April 9th, 2014
Wednesday Morning News Summaries
Baghdad expects an imminent agreement on the export of oil in Kurdistan region
How many times have we heard that Baghdad expects an agreement on oil...but here we still wait.....they expect an agreement within the next few days.....time will tell....they continue to be in disagreement on the amount to be exported it seems....with Baghdad saying 400,000 barrels/day....and the Kurds offering 100,000 barrels/day as a good will gesture.
Iraq seeks international support in order to restore a trillion dollars of looted funds
Through an international conference today, Baghdad is seeking international support in retrieving funds that were stolen and taken abroad....they believe this amounts to just over $1 trillion dollars.....they are seeking help through the UN as well as Interpol....they believe some of these funds may be in Jordan, Lebanon, and the UAE.
.... Integrity: We are frustrated by the lack of international assistance to re-looted Iraqi funds
Iraqis are getting frustrated with the lack of support from the international community in assisting in retrieving stolen funds.....maybe they just aren't talking to the right people yet in the international community....a continued voice of concern from Baghdad should eventually gain support I would think.
Private banks: drag some banks permits does not serve the economic situation and the Government's restrictions to delay our work
Some banks are facing problems in gaining a permit to operate within Iraq.....they are unable to raise the 250 billion dinars as capital as required.....some of the slowness in getting permits is blamed on the Ministry of Finance but mostly on the CBI....I have to believe the CBI is being cautious in who they provide permits to, they want banks to be able to prove they will maintain solvency once they are established.
On April 17 .. Iraqi Businessmen Union held the General Conference
The Iraqi Businessmen Union will be holding a conference on April 17 where they will discuss a variety of topics....one of which will be the accession of Iraq to the WTO....the other important topics to be discussed will be the activation of the Iraqi economy....and the banking system within Iraq.
Kuwait establish an early warning system to protect its border with Iraq
Kuwait is establishing a state-of-art early warning system along its border with Iraq.....providing notification of infiltrators...it currently extends some 78 kilometers along the border.
MPs and experts laud print a new currency and they consider necessary to protect the national currency
Dr. Mohammed Saleh spoke yesterday regarding the printing of new Iraqi currency....saying this will solve half of the money problems for Iraq.....they still need to lift the 000's from the currency...that this is the root of their currency issues.....he also speaks of the printing of 50 and 100 currency notes...that would have been used in the place of 50,000 and 100,000 notes after the lifting of the 000's.....the strategic goal is still to remove the 000's....as we continue to wait for just that to happen.
(65) billion dollars looted from Iraq from 2001 to 2010,
Representative Mladenov of the Secretary-General of the UN that the money looted or stolen from Iraqi's from 2001-2010 exceeds $65 billion dollars...this number stems from a study by the IMF.....he stated that action is required on two levels....first locally to establish laws and secondly to tighten monitoring, auditing, and accounting with international entities in close cooperation with each other.
Integrity Commission: Iraq is ready to implement its obligations in accordance with the principles of the International Convention for the recovery of money
The Integrity Commission stated on Wednesday that Iraq is ready to implement obligations in accordance with principles of the International Convention for the recovery of stolen money....they intend to send the message to those who are responsible for stealing the money that punishment will be rendered against them....that includes restoration of the funds stolen.....it seems funny/sad to read that Iraq stands against corruption....when corruption is so rampant within the country itself.....but if you are going to clean up the country you must start somewhere....and this is a good start.
Stocks Brace for Iraqi Election
The Iraqi stock exchange (ISX) has been having a down year.....slumping 5% year to date....and the reasoning behind this appears to be placed on the upcoming elections.....Investors don't see this year being a repeat of 2010....due to oil production about to take a sharp jump upward....that will lead to a strong growth in money supply.....bank capital issues will be less of a problem than 4 years ago as most banks have met the capital requirements placed upon them by the CBI....and the final reason....there isn't much uncertainty in the outcome of the election.....seems the stock guys are predicting a Maliki win at this point...and while things are bad....they aren't expecting them to grow worse.
New Iraqi banknotes to be printed in Arabic and Kurdish languages
There has been talk and speculation over the last couple of days about whether the new currency would be printed in Arabic and Kurdish languages.....if this article is to be believed....it was incorporated into the printing process......again I will remind everyone that this printing process is a long and drawn out process they didn't just cook this idea up....it takes months...years...to bring the printing of new currency to fruition....in the article one economic expert claims that the 000's will not be removed because the Iraqi budget is highly dependent on oil revenue.....I would challenge that and ask how the two can be remotely related.....as for there being a draft law in parliament to remove the 000's.....that is a process for the CBI to undertake....not the GOI.
Baghdad expects an imminent agreement on the export of oil of Kurdistan
I am not sure what the Baghdad government officials are cooking or what they have been smoking....to be confident of an oil agreement with the Kurds in the next few days....we've been at this cliff's edge before and not seen any movement....time will tell what to expect.
America, Turkey and Iran to negotiate on the line between Baghdad and Erbil over oil and Budget
Well it would appear that at least one Kurd official thinks that the time is near for agreement on oil issues.....and the complaints about slow salaries still ensues.....blaming Baghdad for the issue.
Central Bank puts the banks and the economy, development and Elaf united under guardianship
Four banks have been placed under guardianship by the CBI....it is felt they are on the brink of collapse...these banks are....The Bank of the Economy.....Elaf Bank....Development Bank....and....United Bank for Investment....other banks in Baghdad have notified their customers that if they have funds in these banks they should be removed.....the action of guardianship by the CBI aides these banks in staying solvent at this time.
The rule of law and elections .. Maliki is facing the biggest challenges by his former allies
Some are saying that Maliki will face his greatest challenges in the upcoming election.....that others may create great inroads into his former support....most notably the mass citizen bloc and the Liberal bloc....both will bear watching as voting results unfold....it remains to be seen who will form any type of alliance with Maliki during this election.
Asian buyers complain about a problem in the quality of Iraqi oil
Asian buyers of Iraqi crude oil are complaining of water issues in the oil, particularly the Basra light crude.....they say it is time for Iraq to modernize their surface infrastructure....meaning they need to implement some type of dehydration system to cut the water out of the oil before it is sold.....and in doing this they create a whole new animal....the produced water that is removed will need to be disposed of somewhere....just another oil related headache for them....it seems odd that only the Asian market is complaining about the water issue....I would think that any buyers of Basra crude would be facing the same issues.
U.S. Firms Form Consortium to Service Burgeoning Iraq Oil & Gas Market
Two US firms are joining hands to better serve the Iraqi oil and gas market.....US Steel Tubular Products and MRC Global will collectively bring needed oil field equipment to the southern oil fields of Iraq.....this should provide world-class equipment to a suffering oil market for Iraq.
Wednesday morning News Summaries Randy