grkabme

What's the saying? Good things come to those who wait.... This investment is a perfect example of that.

I, too, am tech stupid. I bought a Vizo at Costco for the office and a Panasonic for the house. Both are 42" screens. I asked the tech the same question and he said that basically they are all the same now. It used to be that plasma screens would burn an image into the screen but they have changed the technology so that this doesn't happen any more. I think the blurry images are either the cable box or the cord connecting the cable to the tv. At the office we don't have a digital cable box and connect to the tv with a cable. The picture isn't all that great. At the house I have a digital cable box and a mid-range cost HDMI cable. The picture is outstanding. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the brands (although I don't know Hisense). Now choosing a gift for my wife? That makes me sweat.....

My brother-in-law bought some at Wells Fargo. It was about $300 for 5 million and that price included the Fedex delivery to the bank. He ordered it on Friday and it arrived today. He said it was pretty simple and the bills were fine.

I believe they are trying to dry up the USD so that the IQD has a chance of becoming THE currency of Iraq. If the USD is not readily accessible to the Iraqi's then they will be forced to begin using the dinar more often. I am hopeful this is a next step to get the population using the dinar more. It also bodes well for us - again, I believe - because the more the Iraqi's have to depend on the IQD the less likely they will be 'ok' if they try to reduce the IQD past anything other than a 1:1. It also could make the black market for USD ridiculously high and will force the majority of the population to use their IQD. Again, this is just my take.

I think it's interesting that since I've been a member (not that long) there was so much debate about if dinars were being sold or if the USD was being sold at auctions. Now comes an article that states, "...used to buy dollars to a value of US$250,000 (Dh918,300) every week at the Central Bank of Iraq's currency auctions...." Man, that would sure have cleared some things up earlier!

Simply put, I believe Iraq is different because of their tremendous amount of potential wealth. They don't need to lop they can just let the currency market - and global market - dictate what their currency is worth. The only reason they would RV at a higher rate would be to bring more goods into the country - that the Iraqi's can afford - to increase their standard of living. If nothing else, the Arabs are fiercely competitive and I believe it causes political problems with the GOI given that they have to suck up to Kuwait to get out of Chapter 7. In addition, the standard of living in Kuwait is hugely better than the Iraqi's. So, they need to do something and what makes the most sense is to let their currency go up by itself. Honestly, I don't know how they would explain to their citizens that the 25,000 note is worth 25. I'm fairly educated (depends on who you ask) and I would have a tough time having our government telling me my 100 bill is now a 1 bill but don't worry it's worth the same? Huh? Lastly, the fact that the population is very simple (not a bad thing) and the GOI is precariously situated, they simply can't afford to have the population rise up against them if they RD. It would be an instant revolt and all politicians would be fleeing the country. So, I'm watching and I'm waiting to see how this ends.... just like everybody else that has invested. By the way, I live in a town of about 30,000 in a remote state and I don't know ANYBODY who has invested in dinar but I do hear all the time about people investing in IPO's, stocks, and metals. The reason I say that is I don't think the dinar held outside Iraq is worrisome to them at all. We're probably just a statistical blip to them.

But stuff like that happens anytime. What if I sold my Microsoft stock before it went through the roof and my friend didn't? Again, unless the other guy who didn't buy the bike goes to another country to spend his money then he still has 250,000 dinars. With regard to the GOI, do any of us know - honestly -what they can and can't do? What laws (if any) they've passed and not released? Same with the amount of dinars in circulation. Are they telling us the truth about the amount of dinars in circulation? Until I see something from the IMF or World Bank saying what they have outside their bank in circulation then I'm not going to take the numbers the CBI releases as face value. I bought my dinars when my brother-in-law told me about it and I think this whole issue is fascinating and I'm hopeful that we can all make money. But there are so many questions that NONE of us have an answer to that it is fun to hypothesize about what is going on. dvforumuser - you've got some great information and I hope you don't think I'm playing point/counter point - as I mentioned above, I find this fascinating because whatever happens is something not seen in my lifetime.

I don't believe the "law of one price" is applicable in this situation. One reason for a delay in increasing the value of the dinar is that Iraq doesn't have the necessary laws in place. My examples were based on currency fluctuations between countries so we know that it does happen. It also happens between states where - for example - people in Washington used to buy their cars in Oregon to avoid paying sales tax on the purchase. They could do that until..... the government (the State of Washington) changed the law that now makes this impossible (legally).

Sorry if it's confusing. I'm just trying to make it as simple as possible using simple terms to a complex issue. When the Japanese Yen took off years ago, Japanese businessmen who weren't millionaire's in Japan were - because of the exchange rate to USD - millionaires according to US standards. So, to answer your question, inflation would be a huge consideration as would tariffs on goods coming into the country. So the pay for the Iraqi would be in dinars, bread would remain about the same because it's produced locally but the cost of a Honda would be much, much less and more equivalent to what they cost in the US. That is why we're seeing articles about auto makers wanting to build autos in Iraq. They (the auto makers) will avoid some of the tariffs just as in the US where Honda, Toyota, etc. have plants in the US to avoid tariffs on vehicles coming into the country.

Ok, I've beent reading this stuff for over a year. People throw the term economics around all the time like it's applied the same everywhere - it's not. I'm just using general prices for comparison and not 'actual prices' with regard to what items cost in Iraq. For example, when the dinar rv's it won't rv in country it simply means that their currency is now worth more on a similar basis to other currencies world-wide. For example, if they have 1 trillion dinar and it rv's at 1:1 they don't have $1 trillion US they have the equivalent to $1 trillion US. Does that make sense? If we take our dinar and cash in on a 1:1 they arent out more, they are out the same. For example, a few years ago when we'd drive through Canada the exchange rate favored the US dollar over the CD. So, when I exchanged $100US into CD I received CD135. My $1 was still only worth $1 to me and would still buy a $1 worth of goods in the US, but when I travelled in Canada it was worth more. Same as Iraq will hopefully be. Again, the RV is a global comparison of their currency to others. Iraqi citizens won't all of a sudden be making more money IN Iraq but they will remain the same pay. Where they will see a difference is when they buy imported goods, the price will be going down. So instead of bread costing 1000 dinar it will certainly cost less. At the same time, they will travel more because their money will be worth more outside of Iraq. The same thing has happened with other country's currencies as they advance against the dollar. Japan did this when their exchange went up (no not an rv) and they bought property all over the United States.... and the Seattle Mariners. So, enough rambling. I expect the dinar to not RV or RD or LOP. I expect it to go up gradually over a period of time after an initial bump. To me, that is how the economics work. The dinar will continue to rise until - globally - it is at a point that is commiserate to their internal worth.

Timing is interesting as Ban Ki Moon is supposed to be at the Summit. Perhaps they will announce that Iraq is out of Chapter 7 at that point. Could be the highlight of the Summit?

Do the ads. Take their money.... they've been taking ours for years.....

....with a very deep and well stocked survival shelter. Ha ha

I have a family member who is in management at WF. I check in with them every now and then with regard to the IQD. She has said that she has not seen any memo's or anything official from WF about this currency. That said, she also said that WF isn't much of a speculative bank and that if/when the IQD RV's then they will be involved in what ever way THEY can make money. She also said in the event it does RV then WF will start at the top of their corporate chain and let the information flow down through management to the branches and that's how the branches, etc. will know. Perhaps there may be talk of the IQD at the very top of the corporate chain, but hearing nothing doesn't surprise her. Thus, comments about talking to a banker at WF like in this post don't do much for me. I think we've all learned by now that banks don't possess any secret intel... they leave that to the guru's....

Okay, I've been involved in politics for over 25 years (no, not elected but lobbying and consulting) and what I believe is transpiring is there seems to be a lot of posturing going on. Obama can still put a deal together to have troops stay in but as we all know, it's about the immunity issue. The US would be stupid to not have that clause and the Iraqis know that. So, Iraq is not giving in on the immunity right now because they don't have to. The Iraqi's know there is still plenty of time and they are probably trying to see what else they can get out of the deal. Obama, on the other hand, can't weather a re-election bid if he pulls the troops out of Iraq and the Iranians come back in and exert more influence then they do now. In addition, Obama knows that another country can simply step in and fill the void left behind by the US and these countries include China, France, and Russia. Furthermore, Iraq knows they have to show stability and security if they are going to attract international investors. How many Marriott's do you hear about springing up in Iran. None. Iraq isn't stupid but they also aren't the smartest country on the block. In simple terms, there are still negotiations going on and this is the US calling Iraq's bluff. Now we'll have to wait to see how they respond. Now, how does this play into the RV we are all hoping on? Several ways. First of all we've all learned that what we read out of Iraq isn't fact but information they want to put out. So, under UN Chapter 7 can Iraq rebuild their army and air force? I wouldn't think so but yet they are. Do they need to have an international tradable currency? It sure would make transactions much easier, especially if they want to get away from the US Dollar. Can they RV now? I believe they can and don't need to wait for anyone's approval. Echoing the concerns of others I believe that Iraq needs to RV prior to the first of the year. The US presence gives them stability and the ability to RV with "help." Can they RV if the US pulls out? Maybe, but they'll need help from another country to pull it off. I'm sure the Iranians would love to help since their currency is pretty much worthless. Bottom line? I'm hanging in this investment until I see what the US does. If they really do pull out, then I'm going decide what to do to sell the dinars.