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

Originally Posted by Inscrutable

Ozzie would have enjoyed this ceremony.


Iraqi soldiers eat frogs, rabbit at handover ceremony - Yahoo! News

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi soldiers bit the heads off frogs and ate the heart of a rabbit as signs of courage on Wednesday at a ceremony to transfer Najaf province, home to one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines, from U.S. to Iraqi control.

I think this will ease some violence now.

Wonder if the Democrats will take credit for this one as everything in Iraq is due to them now...

Better get PETA on this one....

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

7 business days left in iraq 2006 counting today.

close enough for hand grenades or horseshoes.

and some kinds of dancing........

Originally Posted by Wm.Knowles

I was ask a question which I will respond to on the open forum. With the FIL passed and apparently the HCL about to be passed, "Would I expect a "run" on the currency"? The answer is yes. If I was any type of business expecting to do business in Iraq in the forseeable future, I would buy all the the currency I could lay my hands on. All of the multi-national companies have currency managers, and they are all watching currency rates in every country they do business in. They will be aware of the dinar that the CBI has pulled out of the economy, they will be aware of the recent rise in the dinar of about 7%. If they are planning to do business in Iraq, then to buy the currency now and let it continue to appreciate only results in eventually them being able to do business CHEAPER once they enter Iraq. The appreciation of the currency decreases their cost of doing business. I always thought this is why Haliburton reportedly owns 1 Billion dinar. Let it appreciate and they will "pay" for their operations in one of the most oil rich countries in the world. So, expect these large banks, oil companies etc. to position themselves with buying the currency. Wouldn't you do the same thing? Thank You.

This is an excellent observation. No doubt that you are correct about this. If anyone is interested in this kind of info, read the following stories about CATERPILLAR and other companies in an article from San Jose State University (FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTION RISK) about doing foreign business. Those corporations recognized or failed to recognize their needs to do business relative to foreign exchange mediums whilst doing international business. It certainly opened my eyes.

Again well said Wm.

sorry everyone and especially neno but this is like having an orgasm and it just keeps gettin better when you think theres no possible way it can!

SGS- What do you know if anything about the FIL being enacted on the 19th?

Originally Posted by shotgunsusie

sorry everyone and especially neno but this is like having an orgasm and it just keeps gettin better when you think theres no possible way it can!

I believe things can always get better, or I'll at least die tryin...

Just passing it along from the CBI

Dec Auction Price

17th 1,400

18th 1,388

19th 1,380

20th 1.373

IMF Statement at the Conclusion of the Joint IMF/AMF High Level Seminar on Institutions and Economic Growth in the Arab Countries

Press Release No. 06/294

December 20, 2006

A high-level seminar "Institutions and Economic Growth in the Arab Countries," jointly organized by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), was held in Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on December 19-20, 2006, with the participation of Mr. Mohamed Khalfan Bin Kharbash, Minister of Finance and Industry of the UAE, Mr. Jassem Al Mannai, Director General Chairman of the Board of the AMF, and Mr. Takatoshi Kato, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.

The seminar, which brought together ministers, central bank governors, as well as other high ranking policymakers and economists from the region and around the globe, focused on how stronger institutions could enhance growth in the region. Participants agreed that the extraordinary demographics of the region—a young and rapidly growing labor force—made growth and job creation an economic, social, and political imperative. With the labor force projected to reach 185 million in 2020—80 percent higher than in 2000—the region would need a substantial real growth rate of 6 to 7 percent annually, double the trend rate of the late 1990s, to prevent a dire unemployment problem. With this development challenge facing the MENA region, the seminar participants focused on:

· Identifying the institutional challenges facing the MENA region and their sources;

· Measuring the impact of the quality of institutions and governance on economic growth in the region, and identifying the channels through which they affect growth;

· Discussing strategies to enhance the quality of institutions in the region and reduce the impediments to more rapid economic progress.

There was general agreement among seminar participants that a governance gap exists between MENA countries and other countries at similar income levels. The gap covers a wide set of indicators including bureaucratic performance, rule of law, and accountability, among other aspects of institutional quality. Many participants thought the gap could be attributed chiefly to weak facilitating institutions for private enterprise and an excessively large public sector focused on guaranteeing economic security and on the public provision of social services. Intrusive government crowded out private sector investment and employment, and poor institutional quality dampened growth through its negative impact on productivity and capital accumulation. These two factors, which precluded the development of a vibrant private sector, explained the lack-luster growth performance of the region over the last two decades.

There was broad consensus, however, that the region's governance gap was not a permanent condition. Participants discussed a number of mechanisms that could spur institutional change, including trade liberalization, openness to information, and external anchoring. Together, these factors—by ensuring a robust and competitive private sector—would help create a vocal domestic constituency who would demand and expect good institutions. As some participants argued, accountability and political will are key if these demands and expectations are to be heard and met.

Press Release: IMF Statement at the Conclusion of the Joint IMF/AMF High Level Seminar on Institutions and Economic Growth in the Arab Countries

So, if these new "prediction dates" come and go as every other one has.... what will we rhyme with January hmmmmmm?????

Originally Posted by arpking

So, if these new "prediction dates" come and go as every other one has.... what will we rhyme with January hmmmmmm?????

As you are the A.R.P. king I hope that its not:

"At the beginning of Feb-ru-ary
the Dinar reval in Jan-u-ary
led to his cor-o-nary

Alright, it needs some work, but hey at least I wasn't trying to find a word that rhymes with Orange...

Best wishes king, try not to get too excited...