g_greig

interested in upping my dinar count before this ride ends anyone got any for sale in the uk?

Went into local travelex this morning to buy dinar and they said they arent buying or selling dinar anymore because of investments doesnt make sense to me any info out there????

As a Vip member myself I wondered that but after recieving a reply from Adam he is working with English banks so on the cash in alone it is worth being a vip getting the better rate. Hop that helps.

Cheers thanks for the responses!

My Sister works at whitney bank in Tampa she said as of last thursday they are no longer selling dinar they are cashing in peoples but not selling I live in the UK and was just wondering if this is common in the USA with the banks or just hers? or if its good news??

If you still have my brother is in Austin as is intrested in getting some more pm me if still available

I dunno what the deal is but I am in Uk and have a easier time ordering dinar then use guys do over there I ordered some yeaterday no problem

does this mean their currency is internationaaly reconized if they can now trade?

Iraq's ambitious oil goals questioned by experts By Julien Girault (AFP) – 16 hours ago LONDON — War-torn Iraq may recently have unveiled a surge in oil reserves, as it bids to bolster its standing in the world energy market, but experts wonder if it can really meet its ambitious production aims. Iraq -- where the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 -- depends on crude oil exports for 95 percent of government revenue and is trying to spur economic growth. In recent decades, it has been hampered by war, international sanctions and weak investment in the sector under executed dictator Saddam Hussein. This month, Iraq announced that its proven reserves now stood at 143.1 billion barrels, a 24 percent increase on the previous figure, pushing it past neighbour and historic rival Iran. Iran hit back within days, claiming in turn that its proven reserves had also risen to 150.31 billion barrels, again pushing it past Iraq. Production levels in Iraq -- the only member country without a production quota due to unrest -- are likely to provoke discussion at OPEC's meeting on Thursday in Vienna. Some experts have questioned the methodology behind the new Iraqi amount. And there was scepticism about its target of reaching up to 12 million barrels per day within six years from a current level of 2.3 million among big names in the industry at this week's Oil & Money 2010 conference in London. Although Iraq last year awarded contracts to foreign firms to exploit ten oilfields, experts highlighted concerns including security, weak finances and technical difficulties. "I will cut off my hands if Iraq can provide 12 million barrels per day in export facilities," said Issam al-Chalabi, Iraqi oil minister between 1987 and 1990. "Six million barrels per day? Yes, maybe, but 12? It's totally impossible." Sadad al-Husseini, a consultant and a former vice-president of oil giant Saudi Aramco, added: "A best case estimation of 6.3 million barrels per day is achievable in six or seven years but without security, none of these could be achievable." Even if it does not meet its own ambitious goals, though, Iraq looks set to play an important role in boosting global output. "Iraq is one of the largest game-changers (for the oil market)," said Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the Paris-based International Energy Agency. "It will be a very important element for future supply... we will need it, it will be a great help, as we face elsewhere depletion of oil fields." Peter Wells of Neftex Petroleum Consultants added there was "nothing like Iraq left in the world" -- but also sounded a note of caution on the technical side. "The three main reservoirs need gas or water injections to give some volume to the production ... Most of the oil is in 'poor' reservoirs," he said. "Nobody can spend this kind of money that quickly, especially in Iraq." http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j5DGs84pSYtmG9Dl5V_H0KL2FbSg?docId=CNG.9dd1a1176881e712993720a765eec626.671

Russia is talking directly with Iraq's oil-rich Kurdistan region about investment opportunities there, Russia's ambassador to Iraq said on Tuesday, a strategy that could irritate Iraq's central government. Baghdad is at odds with the semi-autonomous northern region and has strongly opposed oil deals the Kurds have signed independently with foreign companies. The row has halted exports from Kurdish oilfields. Speaking inside the heavily fortified Russian embassy compound in Baghdad, ambassador Valerian Shuvayev said Russian delegates often visited Kurdistan to explore opportunities. "They go to Kurdistan quite a lot. There is nothing concrete but both sides are thinking about how to take this further," he said in an interview. Asked if Russian companies considered signing contracts with Kurdistan directly, Shuvayev said: "Why not? If (a project) is feasible, then why not. And there have been talks." He was tight-lipped on the details and declined to name the companies. Shuvayev said the Russian firms looked mainly at non-oil projects to avoid friction with the federal government but some talks had also taken place in the energy sector. "Some affiliated companies have tried to do something there but I have not heard of any great success," he said. Russia had a cosy relationship with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, supplying him with weapons and winning the right to develop West Qurna -- one of the world's biggest oilfields. Saddam tore up that deal in 2002, months before the U.S. invasion that ousted him, saying the Russians had failed to live up to their side of the contract. Sitting on some of the world's biggest oil reserves, Iraq has opened its energy sector to foreign investment, triggering fierce competition among international oil companies. Moscow is now looking for ways back into Iraq's war-battered economy, which needs investment in practically every sector. While most Iraqis are struggling to overcome the effects of a seven-year war, the semi-autonomous Kurdish region remains stable and many investors are keen to tap its vast oilfields. Some also see it as an entry point for the rest of Iraq. Shuvayev said Russian firms were in talks on participation in several sectors of Iraq's economy. "Yes, it's all happening rather spontaneously. It's not like it's a planned offensive," he said. "Talks are under way. ... There is readiness from both sides (to develop relations).” – Reuters http://www.tradearabia.com/news/INTBIZ_187244.html

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2010/October/business_October208.xml&section=business&col= OPEC set for no change to output, debate simmers (Reuters) 13 October 2010 VIENNA - OPEC’s expected no-change decision this week will mask debate over reserves rivalry and whether the group will next year adjust policy to accommodate rising Iraqi supplies or add oil to calm a dollar-driven price rally. Ecuador’s oil minister, holder of OPEC’s revolving presidency, on Wednesday told Reuters there was a consensus within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep policy unchanged at Thursday’s policy-setting meeting. “Yes, there is a consensus,” OPEC President Wilson Pastor said. Oil prices have stayed close to the $70-$80 range Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi says is ideal for producers needing to invest in more supplies and not so high it would jeopardise fragile economic recovery. Pastor said that range could persist for a year, but not everyone is convinced. This month U.S. crude hit a five-month high above $84 a dollar before easing slightly and some analysts have seen the potential for a speculative rally as expectations the United States will resort to further economic stimulus drag down the U.S. currency. Dollar-denominated commodities, including oil, can draw support from a weak U.S. currency as they become cheaper for buyers holding other currencies. In addition, record imports by China, the second biggest oil user after the United States, in September lent weight to the idea demand is recovering and could result in real tightness in the oil market. The latest monthly reports from OPEC on Tuesday and the IEA on Wednesday, however, forecast oil demand would grow only modestly next year as economic growth stays subdued. At the same time, OPEC faces the prospect of an increase in supply from Iraq — the only member of the group that is not yet bound by a supply target. Iraq as potential rival to Saudi As it emerges from years of war, Iraq’s oil output has approached 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd), but it has signed contracts that would boost its capacity to 12 million bpd by 2017. That would place it on a par with top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia. Over the next year, Iraqi gains could be around 600,000 bpd as the companies moving into Iraq seek to increase production as quickly as they can. “There’s a notion that they (OPEC) might well have to make a cut at some point in the next 12 months. Our balances suggest they need to do something probably by the March meeting,” said David Kirsch of consultancy PFC Energy. Staking its claim for a high OPEC output target, Iraq earlier this month raised its proven reserves estimate by a quarter. Iran, currently OPEC’s second biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, swiftly responded by raising its oil reserves figure to 150 billion barrels, above Iraq’s figure of 143 billion. So far OPEC has managed to keep its output policy unchanged for nearly two years since announcing a record production curb of 4.2 million bpd in December 2008. The extent of the cut has allowed flexibility to informally adjust compliance with agreed targets. According to Reuters latest assessment, OPEC’s output discipline stands at 57 percent.

Hopefully they will explain in a clear way what will happen when they rv!

For the five years that British forces camped on the Basra air base, the nearby city that they came to liberate remained a lethal tinderbox. Militias ran rampant; residents cowered. Services were medieval. But a drive through Basra in mid-2010 reveals an entirely different picture. The despairing sprawl British forces left behind 16 months ago is now heaving with new money. Wide boulevards, once scarred with bomb craters and decades of putrid refuse are now full of new cars and touts hawking trinkets. Three weeks ago something happened that few in Basra thought they would ever see – the reopening of the city's most recognisable landmark, the giant hotel dubbed the Sheraton, that has stood in ruin since April 2003. The 250-room hotel – five-star by European standards – has been rebuilt, renamed the Basra International hotel, and redesigned by local architect Waad al-Radhi, who left the city two decades ago. "This is very complicated and very costly," said Radhi, standing in the foyer of the hotel as work neared completion. "But we decided to make the best for this city." Asked why he had come back at a time when central Iraq remains lethal and when a government has been unable to emerge from the country's third tilt at a democratic election, seven months ago, Radhi said: "When I have an opportunity to work here, the same standards, the same salary and priviliges which I can take abroad, why not work here. All our Iraqi experience will be back home when you can guarantee them life standards." Outside the window, motorboats and fishing skips churn through the brown silt of the river. A freighter turned turtle off the city's main dock and bullet-strewn buildings on the foreshore are reminders that this was recently a city at war. But the hordes of garish shopfronts, rampant neon lights and streets teeming with shoppers and revellers also reveal a city that is embracing change. Another new four-star hotel across town is constantly full – mostly with foreign businessmen – and new car dealerships line most main roads. Nationwide security reports released daily since January constantly demonstrate that southern Iraq has evolved from a war zone to a benign place where weeks often go by without a single shooting, or bombing. Violence has not stopped completely and more than 50 people were killed during a day of bombings in early August. But the contrast to the rest of Iraq is marked. "We are flourishing this year," said mobile phone salesman Irfa Abbas Khudier, in front of a row of fake iPhones inside his downtown Basra stall. "Incomes are up, the people are feeling better, the jobless are finding work and many foreign investments have started." This cruel and desolate city seems to have found a softer edge, where the trappings of the west and even foreigners who come to revel in the spoils are suddenly welcome. Against many expectations, Basra is steadily being transformed into a Mini-Me of the Kurdish city in northern Iraq, Sulaymaniya. There is one common denominator between them – oil and the flush of wealth it has brought. The first round of oil auctions in Iraq last year cast Basra as potentially the largest beneficiary of the move to lure foreign investors to untap Iraq's vast amounts of underground black gold. But it was a projection that those who had lived through nothing but worst-case scenarios found difficult to believe. "Visitors come here and say they don't recognise Basra anymore," said Firas Mohammed, who opened a cosmetics centre late last year. "I left for two years from 2006 and I returned to open my business. It is already going very well and will be much better very soon. This was the city of nightmares. Now shops are open until midnight and families are playing in new fun parks." Throughout the centre of the city, several hundred shops have opened in recent months, selling anything from Turkish shawls, Gulf fragrances and Lebanese sweets. Fun park rides compete for space along riverside parklands that were deserted for most of the past five years. Even the riverboat restaurants are plying a trade of sorts, serving fried food on rusting decks that had been empty since 2004. The deep south had been persecuted throughout Saddam Hussein's totalitarian regime, during which he viewed the predominantly Shia Muslim population as proxies of his mortal foe, Iran. Oil pipes, roads, and other services had not been updated since the 1960s. Many Basra suburbs did not have sewage lines. Most had next to no electricity, or hope that things could ever get better. This hardly dissuaded the global oil giants who flooded into town once the first round of contracts were awarded last August. In their wake came hundreds of smaller outfits on the hunt for service contracts, as well as prospectors and carpet baggers. BP and the Chinese oil giant CNPC are setting up camps at the huge North Rumaila oilfield north of town and Exxon Mobil are digging in in the nearby Majnoun field. Wedged into the ground 40-70 metres below their feet is around 40% of Iraq's oil, a resource that could eventually transform the economy into one of the world's leading economic powerhouses. "This is potentially the fourth biggest oilfield in the world," said Gary Jones, BP's director of operations in North Rumaila. "The intention is not just to create a spike but to build production to nearly triple capacity." Immense amounts of infrastructure, drills, turbines and rigs, are being brought on to Rumaila and Jones says the consortium is on track to increase the production of barrels per day by 10%, from 1.045m to roughly 1.2m by the end of the year. The nationwide barrel per day optimum is 2.5m, but Iraq's collective oil output has so far reached only 80% of that. Jones says that any excess electricity generated by North Rumaila could be sent down the line to Basra city, which is reeling under the effects of a catastrophic under-supply of national grid power that has seen most homes in the centre and south of the country reduced to around four hours of government supplied electricity per day – most of it too weak to run air conditioners to ward off staggering summer heat. Yet from his Baghdad office, oil minister Hussein Shahristani is presiding over one of Iraq's few success stories and he likes what he sees. "I have always had a soft spot for the Shias of the south," said Shahristani, himself a Shia Muslim. "What is happening down there is truly remarkable. "We know that we cannot start a proper rebuilding programme without the oil sector," he said. "That's why we were so committed to making sure we attracted the oil companies and we are very pleased with the results. Elsewhere in Iraq, however, the Shia revival is being seen as part of a Persian-led conspiracy that will enrich the Shia south at the expense of the already disenfranchised Sunni centre of Iraq. Development in the rest of Arab Iraq remains paralysed by a political stalemate, which has stirred the ghosts of the sectarianism that tore the country apart not long ago. In Basra, there is little mood to spread the wealth around. "We have had it very tough here for so long and it is now our time to prosper," said the chairman of the Basra provincial council, Jabbar Jaber al-Latif. "I can now say that we are into the first step to change Iraq and especially the south. To turn infrastructure around we will need a long time and a lot of money - but this is a start." There is still though a fear that the dark days could easily return and that anarchy will never be far away. Iranian influence remains strong, the rule of law feeble and, despite the calm, a belief prevails that the militias that have downed tools are going with the flow for now – not changing their ways for good. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/11/basra-iraq-oil-city-transformed

By Leila Fadel Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, October 12, 2010 BAGHDAD - As Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki inches closer to securing the parliamentary support he needs to keep his job, he's losing popular support on the streets and stirring alarm in Washington and Arab regional capitals. The decision by the Shiite Sadrist movement, staunchly opposed to the U.S. presence in Iraq, to back Maliki's nomination for prime minister has boosted his chances for a second term. But voters who cast their ballots for him March 7 say he's sacrificing their security and their votes for his political survival as Iraq enters its eighth month with no new administration. Maliki's supporters credit him with ridding the streets of the Mahdi Army, the militant wing of the Sadr movement. But his campaign promise to continue to improve security appears to have fallen by the wayside, capital residents say. Iraqis in former Sadr strongholds say that Maliki is allowing the release and regrouping of Shiite militias to seal a political deal between him and what was his largest Shiite rival, the Sadrists. Hundreds of Shiite militants have been released in the past few weeks to help ensure Sadrist backing of Maliki's nomination, they say. Outside a small coffee shop in the Shiite slum of Sadr City last week, men sat on rusted benches and slammed dominoes on the table as they argued about their nation's future. They looked over their shoulders hesitantly, worried that someone could be listening. "Maliki brought us security," said Jawad Kadhim Zayed. Now, he said, Maliki is taking it away. "Most of those Sadrists opposed the government, and one of their conditions of this partnership was to release the criminals. We have killers here. They're releasing them, and we know their faces." There have been threats by recently released men, he said. "We are not comfortable," he said as he glanced behind at the open street. "Our vote has no value. We gave our votes to Maliki, and he stole them and gave them to the criminals," his friend Raheem Hussein said. Some in Maliki's bloc recognize that the Sadrist backing, although it might make him prime minister, could hurt the leader domestically and internationally. Iran is in favor of Shiite Arab unity behind Maliki, but some Arab nations say they are worried about a Shiite-led government with a political group that still has an active militant wing and that might play a large role in Iraq's new government. "I don't think this deal will happen without a price that will embarrass Maliki," said Ezzat al Shahbandar, a secular Shiite in Maliki's State of Law bloc. "He's going to pay. The Sadr trend is not welcome internationally or regionally." Publicly, U.S. officials advocate for a broad government and insist that they have no particular candidate. They worry that as time passes, security gains made in the past two years could erode. The Sadr support has made Maliki a much less attractive candidate for the United States, which has been quietly lobbying to keep him in office for a second term as part of an inclusive government of Shiite Arabs, Sunni Arabs and Kurds. Last week, U.S. Ambassador James F. Jeffrey said that a government with a substantive Sadr presence would weaken the fledgling Iraqi democracy. "We're simply saying anyone that does not distinguish between peaceful political processes and violent intimidation, violent attacks and the threat of violence is a problematic partner for a democratic process," he said. Maliki ran on a platform of rule of law and cross-sectarian unity, which won him more votes than any other candidate. But his political bloc came in second, by a two-seat margin, to the Sunni-backed bloc led by secular Shiite Ayad Allawi. Now Maliki is trying to woo enough support from other political blocs to get the parliament majority he needs to form a government that will stand as the U.S. military leaves Iraq at the end of next year. Maliki became prime minister in 2006 as a largely unknown figure who was selected in part because he was seen as a compromise Shiite candidate. The Sadrists' backing at the time allowed him to defeat his coalition rival. Sectarian violence rose during his first year, and the civil war escalated. U.S.-backed Sunni groups began to fight Sunni extremists. Maliki was accused of turning a blind eye as militants roamed the streets. But in spring 2008, he ordered an offensive in the southern port city of Basra targeting the Mahdi Army. Iraqi forces battled the militia from the south to parts of Sadr-controlled Baghdad. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Sadr followers were rounded up in what Sadrists called unjust detentions before their leader, the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, ordered his fighters to stand down. Maliki lost his political ally but his popularity soared among many Shiite Arabs, and some Sunni Arabs tired of the Mahdi Army's militant rule. Now by partnering with the Sadrists, Maliki risks losing his constituents' support. Maliki's aides are quick to offer assurances that the Sadr movement is interested in playing a positive role in Iraq and that Maliki would not allow militias to surge in the streets. During negotiations with the Sadrists, Maliki promised that the government would review the cases of Sadr followers and others who were jailed without charges. "The detainees that have been released lately are those that haven't committed any crime, and they are innocent," said Ali al-Adeeb, a leading member of Maliki's State of Law bloc. "The Sadrists have asked to be a real partner in the government." fadell@washpost.com Special correspondent Aziz Alwan contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/11/AR2010101105722.html

Allawi, Saudi king discuss Iraq (AFP) – 9 hours ago RIYADH — Former Iraqi prime Minister Iyad Allawi held talks on Iraq with Saudi King Abdullah Sunday as Baghdad marked seven months of political stalemate after the March elections. Allawi and Abdullah "reviewed the current situation in Iraq" in their Riyadh meeting, the official SPA news agency said. At the meeting also were Saudi intelligence chief Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz and Saudi ambassador to Washington Adel al-Jubeir, one of the king's closest foreign policy advisors. Allawi was widely believed to have enjoyed Saudi support against his rival Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the March 7 polls. Riyadh believes Maliki is too close to their regional arch-rival Iran, according to analysts. In the election Allawi's Iraqiya bloc earned 91 seats, two seats ahead of Maliki's State of Law alliance, in the battle for control of the 325-member Council of Representatives. But since then neither has been able to demonstrate enough support to assume the premiership. In July Saudi Arabia urged the two sides to find a solution to fend off dangerous instability. But last week it also strongly denied Iraqi media reports that it had given the nod to Maliki returning as prime minister, after the country's main Shiite parliamentary bloc crucially endorsed Maliki for premier. "There is no truth to what has been reported," an unnamed Saudi government official told SPA. "Choosing a prime minister is an issue for the Iraqi people," the official said. The Riyadh meeting came four days after Maliki met visiting US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns to discuss the stalemate. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4J-Rwm-3hQQ2wEgiTHc3VfFTxiA?docId=CNG.32619d57c24fb02349e32c5f5887f630.c51