Thread: Archive Latest News - Dinar Think Tank - 27/08/08 - 15/01/09

U.S. justice considers Iraqi funds’ immunity

The Supreme Court said on Saturday it will decide whether the Iraqi government has immunity in American courts for the acts of Saddam Hussein’s regime, according to a report published by the Web site Law.com.

Tareq Harb, the chairman of the Iraqi Legal Culture Association, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Saturday (Jan. 10) that the Iraqi funds enjoy immunity even against acts committed during the time of the former regime.

Foreign nations usually are immune from lawsuits in U.S. courts, but federal law strips that protection from countries that support terrorism. Under Saddam, Iraq was considered a state sponsor of terrorism.

But the Iraqi government, backed by the Bush administration, says the U.S.-led invasion that deposed Saddam and a federal law enacted in 2003 restored Iraq’s immunity to lawsuits in American courts.

Americans suing Iraq include CBS News correspondent Bob Simon, who was held for more than a month during the Gulf War in 1991.

The Iraqi government also is being sued by the children of Kenneth Beaty, an oil rig supervisor, and by the children of William Barloon, an aircraft maintenance supervisor.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the emotional distress they said they suffered because of their fathers’ treatment while in Iraqi custody.

In 2001, U.S. District Court judge Louis Oberdorfer in Washington, D.C., found the two men had been tortured after being illegally detained in Baghdad. The judge awarded Beaty, of Mustang, Okla., $4.2 million, and awarded Barloon, of Jacksonville, Fla., $2.9 million.

The men worked in Kuwait when picked up by Iraqi guards in separate border incidents, Beaty in 1993 and Barloon in 1995.

The Iraqi government sentenced Beaty and Barloon to eight years in prison for illegally entering Iraq.

Beaty was released after a ransom of $5 million was paid to the Iraqi government, Beaty’s lawyers say. Barloon was released after being held for 126 days.

At the time of an earlier lawsuit by Beaty and Barloon and their spouses, U.S. law deprived Iraq of immunity from lawsuits.

At issue in the case brought by the men’s children is whether a federal law enacted in 2003 and a related presidential order restored immunity from lawsuits to Iraq.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia says it does not, that the law applies narrowly to legal restrictions on assistance and money for the new Iraqi government. Chief Justice John Roberts, then an appeals court judge, said in an earlier case that the 2003 law and the president’s order were sufficient to block the lawsuits.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=106079

4 Kurdish parties propose to reform regional government

Four Kurdish parties on Saturday submitted a project that embraces political and economic reformations in state institutes in the Kurdistan region. This came during a press conference when the four parties also suggested a shape for the relations between the region and Baghdad.

“We demand that the ruling system in the region be reformed,” Fatah Zakhoiee told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The president of the region should be able to do his job, as is the case in other countries allover the world,” he said.

“We demand to minimize the number of ministerial posts in the region,” he added.

The project stresses the necessity of the Kurdish political leadership “adopting a realistic policy to frame relations and alliances with Iraqi political parties.”

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=106080

PM to visit Kurdistan today or tomorrow – source

A media source from the Iraqi Council of Ministers said Premier Nouri al-Maliki will travel to Arbil, Kurdistan region’s capital city, to confer pending issues between his government and Kurdistan’s regional cabinet, while the head of Kurdistan’s Presidency Office commented that he knows nothing about the visit.

“As soon he arrives in Arbil, al-Maliki will meet Massoud Barazani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, and Nejervan Barazani, the region’s premier,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The two sides will discuss pending issues of Peshmerga (Kurdish local armed forces), oil and gas law, article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution and disputed areas, in addition to the region’s share of the federal budget,” he added.

Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said that one meeting is not enough to solve all the pending issues, “but will be the key to start wider meetings in Baghdad.”

For his part, Foad Hussein, head of Kurdistan’s Presidency Office, said that he knows nothing about al-Maliki’s visit to Kurdistan.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=106071

Originally Posted by Seaview

PM to visit Kurdistan today or tomorrow – source

A media source from the Iraqi Council of Ministers said Premier Nouri al-Maliki will travel to Arbil, Kurdistan region’s capital city, to confer pending issues between his government and Kurdistan’s regional cabinet, while the head of Kurdistan’s Presidency Office commented that he knows nothing about the visit.

“As soon he arrives in Arbil, al-Maliki will meet Massoud Barazani, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, and Nejervan Barazani, the region’s premier,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“The two sides will discuss pending issues of Peshmerga (Kurdish local armed forces), oil and gas law, article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution and disputed areas, in addition to the region’s share of the federal budget,” he added.

Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman said that one meeting is not enough to solve all the pending issues, “but will be the key to start wider meetings in Baghdad.”

For his part, Foad Hussein, head of Kurdistan’s Presidency Office, said that he knows nothing about al-Maliki’s visit to Kurdistan.

http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=106071

Iraqi PM To Make First Visit To Kurdish Region

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is due to visit the country's Kurdish autonomous region to discuss outstanding issues with the regional government.

The visit will be al-Maliki's first to the region since he took office in 2006.

Kurdish regional parliament speaker Adnan al-Mufti told Radio Free Iraq that al-Maliki's talks with Kurdish officials will focus on such issues as oil deals signed by the regional government, regional government powers and, most importantly, the status of the oil-rich, multiethnic city of Kirkuk.

Al-Mufti added that visits by officials from the federal and regional governments should be made more often in order to discuss problems.

Kurdish academic Bukhari Abdullah says that outstanding issues between the central and regional governments are mostly of a legal rather than political nature.

Al-Maliki recently called for a stronger central government in Baghdad, provoking angry reaction from Kurdish politicians.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iraqi_P...n/1368336.html

Oil Expert: 15 billion dollars annually by the loss of Iraq not to exploit natural gas

Oil expert stressed the importance of the exploitation of natural gas fields in Iraq and seeking to avoid losses in this sector due to the result of neglect and waste of large quantities of it burned ..

And Mustafa Al-Maliki called on the oil company in the south to the need to develop new mechanisms to avoid further losses in this area ..He pointed out that Iraq is losing nearly a year (15) billion dollars annually, the result of the exploitation of the gas is usually burned .. Maliki has demanded Speaking for (morning) on the sidelines of his participation in Iraq's energy, which was held recently, the importance of benefiting from the experiences of developed countries in this important industry, noting that such mega-projects can be carried out without the benefit of the global achievements through the investment by major companies in this area ..

He added that foreign investment will help greatly in bringing expertise and modern equipment and advanced in the energy sector .. This leads to the modernization of our facilities are complete and electronically managed to make the work .. As is the case in the developed countries of the world .. He pointed out that the Southern Oil Company has developed a new section is to introduce modern techniques in the management of work in oil wells and sites.

Maliki expected to include the port of Greater Iraq to be established in the coming period, especially for the export of sites of natural gas containing the mobilization of specialized services, modern natural gas supertankers ...Revealed the existence of the idea under study at the University of Basra, the provincial council and the South Oil Company, including building a large industrial city in the region of Khor Al-Zubair suited to the vast riches of Iraq.

He noted that the Southern Oil Company has developed mechanisms for the development of competencies of all staff at all levels through continuous training in the developed world in the oil industry .. In order to reduce the gap between our company and international companies.

The Al-Abbas, Ali Gomaa, of the North Oil Company: The production of crude oil from the fields of the company's ongoing .. And the cadres of the company continues to work on an ongoing basis and have good experiences in the field of work and added in case of any emergency on the transmission lines within the Iraqi border, or the Turkish side, we begin to compensate the shortfall in production from the company's stock from the Turkish port of Ceyhan. During the holidays, or repair of injury.

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Investment Platform

Investment platform for the current year 2009 may be the biggest loser because of the decline in fiscal revenue of the State due to the lower oil prices and the government announced its keenness to maintain the doors of the operating expenditure, which includes the salaries of state employees, pensioners and social welfare benefits and other doors of public spending To achieve the minimum growth rates that depend on the productive sectors and major projects related to production to be thinking of alternatives that reduce the effects of the curriculum will have the investment and development projects and services.

Alternatives do not depend on our issues Tnzirip far from reality it is possible means may not need a large volume of money that could contribute to activating and the tools of the real economy moving and relevant sectors on the production, whether agricultural or industrial or service, as well as sections that are relevant to education, housing, health and security and food.

There are loans from a number of countries and the world including Japan, Italy and Iran and there is the aid donated for the purpose of supporting some of the activities and social events that could be used and allocated to the productive sectors in order to maintain the wheel of reform and construction projects in the investment platform for 2009 and can also activate the collection of small and medium loans that have been granted to the beneficiaries of During the past period and the amount of recycling for the same purpose, especially in the sectors of industry, agriculture and social welfare ..

Because the range of the international crisis was not yet known, showing to date, no realistic estimates for the continuation of the crisis and this has been accompanied by continued weak demand and lower oil prices, the search for economic equation is required in order to reduce the impact on social and economic realities of the general community and the maintenance of rates or steps to reduce the areas of poverty, as well as the achievement of growth rates, even if it has a simple order to maintain the wheel of the Iraqi economy, which is still far behind in global development because of the constraints of crisis over the past decades and the lack of departure as it did about the world most of the countries of the world that are not confined to thinking framework to ensure national requirements for their countries only.

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the industry to offer its public investors

Said Fawzi Hariri, Minister of Industry and Minerals and negotiations with international companies to invest in companies of the Ministry.

Hariri said: been approached companies specializing in the areas of the automotive industry, agricultural machinery for the purpose of the work in Iraq and investment in Iraq ...Particularly that the country has plants for the manufacture of various types of vehicles, as well as in mechanical industries.

He added that the ministry has allocated funds for these companies, although the limited financial allocations granted to the ministry, which is compared with the duties of the ministry ... Noting that it has files of these companies, as well as to international investors wishing to invest in these areas. And raising the productive capacities of Amaamlna. It said Walid al-Habib Jallow and Deputy Minister of Trade must be a partnership between the foreign investor and employer in Iraq, along the lines of what is happening in the Arab Gulf states and the mechanism that could work on the development of our national ... The marriage of our national foreign industries which will develop the production lines. As well as the flow of capital into the country from abroad ...These operations must be managed in accordance with regulations governing the work of such investments or partnerships in support of the Iraqi economy.

The modern industrial Iyad al-Jubouri said: that the Iraqi market today, a Turkish colony of China for a Syrian-Iranian goods those countries that enter the domestic market without regulation ...He added that the open-import substitute for local production is a big mistake, leading to high unemployment rates and a dysfunctional domestic production ...He explained that the global financial crisis has proved to all workers in the field of the global economy is the need for the state to the private sector ...The fact that the Iraqi government today that can support the private sector through the provision of car production and import lines in addition to government financial support.

Iraq has at the time of impact and experience can run the biggest industrial projects ...There are now run by the minds of Iraq's largest industrial enterprises in the developed world ...

As for dealing with markets in central ...We must develop a new deal to do the private sector and the national industry and raise the central importance of the market at the same time ... And we want to deal with the central market, the domestic product and dealing with foreign products to boost local industry forward.

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Minister of Labor: unemployment declined in Iraq in 2008 by 15%

A Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mahmoud Al-Sheikh Radi, unemployment declined in Iraq in 2008 by 10%.

Radhi said in remarks published recently that "there is a fall in the unemployment rate for last year 2008, amounting to 15% from 18% in 2007 and 17,5% in 2006, according to statistics by the Central Statistics and Information Technology" The al-Radi, "it was the operation of more than 650 thousand people unemployed out of a total 316 thousand million unemployed, registered in the Department of Employment and Vocational Training of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. "Radi said the ministry sought to "increase covered microcredit loans to 120 thousand at the end of 2009, having been granted a loan of 75 thousand at the end of 2008.

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The price and value and measurement signify much by the financial risks

Price and value are synonymous for their importance in world trade and economy, because the things that must be exchanged to determine the content and meaning to the importance of the acquisition, has been of such importance as a moral and a further material

For example, set up grain and perfumes, silk, for example, a measure of other things as the price was determined by the value of other things, so the price was determined by the so-rare and the price advantage of other ongoing Kattor and gold. The names of each community has taken a certain T. weights and then Price, for example Almthagal defined as the weight of an old Arab Ksmoha have small parts called karats Almthagal was weighing carats. Almthagal was adopted Kmkdar Ooukimp or newly expressed in the price of something has been named the Koran through a wonderful expression of the meaning of the Almighty, saying: "whoever does it atom of good will see it and whoever does an atom seen evil, "Surat Al Zalzalah: Any." 99 On the basis of Almthagal the first coin minted in the golden era dinar Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik bin Marwan, have a story known to hard to mention the weight of the dinar has been identified ****thagal. Given those fundamentals, we find that new developments based upon in determining the price and value in our time have emerged currency exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices and the prices of property rights by all the terms and conditions of handling the exchange of transactions, has been faced with such fluctuations in the prices of the so-called financial risks (Financial Risks) means the term of the expected losses movements in currency exchange rates or goods of the outcome of the deal in the outcome of a risk that must be what is known as hedge its market risk (Market Risk), For example, if a company issued new shares in Baghdad, the risk of the investment market means the possibility of rising stock prices and the potential lack of demand procurement and in each case the causes and circumstances that should be taken into account by the prior study.

And financial analysts to consider that the rise in stock prices is not expected desirable, so that you get the same amount of money by issuing fewer shares means the other hand, falling prices for property rights, property rights, because the general sense means the possession of the largest number of shares, if share prices fell as I mean, is expected to drop those rights.

Based on the above theory emerged the importance of financial risk management (Financial Risk Management), where this administration is seeking to strengthen the value of the company's result for the control of financial risks and the value of the company's accounting concept means the present value of future cash flows, and on this concept, the management of financial risks, focusing on a number of issues including the following:

1 - Assistance to the stability of the expected cash flows of the company:
Since the stable flows Nuama help to reduce the unexpected surprises of revenue and thus reduce the incidence of non-payment of debt and the risk of insufficient revenue to cover the debt payments by the contractor, which means the promotion of the value of the company in the market.

2 - to help reconcile the interests of shareholders and bondholders.

3 - to assist in the protection of consumers:
Where such protection is achieved in an indirect way, the risks resulting from the increase in exchange rate borne by consumers in the form of an increase in prices, and here is the management of financial risks, to try non-price volatility and the tendency to relative price stability creates a state of balance.

Accountants play a leading role in the management of financial risk, as measured by financial exchanges, for example, that the importer, which is linked to fixed foreign currency is not covered if I think that the place of payment of foreign currency will weaken before the date of receipt, so the role of accountants in such cases, promote the measurement and comparison Return of the cost of coverage, as well as the opportunity cost of lost gains from speculation in the price fluctuations. Based on the foregoing, the management of financial risks can be regarded as a Ptbeser effective management of the risks of exchange rate changes when the change will lead to a net value of the assets or income or cash flows , where such risks for price and value of various types, including the following:

1 - the risk of translation Translation Exposure:
This means that identify the impact of the exchange rate as a result of assets equivalent to the estimated liabilities of the company or the local currency if the currency of the parent company was a subsidiary of that company.
In his view, therefore accountants in this regard, the low rate of foreign currency translation gains and a re-evaluation of foreign currency losses represents a negative difference of interpretation.

2 - the risks of transactions Transactions Exposure:
This means the risks of a general concept of gains or losses as a result of operations to prove the local currency, this has a direct impact on cash flows, for example, transactions in Iraqi dinars to a local company, the change of the exchange rate of the dinar against other currencies for the dollar, for example, and not affect the cash flow negatively, if the exchange rate negative lead to the loss means a greater quantity of dinars to meet the obligations of a local company was the opposite and change the exchange rate against the dollar difference will lead to positive gains transactions.

3 - economic risks:
This means that the impact of economic change to changes in the value of the currency on the performance of future operations and cash flows of the company, especially if the company was linked to a company other than their nationality or where the company will be the local price fluctuations and risks in the long term. The idea of the economic exposure to changes in exchange rates affect the the competitive position of the company through changing prices for inputs and outputs of competitors outside the two presidents. Crkparakip be imposed if a company belonging to a foreign company access to employment and raw materials locally, so the decline in the exchange rate of the dinar in exchange for lower prices for other currencies will improve the economic position of the company would be confiscated in terms of commodity prices are appropriate to encourage other countries to import, this means increased sales. It made the conclusion that the price and the value of the trends are moving in the exchange of goods and services, it reflected negatively on the deal in the light of the absence of specific references in the Standard, so that the exporters and importers and for the purpose of avoiding the negative aspects of dealing are the creation of the so-called future exchange contracts when the goods are governed by local and foreign parties to these contracts and offset the risk of losses resulting from the transaction price fluctuations between the date of the transaction and the date of implementation.

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Minister of Finance: the great achievement that has been achieved with the implementation of the Convention, retaining the International Monetary Fund is no less important than Iraq would emerge from Chapter VII

Mr. Bayan Jabr, Minister of Finance that the ****utive Board of the International Monetary Fund decided at its meeting held on 17/12/2008 to complete the review of Iraq's second convention, retaining the second (SPA) signed by Iraq in December 2007, which included economic and financial reforms and oil cash and completed by Iraq which resulted in the successful launching of the Paris Club for the final reduction rate of 20% of the reduction obtained by Iraq, amounting to 80% of its foreign debt.

The minister emphasized that the major achievement made by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Oil and the Iraqi Central Bank, retaining the implementation of the Convention with the International Monetary Fund is of great importance to the national economy, is no less important that Iraq would emerge from Chapter VII.

He pointed out that "the financial success of the efforts made over the past four years has been fighting for 80% of Iraqi debt belonging to the Paris Club of creditor nations and non-members and the commercial private sector which is estimated at (140) billion dollars, had concluded the Iraqi economy from the ring and the gorge, which is a heavy burden in the service of this debt and the settlement of Oksath is an essential step to building a sound economy and a solid Mabinh a statement in which he reviewed the efforts by the Iraqi government in the rehabilitation of Iraq's economic activity and action to reduce expenditure in non-core items for 2009 to cope with the sharp decline in oil prices in world markets and maintain " the continued sustainability of fiscal policy with the expansion of the measurement systems to include all the activities of the oil sector and putting it in a new legislative framework for the oil and gas sector which will facilitate investment.

The minister added that, since the agreement was signed with the Paris Club in November of 2004, which took place in which to reduce Iraq's debt by 80% so far been signed several bilateral agreements with all countries of the Paris Club, which has been fighting for almost (45) billion dollars of the total debt of more than (52) billion dollars, including the signing of a bilateral agreement with the United States of America, which extinguished 100% of their debt.

It also signed bilateral agreements with a number of creditor nations that are not members of the Paris Club, they have about putting out 100% to 80% of the debts on Iraq and the latest State of the State of Serbia and Bulgaria, which turned off its debts on Iraq by about 90% of the debt of $ 3,5 billion and $ 2,5 billion U.S. dollars respectively.

Was also signed his recent "State of Greece with a bilateral agreement which reduced the debt on Iraq by 80% which was well" for the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the People's Republic of China, which has decided to write-off of which 80% of its debt to Iraq. This is in addition to the reduction of between 80% to 90% of the debt belonging to the private sector of international trade, which amounted to more than 20 billion dollars.

Emirates also took the initiative to put out the sister of Iraq's debt by 100% and we hope the rest of the Gulf states, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to follow the example of the UAE to extinguish the debt by 100%.

The Minister commended the efforts made by the financial staff to put an end to this file, which form the large main obstacle to the start of the Iraqi economy, which Othaglh debt of the former regime as a result of his caprices, and the criminal is not the fault of the Iraqi people

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