisions and the need to the legislation.
It was also suggested a comprehensive review of all that was achieved during the past four years by the ministries and the National Commission for Investment and Investment Commissions in the provinces.
He called for follow up and assess the amount of the actual flow of domestic and foreign investment to Iraq, and the number of potential new projects and the number of jobs created and the degree of contribution to new investment projects and already implemented in the development of local history of product a year and by sector.
And calls on economic expert to diagnose the causes of the reluctance or delay international companies sober for actual investment in Iraq and research into the causes of ADHD investment companies that received licenses to start the implementation of the fundamentalist project.
He pointed to the jeweler that the reality of the business environment is encouraging to activate and attract direct investment, domestic and foreign.
He said the Economic Vision and promising market in Iraq and the region and provide surplus funds to investors and the perception of expansion in international and regional companies to open new markets to face the repercussions of the economic crisis and the requirements necessary reform and economic development in Iraq and attempts to transition to a diversified economy all require review and study the mutual influences of these goals and ways of achieving .
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&u=http://www.alsabaah.com/&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dwww.alsabaah.com%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dmozilla%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:unofficial
Oil Exports from Iraqi Kurdistan Won't Resume February 1st
Monday, January 31, 2011
Oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan won't resume February 1st
BAGHDAD, Oil exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region are not expected to resume on Feb. 1 as previously agreed with the central government in Baghdad, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Kurdish exports from two fields -- Taq Taq and Tawke -- flowed briefly in 2009 but were halted when the Iraqi government refused to pay the oil companies working the fields, including Norway's DNO (DNO.OL), Turkey's Genel Enerji and China's Sinopec (600028.SS).
Earlier this month, Iraq said oil exports from the northern Kurdish region would resume on Feb. 1, and the Oil Ministry in Baghdad had agreed with its Kurdish counterpart to pay the exploration costs and expenses of the companies but not their profits.
But on Monday, at least three sources close to the matter said oil exports were not expected to start on Feb 1.
Two of the sources said there was still a lack of clarity surrounding the agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
"We are getting ready. No it (exports) will not be tomorrow," one source said on a condition of anonymity.
Another source, who also declined to be identified, said he expected oil exports to resume next week.
An official at the Iraqi state-run North Oil Co., responsible for handling oil exports from northern Iraq through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, said the company had not received any notifications on Monday from the Kurdish authorities regarding the resumption of exports.
"We have agreed with them that we need to be informed a day in advance," the official said.
"I can tell you there will not be exports from the Kurdish side on Tuesday, nor even on Wednesday."
Around 40 companies have invested in Kurdistan, but revenues have been curtailed by their inability to sell oil for export, because Baghdad has deemed the contracts they signed unconstitutional.
If oil exports resume from the Kurdish region, flows would be about 100,000 barrels per day, Kurdish and Iraqi oil officials had said.
DNO stands ready to export around 50,000 bpd if a deal is concluded, while production capacity from the Taq Taq field is around 60,000 bpd.
Iraq ships the bulk of its oil via its southern terminals near the city of Basra. Exports from the south averaged 1.8 million bpd from Jan. 1 to Jan. 24. [ID:nLDE70O1A0]
Oil from the Kirkuk fields in Iraq's northern region provide another 400,000 bpd or so in exports delivered via the pipeline to Ceyhan, a port in Turkey.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/iraq-oil-kurdistan-idINLDE70U1QI20110131
Oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan won't resume February 1st
BAGHDAD, Oil exports from Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region are not expected to resume on Feb. 1 as previously agreed with the central government in Baghdad, sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Kurdish exports from two fields -- Taq Taq and Tawke -- flowed briefly in 2009 but were halted when the Iraqi government refused to pay the oil companies working the fields, including Norway's DNO (DNO.OL), Turkey's Genel Enerji and China's Sinopec (600028.SS).
Earlier this month, Iraq said oil exports from the northern Kurdish region would resume on Feb. 1, and the Oil Ministry in Baghdad had agreed with its Kurdish counterpart to pay the exploration costs and expenses of the companies but not their profits.
But on Monday, at least three sources close to the matter said oil exports were not expected to start on Feb 1.
Two of the sources said there was still a lack of clarity surrounding the agreement between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
"We are getting ready. No it (exports) will not be tomorrow," one source said on a condition of anonymity.
Another source, who also declined to be identified, said he expected oil exports to resume next week.
An official at the Iraqi state-run North Oil Co., responsible for handling oil exports from northern Iraq through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, said the company had not received any notifications on Monday from the Kurdish authorities regarding the resumption of exports.
"We have agreed with them that we need to be informed a day in advance," the official said.
"I can tell you there will not be exports from the Kurdish side on Tuesday, nor even on Wednesday."
Around 40 companies have invested in Kurdistan, but revenues have been curtailed by their inability to sell oil for export, because Baghdad has deemed the contracts they signed unconstitutional.
If oil exports resume from the Kurdish region, flows would be about 100,000 barrels per day, Kurdish and Iraqi oil officials had said.
DNO stands ready to export around 50,000 bpd if a deal is concluded, while production capacity from the Taq Taq field is around 60,000 bpd.
Iraq ships the bulk of its oil via its southern terminals near the city of Basra. Exports from the south averaged 1.8 million bpd from Jan. 1 to Jan. 24. [ID:nLDE70O1A0]
Oil from the Kirkuk fields in Iraq's northern region provide another 400,000 bpd or so in exports delivered via the pipeline to Ceyhan, a port in Turkey.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/iraq-oil-kurdistan-idINLDE70U1QI20110131
*** Tuesday Budget Vote ~ Iraq Finance Committee: al-Issawi and promised to reach a satisfactory outcome on the budget ...
Bumped ~
Monday 31/01/2011
Finance Committee: al-Issawi and promised to reach a satisfactory outcome on the budget
Baghdad (news) .. said a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee and the National Alliance MP Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi welcomed the Committee's observations on the federal budget for 2011, and promised to reach a satisfactory outcome in respect thereof.
Yasiri said in a statement (of the Agency news) said on Monday: that a meeting was held between the Finance Committee of parliamentary and Minister of Finance, addressed the modern economic level, and have made our observations on the federal budget, and that al-Issawi was welcomed, noting that the Finance Committee focused on the issues involved, including housing, agriculture and construction and the Minister of Finance Aoadna to reach satisfactory results for all political parties and the opposition on the budget.
And was a member of a coalition of state law, an MP for the National Alliance Hanan al, she said (of the Agency news): The House of Representatives will be on Tuesday the second reading of the federal budget, and will debate it and then will be voting, and that all blocs, including the National Alliance has comments on the federal budget for 2011.
The leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union and the representative of the Kurdistan coalition blocs Osama Jamil has revealed in an earlier statement (the news) on the main points of the federal budget, which opposed to the PUK.
Jameel said that paragraph (b) of the first article by a conservative coalition of Kurdistan and rejected, and some other paragraphs in Article 23 and 19 and 14 first and fifth paragraph of Article 13 where significant damage.
And includes the Finance Committee; Abdul Amir al-Mayahi, Baqir Jabr, Haider al-Abadi, Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri, secretary Hadi Abbas, Haitham Ramadan, Magda El-Tamimi, Ahmed Abd El Hammadi, Jaber Al-Khalaf, Ibrahim al-Mutlaq, Ahmed Hassan, Najeeba Najib, Jawad Bolani, Church Mustafa.
Finance Committee: al-Issawi and promised to reach a satisfactory outcome on the budget
Baghdad (news) .. said a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee and the National Alliance MP Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi welcomed the Committee's observations on the federal budget for 2011, and promised to reach a satisfactory outcome in respect thereof.
Yasiri said in a statement (of the Agency news) said on Monday: that a meeting was held between the Finance Committee of parliamentary and Minister of Finance, addressed the modern economic level, and have made our observations on the federal budget, and that al-Issawi was welcomed, noting that the Finance Committee focused on the issues involved, including housing, agriculture and construction and the Minister of Finance Aoadna to reach satisfactory results for all political parties and the opposition on the budget.
And was a member of a coalition of state law, an MP for the National Alliance Hanan al, she said (of the Agency news): The House of Representatives will be on Tuesday the second reading of the federal budget, and will debate it and then will be voting, and that all blocs, including the National Alliance has comments on the federal budget for 2011.
The leader of the Kurdistan Islamic Union and the representative of the Kurdistan coalition blocs Osama Jamil has revealed in an earlier statement (the news) on the main points of the federal budget, which opposed to the PUK.
Jameel said that paragraph (b) of the first article by a conservative coalition of Kurdistan and rejected, and some other paragraphs in Article 23 and 19 and 14 first and fifth paragraph of Article 13 where significant damage.
And includes the Finance Committee; Abdul Amir al-Mayahi, Baqir Jabr, Haider al-Abadi, Abdul Hussein al-Yasiri, secretary Hadi Abbas, Haitham Ramadan, Magda El-Tamimi, Ahmed Abd El Hammadi, Jaber Al-Khalaf, Ibrahim al-Mutlaq, Ahmed Hassan, Najeeba Najib, Jawad Bolani, Church Mustafa.
Ports: dry canal project will change the map of the world economy (Iraq) ...
Older article worth reading ~ Alternative to the Suez Canal and Gulf Ports ...
Suez Canal Closure Concerns ...
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Ports: dry canal project will change the map of the world economy
Eliminates the role of the Suez Canal and Gulf ports, marine and achieve huge financial returns
Ports: dry canal project will change the map of the world economy
Eliminates the role of the Suez Canal and Gulf ports, marine and achieve huge financial returns
Suez Canal Closure Concerns ...
Iraq taps scientific studies to build modern state: Maliki
January 31, 2011
Iraq taps scientific studies to build modern state: Maliki
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said Sunday that his country would tap scientific studies to build a modern Iraqi state, urging all to help government bodies get rid of the crippling bureaucracy.
An official statement quoted Maliki as saying that his government would implement a new project for building a modern Iraqi state based on scientific studies and proposals conducted and presented by renowned experts. Maliki, who was touring the Cabinet Secretariat building, failed to reveal more details about such studies and proposals.
The Premier also said that efficiency, competency, honesty and professionalism should be the base for recruiting staff for government bodies.
Iraq taps scientific studies to build modern state: Maliki
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said Sunday that his country would tap scientific studies to build a modern Iraqi state, urging all to help government bodies get rid of the crippling bureaucracy.
An official statement quoted Maliki as saying that his government would implement a new project for building a modern Iraqi state based on scientific studies and proposals conducted and presented by renowned experts. Maliki, who was touring the Cabinet Secretariat building, failed to reveal more details about such studies and proposals.
The Premier also said that efficiency, competency, honesty and professionalism should be the base for recruiting staff for government bodies.
Kuwait News Agency
China’s Renminbi Becoming a World Currency? ...
January 31st, 2011
On China’s renminbi becoming a world currency
American authorities have been baying for months about flexing up the renminbi (RMB — the Chinese currency) to help turn around China’s current account surpluses and reduce America’s deficits. Whether a sharp appreciation in the rate of exchange between the RMB and the US dollar should be relied on as the main instrument for effecting that change smoothly is a much debated question.
Appreciation of the RMB is certainly one crucial part of the solution, but there are also more fundamental structural problems that need to be dealt with to cut back China’s net international savings and achieve the reverse in the United States.
After President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US last week, a flexible Chinese RMB looks a less distant, and more daunting, prospect than it might have seemed to American critics, especially if it is tied to Beijing’s plans for the RMB’s emergence as a world currency.
Not that Hu announced an appreciation of the Chinese currency or any immediate or managed solution to the immediate dispute over its valuation with his American counterparts. That was never on the cards. But what has happened in the lead-up to his visit was something that might ultimately be much more important in developing a Chinese exchange rate regime in which the RMB can more readily float to its proper market rate and assume a more important place in the global monetary system.
As Barry Eichengreen discusses in this week’s lead essay Beijing’s decision, in the lead-up to Hu’s visit, to allow the state-controlled Bank of China to offer RMB-denominated bank accounts and currency conversion services in New York is as an important step in positioning the RMB to become a true international currency. It’s not just a publicity stunt designed to deflect attention away from China’s refusal to let its currency appreciate against the dollar: it is another small but significant step, as Eichengreen observes, in the internationalisation of the RMB, even if President Hu’s visit may have explained the timing of it.
‘There has been an important shift in Chinese strategy and rhetoric since March 2009 when People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou made some much-commented-on remarks calling for an enhanced role for the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as an alternative to the dollar in the international sphere’, Eichengreen argues. ‘Chinese officials speak now not of an international monetary system centred on SDRs (or the US dollar) but on a system that rests on a handful of existing currencies: the dollar, the euro, and the renminbi.’ China now gives every sign of resolutely moving to put the new international currency order in place.
In the joint Press Statement after the Hu-Obama talks, on currencies, the United States and China agreed ‘that currencies in the SDR basket should only be those that are heavily used in international trade and financial transactions’, and the United States supported China’s efforts over time to promote inclusion of the RMB in the SDR basket.
Eichengreen notes that ‘China still has a long way to go in order to internationalise the RMB. It will have to make its financial markets at home more liquid. To create a bond market of the requisite size, it will have to “overfund” its debt, issuing more sovereign debt securities than would be necessary otherwise. To gain the confidence of foreign investors, it will have to make its financial markets more transparent and strengthen rule of law. To accommodate a larger volume of capital inflows and outflows, it will need a more flexible exchange rate. Above all, it will have to avoid serious financial problems.’
As Takatoshi Ito finds in his Asian Economic Policy Review paper last year (see also the relevant appendix), according to the basket currency regressions during the period in which the Chinese currency was gradually appreciating against the US dollar from July 2005 to August 2008, the RMB had already acquired strong influence on the Asian currencies. The weight of the RMB turns out to have been higher than that of the US dollar in the Singapore dollar basket. The RMB is fast gaining the status it needs to be a regional anchor currency and for a float.
While many central banks have not yet acquired RMB denominated assets as foreign reserves, China has made a decision to promote RMB denominated cross-border transactions. As capital controls are lifted, transactions of assets denominated in the RMB will increase. Although the RMB may still have a long way to go in challenging the US dollar and the Euro as key reserve currencies, the process toward at least becoming a regional key currency, and eventually an international key currency, has begun.
American authorities have been baying for months about flexing up the renminbi (RMB — the Chinese currency) to help turn around China’s current account surpluses and reduce America’s deficits. Whether a sharp appreciation in the rate of exchange between the RMB and the US dollar should be relied on as the main instrument for effecting that change smoothly is a much debated question.
Appreciation of the RMB is certainly one crucial part of the solution, but there are also more fundamental structural problems that need to be dealt with to cut back China’s net international savings and achieve the reverse in the United States.
After President Hu Jintao’s visit to the US last week, a flexible Chinese RMB looks a less distant, and more daunting, prospect than it might have seemed to American critics, especially if it is tied to Beijing’s plans for the RMB’s emergence as a world currency.
Not that Hu announced an appreciation of the Chinese currency or any immediate or managed solution to the immediate dispute over its valuation with his American counterparts. That was never on the cards. But what has happened in the lead-up to his visit was something that might ultimately be much more important in developing a Chinese exchange rate regime in which the RMB can more readily float to its proper market rate and assume a more important place in the global monetary system.
As Barry Eichengreen discusses in this week’s lead essay Beijing’s decision, in the lead-up to Hu’s visit, to allow the state-controlled Bank of China to offer RMB-denominated bank accounts and currency conversion services in New York is as an important step in positioning the RMB to become a true international currency. It’s not just a publicity stunt designed to deflect attention away from China’s refusal to let its currency appreciate against the dollar: it is another small but significant step, as Eichengreen observes, in the internationalisation of the RMB, even if President Hu’s visit may have explained the timing of it.
‘There has been an important shift in Chinese strategy and rhetoric since March 2009 when People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou made some much-commented-on remarks calling for an enhanced role for the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, or SDRs, as an alternative to the dollar in the international sphere’, Eichengreen argues. ‘Chinese officials speak now not of an international monetary system centred on SDRs (or the US dollar) but on a system that rests on a handful of existing currencies: the dollar, the euro, and the renminbi.’ China now gives every sign of resolutely moving to put the new international currency order in place.
In the joint Press Statement after the Hu-Obama talks, on currencies, the United States and China agreed ‘that currencies in the SDR basket should only be those that are heavily used in international trade and financial transactions’, and the United States supported China’s efforts over time to promote inclusion of the RMB in the SDR basket.
Eichengreen notes that ‘China still has a long way to go in order to internationalise the RMB. It will have to make its financial markets at home more liquid. To create a bond market of the requisite size, it will have to “overfund” its debt, issuing more sovereign debt securities than would be necessary otherwise. To gain the confidence of foreign investors, it will have to make its financial markets more transparent and strengthen rule of law. To accommodate a larger volume of capital inflows and outflows, it will need a more flexible exchange rate. Above all, it will have to avoid serious financial problems.’
As Takatoshi Ito finds in his Asian Economic Policy Review paper last year (see also the relevant appendix), according to the basket currency regressions during the period in which the Chinese currency was gradually appreciating against the US dollar from July 2005 to August 2008, the RMB had already acquired strong influence on the Asian currencies. The weight of the RMB turns out to have been higher than that of the US dollar in the Singapore dollar basket. The RMB is fast gaining the status it needs to be a regional anchor currency and for a float.
While many central banks have not yet acquired RMB denominated assets as foreign reserves, China has made a decision to promote RMB denominated cross-border transactions. As capital controls are lifted, transactions of assets denominated in the RMB will increase. Although the RMB may still have a long way to go in challenging the US dollar and the Euro as key reserve currencies, the process toward at least becoming a regional key currency, and eventually an international key currency, has begun.
King Abdullah, Obama discuss Egypt
31 January, 2011King Abdullah, Obama discuss Egypt
Saudi Gazette -
King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, received a telephone call late Saturday night from US President Barack Obama in which the two leaders discussed the situation in Egypt and expressed their disapproval of the chaos and looting and threats to security and safety.
King Abdullah said that the stability of Egypt and the safety and security of its people was a “non-negotiable issue” and that threats to them were “unjustifiable under any pretext”.
According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), King Abdullah also described the achievements and advancements of Egypt as “inseparable from the achievements and advancements of the Arab and Islamic Ummah”.
SPA said that the US president understood the viewpoint of the King concerning the stability and security of the region.
Abdul Rahman Al-Attiya, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), meanwhile, said Sunday that the GCC “wants stability in Egypt”.
In a statement given on the sidelines of an investment forum in Malaysia, Al-Attiya said that the GCC “hopes that the situation returns to normal soon”. GCC economies, he added, are “strong” and “have no fear at this stage of any economic repercussions from the crisis in Egypt”.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), also released a statement the same day expressing his “extreme concern”.
Ihsanoglu called upon the people of Egypt to exercise “utmost self-control” and “protect lives”.
Amr Moussa, the head of the Arab League, said Sunday he wanted to see a multi-party democracy emerge in Egypt but could not say how soon that might happen.
Saudi Gazette -
Shaways: Iraq wants long-standing ties with the United States
Shaways: Iraq wants long-standing ties with the United States
Baghdad (news) .. He said Deputy Prime Minister RoÚ˜nori Shaways Iraq wants long-standing ties with the United States and is keen to promote the interest of both peoples.
A statement received Agency (news) a copy of it on Monday: that Shaways said during a meeting with Deputy U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad, Stuart Jones: "Iraq is looking forward to building strong economic ties and long-term relationship with the United States."
Shaways said: "the need to respect the right of peoples opinions Altobeiran peaceful and civilized Baattabaraldemqratip is the best solution for the relationship between governments and their peoples."
The statement added: "It was during the meeting, they exchanged views on political events in the region".
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fikhnews.com%2Fnews_view_7761.html&sl=ar&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8
Allawi and Maliki meet today for ministries allocation and strategic council bill
Monday, January 31st 2011
Allawi and Maliki meet today for ministries allocation and strategic council bill
Baghdad, The spokesman for Iraqiya Bloc said Sunday Ayad Allawi, the bloc leader, will meet with the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki within the next 24 hours to discuss the dangling security ministries’ allocation as well as the authorities of the National Council for Strategic Policies.
Disputes between the political blocs over the security ministries, especially the interior and defense, endure. The Iraqi new cabinet was formed partially Dec. 21. Some nine posts from the overall 42 are suspended.
Although the political blocs insist the security posts should be assumed by neutral people, they have proposed members of their own blocs, who are rejected by the rival entities in parliament.
The spokesman of the Iraqiya list Shaker Kattab told AKnews the meeting between Allawi and Maliki will be “significant” to resolve the outstanding issues over ministries’ allocations.
Khattab added the two leaders are also expected to discuss the bill for the National Council for Strategic Policies, a concession promised to Allawi but still covered by clouds of doubt.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/214690/
Allawi and Maliki meet today for ministries allocation and strategic council bill
Baghdad, The spokesman for Iraqiya Bloc said Sunday Ayad Allawi, the bloc leader, will meet with the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki within the next 24 hours to discuss the dangling security ministries’ allocation as well as the authorities of the National Council for Strategic Policies.
Disputes between the political blocs over the security ministries, especially the interior and defense, endure. The Iraqi new cabinet was formed partially Dec. 21. Some nine posts from the overall 42 are suspended.
Although the political blocs insist the security posts should be assumed by neutral people, they have proposed members of their own blocs, who are rejected by the rival entities in parliament.
The spokesman of the Iraqiya list Shaker Kattab told AKnews the meeting between Allawi and Maliki will be “significant” to resolve the outstanding issues over ministries’ allocations.
Khattab added the two leaders are also expected to discuss the bill for the National Council for Strategic Policies, a concession promised to Allawi but still covered by clouds of doubt.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/214690/
Egypt will not affect events on the Iraqi economy ...
Economist: Egypt will not affect events on the Iraqi economy
Baghdad (news) .. said economist star Beheiri that what is taking place with events in Egypt will not affect the Iraqi economy. Beheiri said in a statement (of the Agency news) said on Monday: that "what happened in Egypt, a matter of course, conduct an internal Aitoul will be decided whether or negatively positively and it would not affect the Iraqi economy and that the effect will be over very short. "
He Beheiri: that most of the agreements concluded between Iraq and Egypt, while affected because they are waiting for ink on paper from the parliament approved legal.
He Beheiri that the Egyptian economy is still suffering from the repercussions of unemployment and particularly among young graduates, like the rest of the Arab economies.
The protest movement broke out wide on 25 January was led by thousands of Egyptian youth who Aintamon to the parties and the masses of the traditional opposition, which calls for (the change) and the Intifada still alive so far.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fikhnews.com%2Fnews_view_7761.html&sl=ar&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8
PM advisor: Security plans cannot be presented to parliament before implementation
Monday, January 31st 2011
PM advisor: Security plans cannot be presented to parliament before implementation
Baghdad, The Prime Minister’s legal advisor said on Monday that the demand of some MPs that security plans are submitted to parliament before implementation cannot be met, saying that it is not necessary for them to know such details.
Fadel Mohammed told AKnews that parliament plays a legislative and regulatory role in government plans to achieve security and stability, but preparing the security plans and implementing them is under the jurisdiction of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
Until permanent replacements are nominated, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki holds the administration of the ministries of Defense, the Interior and National Security since parliament granted him its vote of confidence on December 21.
National Coalition (NC) deputy Sabah al-Saadi said in a Baghdad press conference yesterday that he had submitted a request from 57 MPs asking the government to submit its security plans and strategies one month ahead of implementation.
“Security plans are usually confidential, urgent and changing at the same time ... From a legal and professional perspective, this would allow (parliament) to view the security plans before their implementation,” he said.
Despite the successive application of tightened security plans in Baghdad, the city still witnesses almost daily acts of insurgent violence. Earlier this month, a wave of planned assassinations on the streets of the Iraqi capital, spurred Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to announce an unusually high state of alert.
With the Arab League Summit scheduled to begin in Baghdad on March 23, the government is under increasing pressure to eradicate insurgent activity on the capital’s streets.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/214778/
PM advisor: Security plans cannot be presented to parliament before implementation
Baghdad, The Prime Minister’s legal advisor said on Monday that the demand of some MPs that security plans are submitted to parliament before implementation cannot be met, saying that it is not necessary for them to know such details.
Fadel Mohammed told AKnews that parliament plays a legislative and regulatory role in government plans to achieve security and stability, but preparing the security plans and implementing them is under the jurisdiction of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
Until permanent replacements are nominated, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki holds the administration of the ministries of Defense, the Interior and National Security since parliament granted him its vote of confidence on December 21.
National Coalition (NC) deputy Sabah al-Saadi said in a Baghdad press conference yesterday that he had submitted a request from 57 MPs asking the government to submit its security plans and strategies one month ahead of implementation.
“Security plans are usually confidential, urgent and changing at the same time ... From a legal and professional perspective, this would allow (parliament) to view the security plans before their implementation,” he said.
Despite the successive application of tightened security plans in Baghdad, the city still witnesses almost daily acts of insurgent violence. Earlier this month, a wave of planned assassinations on the streets of the Iraqi capital, spurred Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to announce an unusually high state of alert.
With the Arab League Summit scheduled to begin in Baghdad on March 23, the government is under increasing pressure to eradicate insurgent activity on the capital’s streets.
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/4/214778/
CBI ~ Linking ICB to govt won't affect economic policy, says govt advisor
Monday, January 31st 2011
Linking ICB to govt won't affect economic policy, says govt advisor
Baghdad, A legal adviser to the Iraqi government said on Monday that administratively linking the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) to the government won't affect the economic policy of the country and won't impede the unblocking of Iraqi funds.
Fadel Mohammed told AKnews that the Federal Court ruling that administratively links the bank to the government is based on constitutional Articles 102 and 103 and has already been applied to a number of independent bodies.
The Federal Court issued on January 18 a ruling that links a number of independent bodies to the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers and not to the chairmanship of the parliament in response to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s request to interpret the constitutional article concerning independent bodies.
The adviser of the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) warned on Sunday of the repercussions of the Federal Court’s recent ruling saying it will expose Iraqi funds to risks.
Muzher Mohammed Saleh told AKnews that the international financial environment is risky and instead of referring the Central Bank to a judicial power, there is need to make diversity in the management of foreign financial reserves in the countries to escape any legal proceedings affecting the debt of the Iraqi government that are protected under resolution 1483 of the international security council.
But Government advisor Fadel Mohammed says that the ICB’s objection is “not objective” and that “the Constitution is clear and explicit in this case in order to regulate the monetary policy and financial resources of the country”.
Although recognizing the lack of an immediate risk, Saleh however believes that the consequences of the ruling are yet to be felt.
"Since 2003, the central bank has been able to provides a secure umbrella for $50bn to meet its local and international capital needs", he said stressing that "the danger lies in the expiration of international protection next June, and we must think of protecting the assets of Iraq under the ICB only."
"The money of the central bank is not the money of the federal government but is a security cover for the national currency and for the Iraqi people ... If the opposite happened according to the recent decision and the money of the central bank became governmental, then it would be under risk."
Many parties warn that the Bank will loose its independence and become subjected to political pressures like the rest of the independent bodies covered by the latest court decision, but the federal court’s rulings are conclusive and can not be contested.
The bill’s opponents say that it reflects the desire of the Prime Minister to control the independent bodies, without paying attention to the risks involved in the acquisition of greater powers.
A number of political lists, most prominently the Iraqiya List and the Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) object to the idea of linking the independent bodies to the Council of Ministers, and consider it an excessive move by the ruling National Coalition (NC).
The bodies that the federal court ruling put under the jurisdiction of Maliki’s cabinet include the Supreme Commission of Human Rights, the Independent Higher Electoral Commission (IHEC), the Integrity Commission, the Iraqi Central Bank, the Financial Inspection Office and the Media and Communications committee.
Opponents of the ruling say that in fact it contravenes both articles 103 and 104 of the Iraqi constitution’s chapter IV which clearly state that these bodies are financially and administratively independent and subject to the supervision of parliament which regulates their work according to the law.
Al-Iraqiya MP Karim Hattab told AKnews that the court's ruling is ambiguous and raises questions as the law and the constitution clearly state that these bodies are connected to parliament, adding that linking them to the Council of Ministers seriously compromises their independence.
Al-Iraqiya spokesman Haidar al-Mullah told AKnews last week that the Federal Court’s January 18 ruling effectively puts the parliamentary committees under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, describing this as a “coup against the constitution”.
“Violating the autonomy of the independent boards will mark the end of democracy in the country,” he warned.
Mullah went on to challenge the constitutionality of the court by pointing out that it was formed by the former civil administrator Paul Bremer and not by parliament itself.
“It is time for parliament to activate Article 92 of the Iraqi constitution, which demarcates the Federal Court, the nature of its work and the terms of its references.”
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/214731/
Fadel Mohammed told AKnews that the Federal Court ruling that administratively links the bank to the government is based on constitutional Articles 102 and 103 and has already been applied to a number of independent bodies.
The Federal Court issued on January 18 a ruling that links a number of independent bodies to the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers and not to the chairmanship of the parliament in response to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s request to interpret the constitutional article concerning independent bodies.
The adviser of the Iraqi Central Bank (ICB) warned on Sunday of the repercussions of the Federal Court’s recent ruling saying it will expose Iraqi funds to risks.
Muzher Mohammed Saleh told AKnews that the international financial environment is risky and instead of referring the Central Bank to a judicial power, there is need to make diversity in the management of foreign financial reserves in the countries to escape any legal proceedings affecting the debt of the Iraqi government that are protected under resolution 1483 of the international security council.
But Government advisor Fadel Mohammed says that the ICB’s objection is “not objective” and that “the Constitution is clear and explicit in this case in order to regulate the monetary policy and financial resources of the country”.
Although recognizing the lack of an immediate risk, Saleh however believes that the consequences of the ruling are yet to be felt.
"Since 2003, the central bank has been able to provides a secure umbrella for $50bn to meet its local and international capital needs", he said stressing that "the danger lies in the expiration of international protection next June, and we must think of protecting the assets of Iraq under the ICB only."
"The money of the central bank is not the money of the federal government but is a security cover for the national currency and for the Iraqi people ... If the opposite happened according to the recent decision and the money of the central bank became governmental, then it would be under risk."
Many parties warn that the Bank will loose its independence and become subjected to political pressures like the rest of the independent bodies covered by the latest court decision, but the federal court’s rulings are conclusive and can not be contested.
The bill’s opponents say that it reflects the desire of the Prime Minister to control the independent bodies, without paying attention to the risks involved in the acquisition of greater powers.
A number of political lists, most prominently the Iraqiya List and the Kurdistan Blocs Coalition (KBC) object to the idea of linking the independent bodies to the Council of Ministers, and consider it an excessive move by the ruling National Coalition (NC).
The bodies that the federal court ruling put under the jurisdiction of Maliki’s cabinet include the Supreme Commission of Human Rights, the Independent Higher Electoral Commission (IHEC), the Integrity Commission, the Iraqi Central Bank, the Financial Inspection Office and the Media and Communications committee.
Opponents of the ruling say that in fact it contravenes both articles 103 and 104 of the Iraqi constitution’s chapter IV which clearly state that these bodies are financially and administratively independent and subject to the supervision of parliament which regulates their work according to the law.
Al-Iraqiya MP Karim Hattab told AKnews that the court's ruling is ambiguous and raises questions as the law and the constitution clearly state that these bodies are connected to parliament, adding that linking them to the Council of Ministers seriously compromises their independence.
Al-Iraqiya spokesman Haidar al-Mullah told AKnews last week that the Federal Court’s January 18 ruling effectively puts the parliamentary committees under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, describing this as a “coup against the constitution”.
“Violating the autonomy of the independent boards will mark the end of democracy in the country,” he warned.
Mullah went on to challenge the constitutionality of the court by pointing out that it was formed by the former civil administrator Paul Bremer and not by parliament itself.
“It is time for parliament to activate Article 92 of the Iraqi constitution, which demarcates the Federal Court, the nature of its work and the terms of its references.”
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/214731/
Will Egypt Rock Our Economy?
January 31, 2011
Will Egypt Rock Our Economy?
NEW YORK – Will the chaos in Egypt reverberate here financially? Charlie Gasparino on how some economists fear a return of 1970s-style "stagflation," and how Chinese policy helps stoke it.
All the signs have been pointing to a robust economy in 2011, from the president's pump-priming cave on Bush-era tax cuts (as well as accompanying extension benefits) to business openness to turning cash stockpiles into expansion. The stock market has cracked the 12000 level, and Republicans have been privately worrying that, in prodding Obama into adopting more free-market principles, they inadvertently saved his presidency.
Now comes the political crisis in Egypt and you can almost feel the markets fret. Oil prices have been edging up, the markets recorded their largest decline since November, and even worse, the chatter among many economists has raised the specter of global "stagflation," the economic disorder that made the late 1970s and early 1980s among the worst years for the economy since the Great Depression.
Of course, there are many reasons to be worried about Egypt's instability aside from its economic impact. Egypt is possibly our most important Arab ally, and a friend—or at least not an enemy—one of America's bedrock partners, its next-door neighbor Israel. In recent years, Egypt has seen a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, and the crisis that has stunned Mubarak, a despot with pro-U.S. leanings, has eerie parallels with the late 1970s, and the shah of Iran. You know how that turned out.
But the economic impact of Egypt's political unrest shouldn't be underestimated—and certainly not ignored by investors and economic policymakers. The markets, of course, are always looking for reasons to trade up or trade down, and after cranking out gains over the past eight weeks, looting and rioting in the Middle East was as good as a reason as any for traders to take some profits.
Still, what happened Friday wasn't a mere hiccup for a market poised for Dow 12000 and above; rather it's the realization that a government potentially hostile to the U.S. and its interests could control the Suez Canal, a vital shipping lane for oil coming from the Middle East and to the West; it is a recalculation of the risk of severe economic turmoil if Egypt is swept into a radical Islamic frenzy and if oil prices double or even triple as a result; it's the recognition that for all the positive forces influencing the economy now, there's also a strong undercurrent of weakness, a structural imbalance that makes stagflation—where a economy suffers from both high unemployment and high inflation—a very real possibility.
There are many reasons to avoid anything to do with the 1970s—stagflation trumps them all.
There are, of course, many reasons to avoid anything to do with the 1970s—bad hairstyles, platform shoes, Watergate, and Jimmy Carter's presidency, to name just a few. But for my money, stagflation trumps them all. Inflation normally occurs when economies become "overheated," i.e., too many people making money chasing too few goods and services. Prices then begin to rise, to reflect this scarcity.
• Peter Beinart: Obama’s Mideast Moment of Truth• Howard Kurtz: Al Jazeera’s Big Moment •
With stagflation, inflation occurs when the economy is already weak. It begins with an exogenous event—a "price shock" that lights the inflationary fuse, and causes a weak economy to now grow weaker as businesses cut costs to remain profitable by shedding jobs. One of the few ways to deal with stagflation is to make a bad economic situation even worse and squeeze the economy even more—as former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker did during late 1970s and early 1980s when he raised interest rates and the country suffered massive unemployment. That, combined with tax cuts enacted by President Reagan, quashed inflation and restored economic growth—but only after nearly a decade of chaos.
In the 1970s, the exogenous event that started it all was the Arab oil embargo of the U.S. and many of our Western allies because of our support of Israel. It set off the inflationary cycle in everything oil-related, from gasoline to food and it's the possibility of high oil prices, triggered by Egypt, that has reintroduced stagflation into the current economic debate.
Consider the similarities: Egypt isn't a big oil producer, but it does play a role in the distribution of oil to the West, so unrest and instability there could result in oil shortages, or even worse.
The possibility of fundamentalism sweeping not just Egypt but other oil-producing Arab states (think Saudi Arabia) is often on the minds of traders in the futures markets, who continuously wager on oil prices, but even more so when the Egypt chaos began to fester last week.
Moreover, the 1970s was a decade of weak economic growth, similar to the current momentum, so any shock to the system could send the economy into a tailspin, as it did back then.
"Higher oil prices could result in inflation and this could result in some developing countries trying to slow their economies," says Sandy Leeds, a former money manager and now a professor of finance at the University of Texas at Austin. Leeds calls higher oil prices "a tax on the consumer" that's even worse than regular taxes because the U.S. government doesn't get any of the revenue—the foreign oil producers do. On top of that, he says that "by some estimates, developing countries will account for half of the global GDP growth this year. As a result, if these countries try to slow their economy it could affect us all."
Economist Peter Morici of the University of Maryland takes the stagflation debate a step further. He makes a good case that stagflation has already begun in places outside the U.S., and the events in Egypt could kindle it here, if it hasn't already begun. He points to burgeoning Chinese economy's thirst for everything from oil to food, driving up commodity prices in ways that don't necessarily register with superficial measurements of inflation such as the CPI and PPI, but have a real impact on consumers worldwide.
Morici blames the return of stagflation on "Chinese mercantilism" as its government fixes oil prices at home at low levels. The Chinese, he says, are "subsidizing gasoline consumption, which is galloping," and "sucking up" commodities across the planet; in the U.S., the impact of China's command-control brand of capitalism has been muted by other factors at least so far, but in places like Egypt where jobs are scarce, the impact is devastating.
"If you want to know why there are riots in Egypt, it's because of Chinese mercantilism," he says.
Moody's Investors Service economist John Lonksi calls it a "bit of a stretch" to say the U.S. is now suffering from stagflation, since inflation has remained relatively even with the Federal Reserve aggressively printing money following the 2009 banking collapse; oil prices, he points out, are still relatively low, trading below $90 a barrel (and falling before the Egyptian crisis), so gasoline prices have remained stable.
Yet Lonki remains worried, less about Egypt than the nuclear threat coming from Iran, and a possibile war with Israel that could shut down oil supply, leading to a cataclysmic spike in oil prices—the "price shock" needed to ignite stagflation.
Of course, cooler heads may well prevail: The Mubarak government may give up power and embrace democracy; the Egyptian military might play grownup and support a transitional government that better reflects the will of the people; the Suez Canal may remain open to one and all; and the radical Islamists, namely the Muslim Brotherhood, may be less radical there and in neighboring Arab states.
Maybe all this will happen, but there's a good chance it won't—and if so, it could be 1978 all over again.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/12163_stagflationwillegyptcauseaneconomicdoomsday;_ylt=AvrATS9RYuzZRWEkpCxIf_39xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTQ3YnQ0Y2Q2BGFzc2V0Ay9zL2RhaWx5YmVhc3QvMTIxNjNfc3RhZ2ZsYXRpb253aWxsZWd5cHRjYXVzZWFuZWNvbm9taWNkb29tc2RheQRjY29kZQNtcF9lY184XzEwBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3dpbGxlZ3lwdHJvYw--
A Global Central Bank and Currency ?
A Global Central Bank and Currency?
There are many paths forward for the global monetary system, but the hitherto unthinkable is becoming debatable: a global central bank and currency. However, despite the recent financial distress and potential for further financial calamity, the creation of such a new institution or currency is far off. But would a global central bank with possibly its own currency help bring monetary solace, universal prosperity and humankind together? Or would such a bank and currency result in yet another calamitous monetary failure?
The 2008-2009 financial debacle showed just how unprepared the global financial system was to deal with a loss of faith in, and imploding of, the global banking system. To stave off a global financial meltdown, the central banks of the US, the EU, Japan and many others around the world advanced vast sums in loans and guarantees to banks and financial entities. And the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) in particular loaned out hundreds of billions of dollars to foreign-owned banks, in effect acting as a bank of last resort to the global banking system.
As big as the Fed is, it and other central banks, for many reasons, may not be able to address the demands of a future global financial maelstrom with possibly even larger calls for loans of last resort. For the Fed, this is due to 1) the declining relative importance of the US economy and the dollar in relation to the global economy, and 2) potential political interference in its activities.
The mounting problems and lessening importance of the US economy and its dollar globally are obviously why a new international currency regime is being considered. International Monetary Fund (IMF) data (published in The Economist magazine) shows that while the US now makes up about 24 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), its dollar accounts for 84 per cent of foreign exchange transactions. Furthermore, over 60 per cent of international central bank reserves and about 60 per cent of global bank deposits are denominated in US dollars.
The continuing use of the US dollar internationally is largely dependent on the performance of the US economy and its domestic fiscal and monetary policies. Domestically, the US government is growing massive unsustainable debts while the Fed is hugely expanding the creation of new money and the buying of US government bonds (its quantitative easing programs). These actions are likely to further devalue the US dollar globally. Thus, holders of US dollars and assets will increasingly be less interested in retaining them.
Rising to compete with the US dollar has principally been the euro. However, with its member countries’ debt problems, the attention is turning primarily to China’s yuan. It is probably no accident that on January 12 China made a significant step forward in yuan foreign exchange convertibility by allowing it to trade in the US. China has also recently made deals with Russia, Brazil and other countries to settle trade accounts in yuan.
Such gains in the international acceptance of the yuan make it likely to be included in the revised and re-invigorated Special Drawing Rights (SDR) issued by the IMF. The SDR is presently a type of currency used in a limited way among central banks and the IMF. However, its role could eventually be expanded and in the decades ahead might even form the basis of a global currency.
The SDR comprises a basket of currencies that include the US dollar, yen, euro and pound sterling. Besides including the yuan, a revised form of SDR might include additional currencies and even gold or other commodities as well. As gold has an inherent market value, proponents for its inclusion suggest it could help bring further stability to the SDR. Changes to the SDR are favoured by many countries such as Russia and France.
Hence, the IMF may well begin to act in the coming years as a quasi global central bank. However, Barry Eichengreen of the University of California in the US cautions—quoting the Economist magazine of November 4, 2010—that, “no global government… means no global central bank, which means no global currency. Full stop.” Economists like Mr Eichengreen have the weight of evidence on their side regarding the need for a global government before a true global central bank and currency could come about. One only needs to look at the European Central Bank’s problems to see how the lack of an overarching, integrated and authoritative governance structure greatly impeded its ability to deal with the recent crises.
Advocating against the concept of a global central bank and currency are some free market proponents such as Ron Paul, a US Republican and now chairman of the powerful US Congress’s Monetary Policy Sub-committee. He and many others believe currencies should be freely chosen and have intrinsic value, backed by commodities, most likely that of gold. They say without gold backing, any currency and central bank issuing such currency, is deemed to eventual failure due to the historical fact that governments inevitably print excessive amounts of money. This ‘printing’ thereby debases the currency’s value and essentially commits fraud against the holders of the affected currency.
It is possible that the world may proceed towards a global central bank and currency over time. In the near future, the IMF will probably revise, re-invigorate and expand its SDR program to assist in the transition from reserve dependence on the US dollar. But the dangers with the SDR are that it is still largely linked to the viability and variability of national economies and their domestic policies and currencies. Advocates of a completely free market approach such as that proposed by US Congressman Ron Paul might also hold sway. The idea of a global central bank and currency is still just an idea. But it is an idea arising out of the calamity of our present day reality. It deserves hot debate.
http://english.alrroya.com/content/global-central-bank-and-currency
Sunday, January 30, 2011
POOF for JAN 30: There's something happening here
http://www.suprememastertv.com/
Buffalo Springfield
TITLE: For What It's Worth
Lyrics and Chords
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Greetings and Salutations,
Not that this was any surprise, the drop dead date arrived and nothing happened. They who have nothing scared people enough not to move which percipitated in a big blow out in Brussels. None of which is really secret it was too loud. iF I were a bad guy right now I would be very worried. I guess everyone is about to learn who has the power on this planet. I had heard about a big meeting first thing friday morning, then the location came from they who were present. Don't trip, this is following the scenario I was given nearly 30 years ago. People too greedy and selfish would rather see the world blow up than stand down, have their backs up against the wall. The future has changed for them and that means they will no longer be able to keep you as serf or a slave in their construct. They don't like that. They suffered from a case of the 'big head' and now it's tearing them apart. I wouldn't be surprised if they destablised egypt to get results that favored them. After all the only power they have left is fear. Fear of survival, name it, fear of all sorts of things. Fear; false evidence appearing real. What's wrong with all people having plenty, not having to behave a certain way to be able to eat, have a roof over their heads, or just generally living.
No human can stop universal physics. They created a vacuum with people who have little to meet their daily needs and they didn't think there'd be a response from forces beyond their control? But you argued 'free will' concepts, to be able to trash the place didn't you? Karma is real and you have build up quite the pile haven't you, ya reap what you sow. There is no scientist who can explain that away as hocus pocus. Combine the wrong chemicals and watch what happens. Folks we had a slight set back, nothing long term the folks behind making this a better planet had already factored in the fear factor, what if the us doesn't start on time?
IF you know anything about the forces of nature, understand this, when you constrict energy in anyway there will be a blow out somewhere, even ufo's over the temple mount. lolololol Look at the one photographed over paris and it was built right here, look at the top of the ship, don't need those in outer space. Here's where ya scewed up on your theories humans are energy They are bio electricmagnetic energy units and you thought they were just mostly bags of water to be steered where you chose. A human can change their mind and direction 180 degrees at any given sec, can you factor in all that with your think tanks? NO because your own arrogant ego gets in the way of 'clean' thought processes. It was never about what you 'thought' anyhow, it's about what you 'know'. Did you think for a sec you could hide anything from the "Knowers"? Apparently. You kill people when they don't report back what you want. I can only say. Big DUMMIES!
These people purport to be wiser than you, discounting commonsense in favor of some 3000 year old plan of the dark ones, they are faithful to. Whether you believe in anything they are about works in their benefit. You can brush off the stuff that makes no sense and they can go on unquestioned and continuing their shenanigans and I can be another nutball tapping messages on the world wide web. The world is slam up against a sudden and awesome shift from it's past and whether you believe a word I've told you, the proof will be clear for everyone to see. I have told you I'd be here til it was all over so I am. May your future be filled with all the things you enjoy and all the things you wish to improve. Anyone wishing a consult e-mail this address 2goforth@Safe-mail.net .
Love and Kisses,
Poofness
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