Tuesday, May 31, 2011

June 3rd, EU's Barnier Speech ~ "The Shape of EU Financial Regulation and its Impact on the United States and Europe"

June 1, 2011

Friday, June 3, 2011

Commissioner Barnier will discuss

"The Shape of EU Financial Regulation and its Impact on the United States and Europe" at The Brookings Institution (Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC).

Event Summary

In the wake of the recent financial crisis, massive regulatory changes will not only transform financial markets but will also have major impacts on the global economy as a whole.

Advocates stress that increased regulation ensures system safety, while opponents argue that more expensive, less-available credit will harm the recovery significantly as institutions pull back their lending in response to increased regulation.

What is Europe doing and how does it compare to the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act? What might be the impact on the global economy?

Event Information

Friday, June 03, 2011
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
The Brookings Institution

More Related Content

On June 3, the Initiative on Business and Public Policy (IBPP) at Brookings, along with Global Economy and Development and the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings, will host a discussion on financial regulatory reform featuring remarks by European Union Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier, the EU’s top official on financial regulation.

Commissioner Barnier will present his views of how reforms will change finance and the economy on both sides of the Atlantic and the world.

Brookings Fellow Douglas Elliott will moderate the discussion. Commissioner Barnier will take audience questions.

http://www.brookings.edu/events/2011/0603_eu_regulation.aspx

Iraqis wary of decision on U.S. troops


5/31/2011

Iraqis wary of decision on U.S. troops

The Obama administration is ready to play ball on keeping thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq beyond this year. But for Iraq's government, in the words of one lawmaker, the issue is like playing with fire.

No amount of advising, cajoling or even pushing by Washington so far has spurred Baghdad to decide if it really wants all 46,000 American troops currently in Iraq to leave by Dec. 31, as required by a security agreement. Negotiations between the two nations have not even started, and it likely will be weeks if not months more before they do.

Even if Iraq asks the U.S. to keep troops here, there are no guarantees Baghdad ultimately will let it happen. Iraq's parliament almost certainly will have to agree, and lawmakers are leery of embracing the American military.

"It's a fireball. No one can hold it," Sadiq al-Rikabi, an influential Shiite Muslim lawmaker and ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said Wednesday with a wan smile.

So far, al-Rikabi said, political enemies have used the troops quandary to taint their rivals: "The head of the political blocs want to throw it to another party to burn them."

The U.S. has made clear that President Barack Obama is seeking to keep thousands of American forces in Iraq past 2011 for the sake of security despite his campaign promise to bring all the troops home by the end of the year. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking Tuesday in Washington, said "the United States will be willing to say yes" if Iraq asks for the troops to stay.

It's widely believed that Baghdad will, in fact, ask. But so far, "there is no negotiation," a senior diplomat at the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday. "There is no formalized or even informal request."

The White House is willing to keep 10,000 to 12,000 forces in Iraq for a limited time, according to a senior administration official in Washington. A senior U.S. military official in Baghdad said the administration is weighing what the troops' mission would be before setting a new deadline for them to go home.

A senior Iraqi lawmaker said the U.S. forces will remain on nine bases in hotspots across the nation and stay up to four years longer or right before Obama, if re-elected in 2012, leaves office.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the internal government talks frankly.

Iraqi Kurds and most Sunni Muslim leaders want American forces to stay, as do many Shiite politicians.

In an interview Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said Iraq's air force and navy are not ready to defend the nation's air space or waters, leaving its lucrative oil exports vulnerable.

Within Iraq, security forces are still battling an active if weakened al-Qaida. They also have to contend with Shiite militia attacks on politicians and security forces, and the specter of ethnic violence between Kurds and Arabs over disputed oil-rich lands in the north.

But keeping American forces in Iraq risks the political and potentially lethal wrath of two of al-Maliki's most powerful if uneasy Shiite allies: Iran and the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Prodded by Iran, al-Sadr put aside years of fighting with al-Maliki and provided the crucial support to let the prime minister keep his job in a coalition government after national elections in 2010 resulted in no clear winner. Al-Sadr's supporters now control key government agencies and have threatened to revolt if the U.S. troops they term "occupiers" remain in Iraq in 2012.

Such a revolt could spill over into sectarian violence, which al-Sadr's militia appears all too eager to re-ignite. Thousands of Sadrists are expected to rally Thursday in Baghdad in a show of might that likely will yield dire warnings to U.S. forces to get out by the end of the year.

Iran has made no secret of its rancor over U.S. forces on neighboring soil, and intelligence officials believe recent attacks on American soldiers in Iraq have been carried out by Shiite militias acting at Tehran's behest.

Al-Maliki has worked to improve relations with Iran, the only other Shiite-led government in the Mideast. The neighboring nations fought a bloody eight-year war under Saddam Hussein's regime, but Tehran has had growing influence over Iraq's political and economic decisions during al-Maliki's tenure as premier.

The senior U.S. Embassy official described a "large, uncomfortable feeling" among Iraqis over the prospect of U.S. troops staying. But opposition fueled by Iran, he said, "is a sustained, broad, all-lines-of-operation effort to basically hijack the Iraqi political system and ensure that we don't stay."

At the same time, Tehran has been feeding Baghdad's rumor mill with reasons why it might agree to an extended U.S. military presence providing good spin to save face if American troops stay. Among Iran's top concerns, an allied Iraqi lawmaker said, is that Israel might use Iraq's airspace to attack Iran's nuclear facilities once U.S. forces leave.

The U.S. also is looking beyond Iraq's borders in its political calculus of whether its military should stay or go.

Sandwiched between Iran and the Sunni-governed Mideast, Iraq is a fault line for tensions in a region roiled this year by popular unrest and, in Bahrain at least, sectarian fighting. And the U.S. worries that without its military in place, Iran will use Iraq as a byway to support Shiite militias in Syria and Lebanon.

The troops decision "has the ability to create a much bigger regional, as well as domestic, impact," said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center think tank in Qatar. "It's been brewing for some time, but it's about to come to a head precisely at the same time things are going on in the region."

With the stakes so high, Baghdad won't rush to decide before lawmakers are able to build a strong consensus.

"The decision will be a national one, with the agreement of all political blocs, away from political haggling," al-Shahristani said.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that three new military units are rotating into Iraq this summer and fall to replace outgoing troops. All the forces are planning to leave by Dec. 31, as required under the current deadlines. But troops have been told to be ready to stay if Iraq asks for them.

It's a decision that likely will come down to the wire despite urging last month by Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen for Iraq to make up its mind within weeks. The current security agreement was approved in 2008 by Iraq's parliament only five weeks before it took effect.

"We do have deadlines, but if we're expecting quick results and we push it too hard and don't get a consensus, that is not a favorable situation," Shaikh said.

http://www.timesgazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=382&ArticleID=179828

U.S. and Iraq ~ Secret Source .. said .. Secret Negotiations?

Office of the Prime Minister being secret negotiations with the U.S. and expectations of the signing of Protocol instead of a new security agreement

05/31/2011

According to informed sources from within the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the Shatt al-Arab that the latter form a secret committee direct its administration in order to complete the secret consultations with the U.S. side, including the second security agreement.

The source said that there are secret consultations between the two teams these days, Iraqi and U.S. kept secret and has been put forward draft new agreement by the U.S. side holds the Iraqi government to give more concessions to the American side of the request by the government to parliament.

The source added that a secret committee formed under the auspices of the Prime Minister personally and the presence of legal counsel Fadhel Mohammed Jawad and a team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari, the knowledge of the terms of the agreement to complete the second security.

The source said that there is a tendency to use the U.S. as much as possible from the pressures forced on the political blocs in parliament to pass the agreement and vote on them.

And source confirmed that there is a solution drawn Americans with Maliki as an alternative sings the parties to return to parliament and is the signature of Protocol between the government and the U.S. directly, including its provisions granting the right of the U.S. side to open a large number of consulates in the governorates of Iraq, from north to south, and distribution that remains of the U.S. military present in Iraq on the pretext of protection of these consulates.

The source said that the urgency of the American side in the survival of its troops in Iraq comes after the events and revolutions in the Arab Middle East.


http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&tl=en&twu=1&u=http://www.shatnews.com/index.php%3Fshow%3Dnews%26action%3Darticle%26id%3D902&usg=ALkJrhi3rWigRCgEhvSELXtkwqrMn-yG1g

Iraqi Dinar equal to 1.3 U.S. dollars ~ Iraq seeks to regulate the financial sector in order to avoid the financing of terrorism and money laundering

"He said the bank's policies have contributed to the stability of the Iraqi market, even the Iraqi dinar has become one of the best currencies in the region because it is equal to 1.3 U.S. dollars, therefore the possibility of expansion content in the market during this phase"

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Iraq seeks to regulate the financial sector in order to avoid the financing of terrorism and money laundering

بغداد - نصير الحسون BAGHDAD - Naseer goldfinch

Financial sector is still suffering Iraqi Anflata as a result of lack of oversight and the absence of laws organized, especially remittances abroad, which amounted to $30 billion in 2010, according to Central Bank of Iraq.

After 2003, and found a large proportion of cash in Iraq on its way out of the country, especially neighboring countries, did not work any governmental or private to determine the size of these funds.

After the government's control over key ports, and because of the difficulty of transporting money to the deteriorating security situation on the roads, picked up what is known as foreign exchange offices, which began its work in the form of natural and without any approvals, laws or censorship.

Says the owner of «the sun for conversion» Diaa Mohamed told «life», the regulators on the work of office conversion in most cities in Iraq is security, not financial, Kalmsrv Central or the Finance Ministry or local governments, but there are reports of transfers the information of the intelligence service in each province To see the size of the balances that prevent some of the names to make sure that their association with the financing of terrorism.

He added: «We are a small office space, do not turn the money over 50 thousand dollars», pointing out that the work of the offices in Iraq through the systems of money transfer companies.

The first expert in the Iraqi Central Bank the appearance of Mohammed Saleh told «life» that the bank, or any other Iraqi, can not prevent foreign transfers or rationing system, as Iraq is committed to the laws of the International Monetary Fund, which provides free current account in the system of payments to companies and individuals.

He stated that «every citizen the right to transfer funds, on condition that the intersection with the financing of terrorism and money laundering, so we added a condition for conversion represented by the request and the documents showing the reasons for the conversion of the amounts in excess of 50 thousand dollars.

مبيعات المصرف المركزي Central Bank Sales

He stressed that the bank sells in the form of daily between 150 million and $ 180 million, and prevents the private sector each year, about $ 35 billion, representing two thirds of the proceeds of Iraqi oil.

He reported that it is not plausible that all of the conversions are intended to cover foreign trade, the imposition of the Central Bank to add an item requires another regulatory review of the General Authority for taxes on amounts in excess of 50 thousand dollars for the organization of the conversion process and the pursuit of tax evaders.

He disclosed the presence of people turning $100 million, while they recognized that tax indicates otherwise.

In regard to the activity office conversion confirmed the appearance of it «adopt in its work on the Central Bank as a source of foreign currency», pointing out that Iraq's economy, Rei, and dependent on oil revenues transferred to the «Development Fund for Iraq» and then to the Central Bank to sell those currencies covering the needs of the budget.

He said the bank's policies have contributed to the stability of the Iraqi market, even the Iraqi dinar has become one of the best currencies in the region because it is equal to 1.3 U.S. dollars, therefore the possibility of expansion content in the market during this phase.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=ar&tl=en&twu=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Finternational.daralhayat.com%2Finternationalarticle%2F272519

Egyptian exec faces sex abuse charges at N.Y. hotel

May 31, 2011

Egyptian exec faces sex abuse charges at N.Y. hotel

A businessman and former chairman of a major Egyptian bank faces charges of sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury Manhattan hotel just weeks after the arrest of a former International Monetary Fund chief on similar allegations.

New York - A businessman and former chairman of a major Egyptian bank faces charges of sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury Manhattan hotel just weeks after the arrest of a former International Monetary Fund chief on similar allegations.

Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar was arrested on Monday and is accused of sexually assaulting the maid at The Pierre hotel, near Central Park and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, police said.

The maid was called to Omar's room Sunday evening to drop off tissues, police said. But once inside the room, police said, the 74-year-old Omar would not let her leave and touched her inappropriately.

The maid broke free and told her superiors that she was assaulted that night, but they said it was best to wait until the following morning to report it to the security director, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The director called police Monday morning.

Officers canvassed the hotel room and the area around the hotel but didn't locate Omar. They returned about two hours later and found him in the lobby of The Pierre, where they arrested him at about 11 a.m., the official said, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

Omar was arrested on charges of sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment, forcible touching and harassment.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said detectives found the complainant to be credible. He refused to comment on the nature of the attack and would not say whether Omar had made any statements to officials when he was arrested.

It was unclear when Omar was slated to check out or how long he had been in New York before the maid said she was attacked. There was no immediate information on whether Omar had an attorney. He was held Monday night at a police precinct and was transferred Tuesday morning to a booking facility near a Manhattan courthouse.

A spokeswoman for the Egyptian consulate in New York City did not immediately return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

Police said further details will be released at Omar's arraignment, expected to take place Tuesday or Wednesday.

Omar is the board chairman of the El-Mex Salines Co., a state-run salt production company, according to the company's website. It is the largest salt producer in Egypt and the Middle East, the website said.

Company officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Omar is the former chairman of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria. He also served as board chairman of the Egyptian American Bank and chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, according to his biography on the company's website.

read full article @ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2015191487_apusegyptianbusinessmanhotelattack.html

Cloaking? Link Building? Pagejacking ...

May 31, 2011

Some people will do anything to get a jump on hot news that will generate hits for their blog or forum. The more hits or "views" the more money the blog/forum makes. Advertisers pay promoters percentages on hits generated. Generate views/hits = more money for forum/blog owners who advertise. The more adds that a promoter puts on his web site and the more diversified the advertisements are .. the more chance of making major money.

One way individuals generate traffic is by providing false news and/or rumors and having links that circle back around to their own site. The other way is by cloaking, pagejacking, or clever ways of "link building". (all, which by the way, the internet police will be given more authority to enforce new internet rules see White House to unveil cyber-security strategy)

I did a little research and came up with a few different reasons. The most obvious reason was for someone trying to generate traffic or "views" to their site. See below

How to Deal with Web Site Cloaking

Through a process of IP delivery called cloaking, a Web site detects who’s requesting to see a page and may show a different version to a search engine spider than to all other users. So the spider sees and indexes content that isn’t what you would see if you went to that URL. If the purpose of cloaking is to deceive search engines (which is the very definition of spam), there is a severe penalty).

Cloaking can be handled in a couple of ways, depending on if it's your site or another site:

On your own site. Don’t do it without consulting an ethical professional, and even then be cautious. If you have pages that detect the search engine spiders and change the page content as a result, you’re operating in dangerous waters that could get your site banished from the search engines.

On other sites. If you suspect that a competitor is using cloaking to gain an undeserved ranking in the search engines, you can compare their Web page to the version of the page that the search engine last cached (stored in their index).

Do a search that you know will include that Web page in the results set, and click the Cached link under the URL. This shows you the Web page as it last looked to the search engine. If you see entirely different content when you go to their live site, you’re probably looking at cloaking, and you can definitely report it as spam.

It’s no wonder the search engines hate it. Although not all forms of IP delivery are evil, deceptive cloaking is always wrong

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-deal-with-web-site-cloaking.html

Another interesting article I found (someone looking to increase traffic to their site) ... article below she says ..


"Do Follow Blog Finder Gives You Max Link Juice"

She found this handy little tool the other day and wanted to pass it along.
A little background first: If you want success in blogging, you NEED inbound links. (it’s just part of the puzzle)

What’s an inbound link? Ex. You post a comment on someone’s blog and leave a link to your site along with it. Thus, you’ve created a link outside of your blog that has an inbound direction to your blog!

Why do you need them? The more inbound links you have out there, the more pathways to your blog for people to find! (a.k.a link juice) Google really likes them too

But Google doesn’t really like them all, because Google will only reward blog comments that are done on ‘Do Follow’ Blogs. A ‘Do Follow’ blog is one that allows Google to find the outbound links on it’s site.

Whether or not a blog is ‘Do Follow’ is totally up to the Webmaster of the site.

So, in the end, you WANT to leave comments and inbound links on ‘Do Follow’ blogs to help your blog get more link juice and more looks from Google.

How do you find ‘Do Follow’ blogs?

I found this tool @ http://www.inlineseo.com/dofollowdiver/

Simply type in your keyword and it will populate a list of blogs for that keyword that are ‘Do Follow’. A handy tool indeed .

Have you guys used this one or one that’s better? Comment and let me know!

What is DoFollow? What is NoFollow? Follow Along and See.

March 15th, 2008

If you’ve been doing any kind of reading about link building, then you’ve probably seen people mentioning “nofollow” and “dofollow” links. These are very important terms to understand when you are trying to build great links back to your site in order to increase your search engine rankings. But, to the person who is new to all of this, it may be kind of confusing. I am going to help break it down for you.

When creating a link on a webpage using HTML, the standard code for that link is:

Search Engine OptimizationIt includes the HTML tag, the URL the link will be going to, the text that will be shown on the webpage for that link, and the closing HTML tag.

You are able to add more HTML to the code above, in order to tell the search engine spiders whether or not you want them to follow the link when crawling your website. You may be thinking… “Why wouldn’t I want the search engine spiders to see all of the links on my site?” This is a very valid concern, which I will address further down. First, I am going to show you how to modify the HTML in order to tell the search engine spiders to crawl a link or not.

To tell the spiders to crawl a link, you don’t have to do anything. Simply using the format shown above, the search engine spiders will crawl the link provided.

To tell the spiders to NOT crawl a link, you need to add the following code to the HTML code above:

rel="nofollow"It would then look like:

Search Engine OptimizationBasically, there is no true “dofollow”, it is just NOT using the “nofollow” tag. Pretty simple, eh? (No, I am not Canadian… well, kind of.)

Why does this matter?

When you are using different methods (hopefully from this site) in order to build links on other websites (to increase your search engine rankings), you need to determine if the websites you are attempting to get your site listed on use the “nofollow” tag or not. If they do, it may still be a good idea to try to get that link there, but it is generally regarded as not the best use of time since the search engines don’t follow that link and you don’t get any increase in search engine rankings from that link.

So, when you are looking for sites and blogs that you could leave your link on (through reciprocal links, commenting on a blog, directory submissions, buying links, etc) figure out if the links in the particular section of the site you are aiming for uses “nofollow” or not. (A good way to do this is to view the source code, or find some good “dofollow” lists such as Courtney Tuttle’s D-list )

Why wouldn’t I want the search engine spiders to see all of the links on my site? (Or, Why would I use “nofollow”?)

There are many reasons you would want to use the “nofollow” tag, such as:

1) Paid Links: This is recommended by Google. Essentially, your sites page rank give a small amount of rank juice to the sites you link to (which helps their search engine ranking, which is the purpose of link building, to get that juice from others). If you have a paid link on your site, it’s essentially buying a higher rank in Google. They don’t like that.

2) Maybe in your blog’s comment section (if using most blog software, this is automatic). It is up to you if you want your commentators to get link juice back to their site. It is personal preference.

3) When linking to major, very popular sites. If you are linking to google.com, yahoo.com, digg.com (the front page), cnn.com, or whoever else, they are already popular, so you might as well use “nofollow” since your link won’t make or break them.

I hope this has been helpful. Feel free to comment or use the contact link in the top right of the page if you have any questions about this, or any link building subject.

http://www.inlineseo.com/blog/2008/03/15/what-is-dofollow-what-is-nofollow-follow-along-and-see/

*** The Start of the Meeting of the Negotiating Committees at the Home of an Iraqi Shaways ...

Related article ~ Tomorrow, Monday .. An important meeting between the political blocs in the house Shaways ...

*** URGENT: Iraqi Leaders: Talabani, Maliki, Barzani and Allawi, to interfere to settle the political crisis, MP says

and ... they actually met ..
May 30, 2011

The start of the meeting of the negotiating committees at the home of an Iraqi Shaways

The start of the meeting of the negotiating committee / coalition to the Iraqi / in the house of Deputy Prime Minister Nuri Shaways Rose, which will put the remaining items of the Convention on Irbil.

A source Aalamimn site meeting on Monday evening: The meeting of the members of the meeting of the negotiating began, and will it put the remaining items of the Convention on Irbil, and according to what you see Iraq;


_first: balance in the ministries of state,

_secondly: to revive the National Assembly,

_Third: Turn off the procedures of the accountability and justice,

_IV: Stop arrests without issuing warrants,

_V. nominate ministers and security and to be candidates of the Iraqi Defense Minister from exclusively,

_VI: Presentation of the rules of procedure of the Council of Ministers and the government program for the ministries of the Council of Representatives to review it.

The source added: The meeting will be attended by 15 members of the negotiating committees (7) of the National Alliance and (4) for the Iraqi coalition, (3) of the Kurdistan Alliance, and one of the center coalition, adding that Iraq will be the results of a meeting on Thursday evening, the leaders on Tuesday to determine the position of the political process.

Key Bills Moving Through the Iraqi Parliament ...

May 30, 2011

Key Bills Moving Through the Iraqi Parliament

The following article was written by Kirk H Sowell, and published in Inside Iraqi Politics. It is reproduced here with permission. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News ...

Proposal to raise zeros from Iraqi dinar ...

April 28, 2011

The Faculty of Management and Economics at the University of Babylon, a scientific symposium entitled raise zeros from Iraqi dinar and its positive and negative was attended by Advisor to the Iraqi Central Bank and a number of economists and those interested in economic affairs in Babylon. Adel al-Husseini, details .....

listen @ http://www.imamhussain-fm.com/news.php?act=sh_news&id=4462


Proposal to raise zeros from Iraqi dinar

A. M. D. Jawad Kadhim al-Bakri

Usually Matqom financial authorities of b (Ministry of Finance) by using the (fiscal policy) in order to maintain the general level of prices, in addition to the use of all productive resources available in the local economy to reach a state of full employment, as well as supporting the march of economic development, and this is done through the use of power financial instruments of fiscal policy b (government spending, and taxes).

The Authority uses financial instruments to address these problems (inflation, recession, unemployment), which is usually self-styled (the gap inflationary and deflationary gap), which might be exposed to the local economy, in addition to their use is targeted to raise the level of growth in the country.

Thus, the fiscal authority has no right to influence money supply and demand as they are the powers of the monetary authority of the Central Bank.

History tells us modern economy that many of the countries of the world (which went through wars large Kaharpin Wars I and II or the collapse of their totalitarian as States of the former socialist camp) has proceeded to one of two things, either you change the national currency or remove a group zeroes them to return to the square of economic stability.

In the U.S. experience in Iraq after the fall of the previous dictatorial regime has the Coalition Provisional Authority to change the currency of the new Iraqi currency, but equal in value, which would not intentionally CPA to raise the purchasing power of the Iraqi currency against the U.S. dollar or other currencies.

This situation led to keep the Iraqi dinar is equivalent to (0.067) U.S. cents, which indicates a significant decrease in the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar.

If what has lift (three zeros) from the Iraqi dinar, it will lead to increase its value to the (1000) once calculated value Almertbip to the number of zeros that have been filed, any box of cigarettes that were sold (1000) dinars possible purchase after the lifting of the zeroes dinar and one, a thousand dinars and modern can be obtained by the A pack of cigarettes.
In theory and when lifting (three zeros from Iraqi dinar), the purchasing power will rise to the U.S. dollar significantly to become one U.S. dollar equals (JD and a half) just so that the goods imported from abroad, worth before the lifting of the zeroes (1.2 million) Iraqi dinars, equivalent to ( 1000) U.S. dollars, will be worth after the lifting of the three zeroes (1200) Iraqi dinars, equivalent to (1000) dollars as well, and this will Igelb to remember any negative effects on the Iraqi citizen of the theory.

Positives raise zeros from the Iraqi dinar: The process of removing three zeros from Iraqi dinar deliberate, according to a tight monetary policy will lead to the following pros:


1. raise the purchasing power of the Iraqi dinar.

2. revalue the Iraqi dinar against other currencies.

3. increase the confidence of the Iraqi economy to foreign investors.

4. increase the confidence of the Iraqi citizen Bammelth National, which has become comparable to other currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the Jordanian dinar and the Kuwaiti dinar ... etc..

http://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/uobColeges/service_showarticle.aspx?fid=9&pubid=1122

Kuwait port encroaches on territory :Iraq

Honeywell Chosen for Nassiriya Refinery

referenced honeywell March 2011 ~ U.S. Embassy demanding a change in the Iraqi investment law and reveal its near return ...

June 01, 2011

Honeywell Chosen for Nassiriya Refinery

UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE: HON) company, announced that its technology has been selected for a new transportation fuel refinery to be built in Iraq.

The State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP), under the Ministry of Oil for Iraq, has selected Honeywell’s UOP to provide key technologies to process 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of domestic crude oil into gasoline and diesel fuel at the new facility in Nassiriya, Iraq.

Honeywell’s UOP previously received awards in 2010 from South Refineries Company and North Refineries Company for new refineries in Maissan [Maysan, Missan] and Kirkuk, Iraq, each rated at 150,000 bpd.

“We are pleased to be working with the SCOP again as Iraq focuses on doubling its oil refining capacity,” said Rajeev Gautam, president and CEO of UOP.


“The high yields delivered by our technologies combined with our methodology for process unit integration and optimization will enable SCOP to produce the maximum yields of high-quality gasoline and diesel product while also maximizing the economic value of the project.”

Refining capacity in Iraq is expected to reach 1.6 million bpd by 2017, more than two times the capacity of its existing refineries. This capacity is expected to double again by 2030, driven by increased transportation fuel demand within Iraq.

UOP will provide reforming, isomerization, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and selective hydrotreating technologies. As part of the overall technology package, UOP will provide basic engineering, technology licenses, catalysts and specialty equipment for the new refinery. Design will begin in the second quarter of 2011.

SCOP has made the implementation of this new refinery a priority and is currently offering the project as an opportunity to potential investors.

The specific UOP technologies to be provided to SCOP include the CCR Platforming and Penex processes, which are used to produce high-octane gasoline, as well as the UOP FCC and Selectfining technologies, which enable high-yield production of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and gasoline.

In 2010, Honeywell opened a full-service office in Baghdad and has plans to open other offices in southern and northern Iraq over the next few years. Honeywell’s Baghdad office focuses on supplying technology solutions, including process automation equipment, to Iraq’s oil and gas industry.


AP

Obese children have psoriasis risk? ... What big Pharma Doesn't want you to know ...

Struggling with weight issues ... Maybe ...Deficiencies Leading to Health Problems ~ What big Pharma Doesn't want you to know ..

Fault Lines - Fast food, fat profits: Obesity in America

Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs



May 31, 2011

Obese children have psoriasis risk

PASADENA, Calif., Overweight or obese children have an elevated rate of psoriasis and teens with psoriasis have elevated cholesterol regardless of weight, U.S. researchers say.

Lead author Corinna Koebnick, a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California's Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif., says psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that often starts early in life and affects more than 7 million Americans.

"This study suggests a link between obesity and psoriasis in children," Koebnick says in a statement. "But our study findings also suggest that the higher heart disease risk for patients with psoriasis starts in childhood in the form of higher cholesterol levels. We may need to monitor youth with psoriasis more closely for cardiovascular risk factors, especially if they are obese."

The study using electronic health records to study 710,949 racially and ethnically diverse children, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, found overweight children were almost 40 percent more likely than normal weight children to have psoriasis, while extremely obese children were almost 80 percent more likely than normal weight children to have psoriasis.

Among youth with psoriasis, it was four times more likely that the psoriasis would be severe or more widespread in obese youth than what was seen in normal weight children, the study says.

Additionally, teens with psoriasis had 4 percent to 16 percent higher cholesterol levels and liver enzymes, regardless of their weight, than youth without this psoriasis, Koebnick says.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/05/31/Obese-children-have-psoriasis-risk/UPI-76051306815032/#ixzz1NwcvXC3Z

Deficiencies Leading to Health Problems ~ What big Pharma Doesn't want you to know ..

Sharing Information on Iodine Deficiency from Hair Loss to Skin Conditions to Obesity ...Check out this source for everything about iodine...http://www.iodine-resource.com/iodine-help-forum.html#INV

Articles about children with psoriasis and the high percentage of americans who are obese, had me wondering about iodine deficiencies and is iodized salt still used in the U.S. and especially, is it used by fast food restaurants? (kel)

May 31, 2011 article ~ Obese children have psoriasis risk ...

Does Fast Food in America contain Iodized Salt?

Answer about fast-foods and processed foods

"Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of salt in the U.S. diet is not iodized.

Approximately 70% of the salt is used commercially − virtually none of the salt used by the pre-prepared or the fast food industry is iodized. Approximately 70% of the remaining 30%, sold to consumers in grocery stores, is iodized, representing one-fifth of the total salt consumed (14, 71).

Others have recognized the emerging iodine deficiency issue (72, 73). Satin (73) suggested that the restaurant/food service trade must demand and use iodized salt so that meals consumed away from home provide the same iodine level as at home. If all salt was iodized, a 5-fold increase in iodine intake can occur without increasing salt intake.

Whether consumer demand can persuade the food industry to do so or legislation is needed is not a scientific issue. A large number of countries have chosen the route of mandatory universal salt iodization. In the United States, an affluent country, another issue that ironically underlies the iodine gap is the unseen discrimination based on economic classes. To paraphrase Stephen (74), there is no disease worse than poverty. Consumption of prepackaged or fast food is much greater among the less affluent (75-78), leading to, and perhaps even perpetuating, the iodine gap."

So most salt in the United States is NOT iodized (including the very trendy new varieties of sea salts and kosher salts). The only salt you can truly count on is the salt you buy for your home consumption. Make sure you check the label for its iodine content (some brands actually list the amount). And when it gets old, toss it. There IS a difference between fresh salt and salt that's been exposed to heat, light, and humidity over time.

Many countries require all their salt to be iodized. But the woman at the FDA said "labeling issues" are not nearly as high priority as food safety issues and so on. So it doesn't seem like we'll see this as an issue in the United States anytime soon.

check out entire article, if anyone would like the more medical format:http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es0719071

___April 24, 2010

Would You Like Iodine with That?

BOSTON -- No matter who serves it, fast food is lacking in iodine, researchers say.

Both McDonald's and Burger King's hamburgers and French fries were low in the element, at about 20 mcg for the burgers and 3 mcg for the fries, Sun Lee, MD, of Boston University, and colleagues reported at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists meeting here.

The recommended daily amount of iodine for adults in the U.S. is 150 mcg.

"The amount of iodine was surprisingly small except in items like milk or fish, which we know are generally high in iodine," Lee said at a press briefing here.

Recent studies have shown an increasing problem with iodine deficiency in the U.S., Lee said. The compound is essential for hormone development, and is also important in pregnant and lactating women for normal fetal and neonatal neurodevelopment.

Burger King has endorsed the use of iodized salt in its food, Lee said, but McDonald's does not.

So the researchers decided to investigate whether there were differences in the iodine content between the two. They assessed two restaurants in each chain in the Boston area, and decided to test seven categories of food at both.

They analyzed two of each food item, measuring iodine content spectrophotometrically.

The researchers found that iodine varied from as low as 2.1 mcg in Burger King chicken tenders to as high as 163.7 mcg in a McDonald's vanilla shake.

Total iodine content for McDonald's items was as follows:

Big Mac with cheese: 16.7 mcg
Small French fries: 2.7 mcg
Fish sandwich: 69.9 mcg
Chicken sandwich: 5.3 mcg
Happy Meal hamburger: 4.3 mcg
Chicken nuggets: 3 mcg
Vanilla shake: 163.7 mcg

Total iodine content for Burger King items:

Whopper with cheese: 25.8 mcg
Small French fries: 4.3 mcg
Fish sandwich: 43.5 mcg
Chicken sandwich: 163.3 mcg
Kids meal hamburger: 3.9 mcg
Chicken tenders: 2.1 mcg
Vanilla shake: 147.8 mcg

Lee said it was not surprising that milkshakes and fish sandwiches had higher iodine contents because these foods are generally known to contain more iodine.

What was surprising, Lee said, was the Burger King chicken sandwich's high iodine content. But further analyses revealed its abundance was likely due to high iodine content in the bread from iodate used as a dough conditioner -- not from the chicken patty itself.

The researchers concluded that despite the difference in the use of iodized salt in food preparation, the iodine contents "appear to be similar between comparable items of McDonald's and Burger King."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AACE/19716

Monday, May 30, 2011

Citi, Bank of Baghdad strategic partnership in Iraq ...

Sunday, May 29 2011

Citi, Bank of Baghdad strategic partnership in Iraq

The client offer encompasses account services, domestic and international payments and collections, liquidity management and electronic banking solutions, backed by a comprehensive customer service and streamlined documentation processes.

The partnership leverages Citi’s state-of-the-art global cash management platform, as well as Bank of Baghdad’s franchise and extensive branch network. The partnership also gives Bank of Baghdad, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Burgan Bank, access to Citi’s global network across more than 107 countries for cash management solutions and other banking services.

Steve Donovan, Head of Global Transaction Services, Middle East & Pakistan at Citi, said, “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Bank of Baghdad which is in line with our commitment to Iraq as well as our strategy to bring the right capabilities to our clients through our own global network or through partnerships with prime local banks. This alliance certainly creates a win-win situation for our mutual client base.”

Dr. Younes Brouche, Executive Vice Chairman at Bank of Baghdad said, “Bank of Baghdad has had a long standing and successful relationship with Citi. It brings together our bank’s extensive network in Iraq, our product suite and service excellence with the global reach of Citi. We look forward to working with Citi to provide valued clients with bespoke solutions to help them with their operations in Iraq.”

Eduardo Eguren, Chief Executive Officer at Burgan Bank Group, said, “We are pleased to announce this winning partnership. Bank of Baghdad is a fast growing member of Burgan Bank Group and has successfully placed itself as one of the major players in Iraq. This partnership will indeed add value to both Bank of Baghdad’s and Citi’s clients as well as to Burgan Bank Group clients.”


The Push for a Single Unified North American Regulatory Regime ...

Recent related articles ~ May 27, 2011 Canada's New Currency ~ Raising the Curtain on Canada's New Polymer Notes and ..

May 2, 2011 ~ Canada's Conservatives win coveted majority ... and ..

*April 29, 2011 ~ US Federal Reserve’s United Federation of North America Note Ready For Circulation.

May 20, 211

The Push for a Single Unified North American Regulatory Regime

It was surprising that bilateral relations with the U.S. did not play a more prominent role during the recent Canadian election considering that both countries are pursuing a trade and security agreement. In fact, the issue did not really surface until the dying days of the campaign. After winning a much coveted majority government, Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are moving ahead quickly with perimeter security and regulatory harmonization negotiations. NAFTA and the defunct Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) both addressed issues such as regulatory cooperation. The push for a single unified North American business-friendly regulatory regime continues on different fronts.

In the final week of the Canadian election campaign, consumer advocate and four-time candidate for President of the United States, Ralph Nader warned about Canada-U.S. deep integration. In an
open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he raised concerns over the lack of transparency regarding talks between the two countries on a trade and border security deal.

Nader cautioned that a, “North American Security Perimeter Agreement will wrap many Canadian concerns — your Arctic, water, energy, anti-monopoly and foreign investment reviews — in a bi-national security blanket.” He added, “The corporatist lobbies and what President Eisenhower warned Americans about in his farewell address 50 years ago — ‘the military-industrial complex’ — will favour this lucrative and anti-democratic initiative.” Nader also explained in his letter to Harper, that, “Canada’s prudent bank regulation prevented a Wall Street style collapse of your economy.” North American deep integration is a corporate led agenda designed to foster privatization and deregulation.

With just days left before the election on May 2, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
announced that a re-elected Conservative government would move forward on the Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness signed with U.S. President Barack Obama back in February of this year.

The deal would help promote trade while strengthening security and regulatory cooperation between both countries. Harper vowed that the agreement is critical for Canadian jobs and economic growth. He reaffirmed plans to cut regulatory barriers to cross-border trade through the
United States-Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) which is a component of the Beyond the Border declaration. Following Harper’s election victory, President Obama phoned to congratulate him and at the same time renewed his commitment to the proposed perimeter security deal, as well as the RCC. Both leaders appear eager to complete an agreement before the 2012 U.S. election cycle gets fully underway.

On February 4, 2011, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper addressed ways to coordinate and harmonize regulations in order to ease red tape for businesses that do trade on both sides of the border. They
announced the creation of the U.S.-Canada RCC which will, “promote economic growth, job creation, and benefits to our consumers and businesses through increased regulatory transparency and coordination.” According to a joint statement, the leaders, “are committed to working through the RCC to provide early notice of regulations with potential effects across our shared border, to strengthen the analytic basis of regulations, and to help make regulations more compatible.” Both countries will also, “work through the RCC to determine sectors on which to focus its work that are characterized by high levels of integration, significant growth potential, and rapidly evolving technologies.” There are fears that the RCC could erode any independent Canadian regulatory capacity and weaken existing regulations. This would lead to a race to the bottom with respect to regulatory standards

In May of 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon directed the creation of the High-Level Regulatory Cooperation Council (HLRCC). In March of this year, the leaders laid out specific goals for the HLRCC. This included linking regulatory cooperation to improve border-crossing and customs procedures, increasing regulatory transparency, as well as making regulations more compatible and simple.

The U.S. and Mexico will also focus on increasing technical cooperation and improving the analysis of regulations. The HLRCC has similar goals to the U.S.-Canada RCC. At some point, these dual-bilateral initiatives could come together to form a single continental regulatory model.

This year’s NAFTA Free Trade Commission meeting identified regulatory cooperation as a top priority. Part of the SPP prosperity agenda also called for improving regulatory cooperation. In 2007, Canada, Mexico and the U. S. announced regulatory cooperation in the area of chemicals. This later resulted in Canada raising pesticide limits on fruits and vegetables as part of efforts to harmonize rules with those of the United States. Regulatory integration threatens Canadian sovereignty and democracy. Further harmonization with the U.S. could result in Canada losing control over its ability to regulate food safety.

With the Canadian election now over, the Conservative government has
resumed public consultation on the perimeter security deal with the U.S. and has extended the comment period until June 3, 2011. While the measure is open to all Canadians, it will be input from the business community that will be given the most attention. A report summarizing the findings will be published at a later date and will help shape an action plan that is expected to be released at some point this summer.

Last month, the
U.S. Department of Commerce extended its request for public comments concerning regulatory cooperation activities. The submissions collected from business groups in the U.S. will serve as a basis for bilateral and trilateral talks with Canada and Mexico.

This includes discussions with the HLRCC and the RCC. It is not hard to imagine that the U.S. will dominate both of these regulatory councils. Under the guise of improving the flow of travel and trade across the border, big business seeks to further control the rules and regulations that govern us.

The proposed Canada-U.S. trade and security perimeter agreement supports the process of deregulation. This new bilateral undertaking is being sold as vital to the safety and prosperity of both countries. A North American security perimeter goes well beyond keeping the U.S. safe from any perceived threats. It is a means to secure trade, resources and corporate interests.

Much like the whole deep integration agenda, regulatory harmonization is taking incremental steps with the goal of achieving a single unified North American regulatory regime.
___
Dana Gabriel is an activist and independent researcher. He writes about trade, globalization, sovereignty, security, as well as other issues. Contact: beyourownleader@hotmail.com Visit his blog at
beyourownleader.blogspot.com

*Phoenix ~ Gimme Shelter Radio ~ Show time: 11pm est, live or listen on demand anytime night or day ...

11:00 pm est http://www.blogtalkradio.com/phoenix3333

Monday, May 30, 2011

China exports 1st oil shipment from Iraq’s Rumeila Oil Field

5/30/2011

China exports 1st oil shipment from Iraq’s Rumeila Oil Field

The National Chinese Petroleum Company (NCPC) has announced on its Internet site on Monday that it had carried the first crude oil shipment from southern Iraq’s Rumeila Oil Field to China, being part of its joint project with Iraq.

“A giant oil tanker has carried 2 million barrels of crude oil from Rumeila Oil Field, heading for China on May 28, from southern Iraq’s Basra Port,” the Chinese Company reported.

The National Chinese Petroleum Company (NCPC) had signed an agreement with for exporting Iraqi crude oil with the Iraqi government on April 12 last.

The NCPC and the giant British Petroleum (BP) had signed a 15-billion US dollar contract with the Iraqi government in November, 2009, to develop the Rumeila Oil Field, the largest oil field in Iraq.

British Petroleum possesses 38% of the contract and the NCPC – 37%, whilst Iraq’s state-owned Southern Iraq Oil Company owns the remaining 25% of the contract.

The Chinese company reported that the completion of the Rumeila Oil Field shall raise its productive capacity to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd).

http://en.aswataliraq.info/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=142839&l=1

Iraq ~ Kuwait reaffirms desire to safeguard the interests of Iraq and proposes sharing management in Khor Addullah ...


Related article ~ June 13th ~ Iraq and Kuwait ~ The effects of port Mubarak on the navigation will appear within weeks

May 30, 2011

Kuwait reaffirms desire to safeguard the interests of Iraq and proposes sharing management in Khor Abdullah

Baghdad, Kuwaiti Ambassador in Baghdad Monday, said the Iraqi delegation briefed that he visited a few days before the documents indicated no impact on maritime port Mubarak inside Iraqi territorial waters, stressing the desire to preserve the common interests between the two sides, while sharing the Administration proposed in Khor Abdullah.

Ambassador said in an interview for the believer "Sumerian" news ", the Iraqi delegation that visited Kuwait recently informed the missing documents and information, and transparency on the port of Mubarak, documents showed that the port did not obstruct traffic or causes damage to Iraqi ports, perhaps even become synonymous and use when wanted those ports".

The insurer added that "other navigation channel will be excavated soon to emphasize the interests of Iraq, a Kuwaiti of Iraqi interests, taking into consideration all of Kuwait concerning application of UN resolutions.

The insurer explained that "the Iraqi side has the right lifting any knowledge, there is no requirement on the Kuwaiti flag during the passage of ships in Kuwaiti coast, although customs require certain rollover coast must fly the flag of States bordering the Sahel", adding that Kuwait would not insist on a flag if annoying fellow Iraqis ", he said.

Kuwaiti Ambassador suggested that Kuwait and Iraq share "in the Khawr Abd Allah and around based on defining responsibilities between the parties", "not killing any Iraqi fisherman in Al Khor, but that there were Kuwaitis fishermen kill him."

Iraqi Transport Minister Hedi El Amri said in the 27 may present during a press conference in Basra governorate, Kuwait's decision to build a seaport near Iraqi shores Kabeer is contrary to the UN Security Council No. 833, the Iraqi waterway will be among the Kuwaiti port, the port building up to frontier water by resolution 833 in great injustice on Iraq.

The Kuwaiti Embassy in Baghdad in a letter to the Ministry of State for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, the 28th of this month, Mubarak port will be built into shallow water and inside Kuwaiti territorial waters, it will dig the channel traffic smoothly without hindrance qualify towards Umm Qasr, in the actions to be taken to build the port in accordance with resolution 833 of the internationalist.

Kuwait launched a port of the Mubarak Al Kabeer, last 6, exactly one year after announcing an Iraqi Transport Ministry of cornerstone project for the creation of the large port of Faw, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Development Minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-project created by the Korean Hyundai, great purposes and achieve the hopes and aspirations of the people of Kuwait, and Kuwait would shift to commercial and financial centre at the regional and global levels, with Iraqi officials and experts that port Kuwait would diminish the importance of Iraqi ports, and maritime limits in the Khawr Abd Allah channel leading to the ports of Umm Qasr and Khawr al-Zubayr and Faw Grand port makes it worthless.

And put the Iraqi Transport Ministry in April last year 2010, the foundation stone of the great port of FAO project has as his core container quay length 39,000 meters, another platform length 2000 meters container yard, as well as more than a million square meter, and other multi-purpose arena with 600,000-square-meter, and capacity of port 99 million tonnes annually, with the total cost of creating four billion and € 400 million, and it is hoped that the port railway line linking the Persian Gulf via Iraqi ports in Northern Europe through Turkey, which is known as "dry Canal".

The file differences and border between Iraq and Kuwait oil, began after Britain decided in 1961 on the granting of independence to Kuwait, and the late Prime Minister Abdel Karim Kassem acknowledged, and then invited to join Kuwait for Basra, despite Iraqi Government recognition that dominated the Baath party in 1963 after dropping Abdul Karim Qassim regime, the independence of Kuwait, some historians stated that they deal in return for giving the Iraqi Government disability amounts which they suffer, Saddam Hussain, who belongs to the same party, decided in August 1990 invasion of Kuwait on the border and background problems on trsmiha and conflict over some oil wells.

The UN Security Council issued resolution No. 833 in 1993 provides for the demarcation of the border between Iraq and Kuwait which 216 km through the establishment of an International Commission, which rejected the regime of President Saddam Hussein first, however, approved at the end of 1994 after international pressure, the Iraqi officials confirms that demarcation of the border between the two countries were strong, led to subtract the Iraqi territory and Umm Qasr, Safwan, as well as reduced the area of Iraqi territorial waters, urged the United Nations that -Moon Iraq on 16 November last year, to fulfil its obligations towards Kuwait, particularly regarding Security Council resolution No. (833) on border demarcation between them out of reach of the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

http://www.microsofttranslator.com/bv.aspx?from=&to=en&a=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alsumarianews.com%2Far%2F1%2F22493%2Fnews-details-.html

*** Iraq Awesome ~ Central Bank of Iraq in connection with activation of monetary agreements with neighboring countries ...

30/05/2011

Central Bank of Iraq in connection with activation of monetary agreements with neighboring countries

Baghdad, The Central Bank of Iraq adviser said on Monday that the Bank is working to activate the regional monetary agreements with neighboring countries to contribute to the development of the economic reality in the country.

He said the appearance of Mohammed Saleh told the Kurdish news agency (Rn) that "the CBI in connection with activation of regional agreements with neighboring countries in the meetings of the Arab Monetary Fund annual", pointing out that "Iraq is an active member of the Fund to expand the monetary policy for Iraq."

He added that "the Iraqi Central Bank seeks to coordinate financial and monetary transactions with neighboring countries that would foster the economic reality in the country."

He explained that the "cash transactions regional part of the movements of the Iraqi Central Bank International in supporting the Iraqi economy and address the major problems facing it through the next stage, most notably trade creditors file the Iraqis."

The central bank last March that Iraq follow the high-level political economic repayment of the debt they did not face legal problems.

In February the bank announced last payment of the debt of Iraq 3 thousand and 500 commercial creditor the value of two billion and $ 700 million.

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aknews.com%2Far%2Faknews%2F2%2F243487%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtwitterfeed%26utm_medium%3Dtwitter

Iraqi Dinar and Trade Bank of Iraq: raise zeros from the currency will not affect on the economy ...

Not a Lop ~ Links - Iraq's Currency and Monetary Policy - "Remove Zeros" ...


29/05/2011

Trade Bank of Iraq: raise zeros from the currency will not affect on the economy

Beirut, The Trade Bank of Iraq Sunday to raise zeros from the currency will not affect the economy, pointing at the same time that the debt owed by the country's "dominant" as long as the Iraqi government is committed to pay the dues.

Works Central Bank of Iraq in the preparation of a law regulating mechanism for the cancellation of three zeros from the Iraqi currency, and the valuation of the currency in circulation economic, external and internal, but he stressed that the House of Representatives is the owner of the latter resolution, while analysts say that the process is complex and needs to be studied.

In the opinion of the Iraqi Ministry of Finance that the deletion of zeros, will liberate the Iraqi economy from the constraints and enhance the value of the dinar in the International Monetary Fund.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors in the Trade Bank of Iraq Hussein Azri told the Kurdish news agency (Rn) that "the removal of zeros from Iraqi dinar, the process of administrative and technical typographical no repercussions at the level of the Iraqi economy."

He expressed the IMF last August to support the Iraqi economy in the event of having a number of economic measures, including the allocation of banks and raise three zeroes from the local currency and to meet debt and compensation is the responsibility of Iraq.

Iraq seeks to modernize its economy, especially after the signing of oil deals aimed at increasing oil production to four times its current size Balbrgem that the country's infrastructure is still crumbling after decades of war and sanctions.

He Azri to the existence of "political and economic stability (in Iraq) and that oil production is increasing, in addition to the stability of the currency."

With regard to debts owed by Iraq, Azri said that "the developed controlled as long as Iraq is bound to pay the dues."

The debt of approximately $ 40 billion.

China is next to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait among the biggest creditor of Iraq.

Iraq has signed a series of agreements with international oil companies in the past year to enhance the production capacity of crude to Saudi Arabia, which power level of 12 million bpd from around 2.5 million bpd at present.

Azri and explained that development in Iraq will reach 9.5 to 10% this year.

The central bank has revealed in October that the last budget in 2011 will raise economic growth to 10% of what it was.

And on the Iraqi banking sector Azri said that "there are seven state banks, and 34 were private sector banks, mostly owned by foreign banks."

Dominated by two government two banks on the banking system in Iraq, the Bank of Mesopotamia and Rasheed Bank.

He Azri said, "The central bank decided to increase the capital of Iraqi banks to 15 million dollars."

The Iraqi Council of Representatives approved in the month of February last budget worth more than $ 80 billion.

He declined a lot of investors are pumping money into projects within Iraq because of the violence that followed the fall of the former regime in the spring of 2003, and the political crisis that lasted for most of 2010 until a new government formed an incomplete last December.

http://www.aknews.com/ar/aknews/2/243492/

Egypt Agrees $3bn IMF Loan ...To Be Signed Soon ...Anytime between Now and Sunday, June 5th ...


May 30, 2011

Egypt agrees $3bn IMF loan

CAIRO: Finance Minister Samir Radwan said Egypt has agreed in principle on a $3 billion, 12-month loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that he hoped would be signed soon.

He said the loan would help Egypt fill a budget deficit for the financial year ending in June 2012 that he estimated would be 11.3 percent of gross domestic product, up from the 7.9 percent that had been forecast before the uprising.

Cairo has been asking international donors and lenders for funding help after protests that ended President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule scared away tourists and investors, two of its main sources of foreign exchange.

The crisis has cut into the government’s revenue from taxes at a time of increasing demands on expenditure, which include calls for higher wages from state employees and pressure to raise subsidies on basic commodities.

“It can be signed any minute between now and Sunday,” when an IMF delegation now negotiating the agreement is scheduled to finish a visit to Egypt, Radwan told Reuters by telephone.

Egypt planned to borrow from abroad to help finance the budget deficit, he said: “Bonds, donations from countries, from the US, from the World Bank.

Diplomats say the interim Egyptian government does not have the mandate to make major fiscal reforms and Radwan confirmed that the IMF had softened its usual strict terms.“We have the usual metrics with benchmarks.

You have to reduce the deficit by such and such time. This should not exceed that,” he said, adding that the IMF deal would contain “no conditionality of the traditional kind.”He did not give further details.

The diplomats say an IMF agreement could provide a framework for support from other donors and that the European Union would consider providing several hundred million euros of its own aid once an IMF agreement was signed.

Over the last 10 days the World Bank, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States and others have pledged billions of dollars in various forms of aid, including direct support for the budget and other funds to narrow a widening balance of payments gap.

The balance of payments swung to a deficit of $5.50 billion in the nine months to the end of March from a surplus of $3.11 billion a year earlier, the central bank said on Monday.

Radwan said Egypt had told the IMF the payments deficit will burgeon to $2 billion in the April-June quarter and $10 billion in the 2011/12 fiscal year.

Thanks bama ~ link

Fact Sheet: G-8 and the Middle East and North Africa

May 30, 2011

Fact Sheet: G-8 and the Middle East and North Africa

Release Time:
For Immediate Release

Recognizing the historic changes underway in the Middle East and North Africa, President Obama joined with G-8 leaders, the Prime Ministers of Egypt and Tunisia, the Secretary General of the Arab League, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank to launch the “Deauville Partnership” with the people of the Middle East and North Africa.

Building on the new economic vision that the President laid out on March 19, the United States will work with other G-8 leaders, international financial institutions and UN agencies, countries willing to contribute to democratization and modernization in the region, and the private sector to achieve common goals to support transitions in the region. The Partnership is based on two pillars:

A Political Process. This process is intended to support the democratic transition and foster governance reforms, notably the fight against corruption and the strengthening of the institutions needed to ensure transparency and accountable government.

An Economic Framework. This framework is intended to support sustainable and inclusive growth and to support Partnership countries in the economic and social reforms that they will undertake, particularly to create jobs and enshrine the fair rule of law. The framework also aims to ensure that short-term economic stability underpins the challenge of transition to stable democracies.

Democratization and a broadening of economic opportunity go hand in hand, and the United States will work with Partnership countries to develop an economic agenda to support these objectives. In the short term, Partnership countries will work to support economic stabilization to ensure that instability does not undermine the process of political reform, and that social cohesion and macroeconomic stability are maintained. Over the medium-to-long term, the United States will work to support a broadening of economic opportunity for the people of the region.

Economic Stabilization. Egypt and Tunisia had positive economic outlooks before recent unrest but are facing a series of economic dislocations associated with the transition. G-8 leaders welcomed assessments by the IMF and look forward to its continued engagement with countries in the region. G-8 leaders:

Called on the IMF to respond with the necessary financial support to help meet the external financing needs of countries in the region committed to economic stability and a macroeconomic framework.

Welcomed the joint action plan that multilateral development banks (MDBs) presented and called on MDBs to deliver enhanced, frontloaded and coordinated support to Partnershcp Countries based on strong economic programs to strengthen governance and bolster the business climate. G-8 leaders also recognize the role that regional players can play in helping to mitigate near-term financial pressures.

Broadening Economic Opportunity over the Medium-to-Long Term. While Egypt and Tunisia registered economic growth over the past decade, these gains were not widely disbursed. Over the medium and long term, the United States and other members of the G-8 commit to support Partnership countries in addressing underlying economic challenges in order to broaden economic opportunity. To achieve these goals the G-8 will:

Rely on repositioned and coordinated multilateral development banks’ actions.

Leverage the experience of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in accompanying economic transition.

Changing the Scale of Trade and Investment Integration. G-8 leaders committed to supporting the integration of the Partnership countries in the regional and global economy through increased trade and inward investment to the region. In this regard, G-8 leaders:

Encouraged and agreed to support through bilateral and multilateral channels the efforts of MENA countries to bolster further regional trade and investment integration, including through trade facilitation, reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers, access to the service sector, the promotion of direct investments, and regulatory convergence.

Offered to consider additional support through, inter alia, improved market access opportunities, including the following initiatives:

o As President Obama outlined on May 19, the United States will launch a comprehensive Trade and Investment Partnership Initiative in the Middle East and North Africa. This will facilitate more trade within the region, build on existing agreements to promote integration with other markets, and open the door for those countries that adopt high standards of reform and trade liberalization to construct a high-profile regional trade arrangement.

o The European Union (EU) will reinvigorate and strengthen its neighborhood policy towards Partnership countries to provide greater support to those engaged in building democracies. The EU is considering launching negotiations on trade and economic integration partnerships with them, which will bring them progressively closer to the EU single market.

Committing to develop the Partnership, to monitor the process of transition, and to ensure that reform is matched by the response of the international communities, G-8 leaders asked senior officials of their foreign and finance ministries to meet in coming months to define the framework of the Partnership and to take this work forward. G-8 leaders agreed to assess the Partnership at their next meeting under the chairmanship of the United States in 2012.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/27/fact-sheet-g-8-and-middle-east-and-north-africa