mrs millionaire

April 27, 2010, 7:52 PM EDT By Brian Swint and Will Kennedy April 28 (Bloomberg) -- BP Plc will be paid in crude for its investment costs in an Iraqi contract that offers about the same rate of return as other projects worldwide, Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said. BP and China National Petroleum Corp. are spending about $15 billion in Rumaila, Iraq’s largest oil deposit, pledging to more than double production to at least 2.85 million barrels a day in the second half of this decade. Hayward predicted the company will reach an initial goal of raising output 10 percent in the next 18 months. “We think the terms are perfectly good terms that will allow us to earn returns commensurate with returns elsewhere in our portfolio,” Hayward said yesterday at a briefing for reporters. “The cost of developing this oil is very low.” The deal that BP and CNPC reached with Iraq’s government last year pays the companies’ costs plus a service fee of $2 a barrel, a rate that some analysts say doesn’t offer sufficient rewards given security concerns and the risk of political instability in Iraq. “The nature of the contract is that after the first increment of 100,000 barrels a day has been achieved, then we go immediately into cost recovery,” Hayward said, speaking from Washington. “At that stage, essentially every dollar that goes in comes out in the same year.” Base Production BP and CNPC agreed to a base production for Rumaila of 1.066 million barrels a day. After the initial target of increasing output by 100,000 barrels day, the oil companies promised to boost output to 2.85 million barrels a day. BP’s head of production Andy Inglis has said Rumaila may become the world’s second-largest field by 2015. BP and CNPC awarded $500 million of oilfield services contracts last month for Rumaila to Schlumberger Ltd., Weatherford International Ltd., Iraqi Drilling Co. and China’s Daqing Drilling. BP said it is building from the operation it inherited at the field. “We benefit enormously from the fact that we inherit a going concern,” Hayward said. --Editors: Mike Anderson, Steve Voss. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net.

I've seen quite a few questions on here about taxes. Here is my advice...take it or leave it I posted most of the following in another thread: Q. Why is exchanging one currency for another taxable? A. The only part of exchanging one currency for another that is taxable is the gain portion. With a positive RV (the only reason we are all invested in the IQD) there is a gain. So, the total gross is reported, less costs = taxable income or capital gain. If you've held the IQD for more than 1 year, it is long term cap gain and less than 1 year is a short term cap gain. Tax rates are specific to all income earned and therefore, there is no 1 tax rate to say you will be charged. So if someone says that your tax rate will be x% they are full of it because they would not know all of your information to make that determination. Q. Why report it? A. Technically, you are supposed to pay tax on anything that you purchase and then sell/exchange/barter for a better price. However, most small purchases/sales go unnoticed by the IRS. For example, if I buy a car and then later sell it for more than I purchased it for I have a taxable gain....even though it my personal property. All income earned as a US taxpayer is deemed taxable! ALL! It is not just what you receive from others in the form of a 1099 or w-2. That is how the IRS is able to take homes, cars, and other property from people, because they forgot to report all income (even the illegal type). Sure, you can try to use this loop hole or that. "Story example": A telemarketer called and I actually decided to be nice and listen to what she said. She asked me what I did for a living, and I told her I was a staff accountant. She said, oh glad I don't have to deal with that anymore. I said, why. She said she'd just turned 65 and no longer had to file a tax return because of her age. I told her that there is no law that says once your turn a specific age you no longer have to file taxes. Yes, if you make under a certain amount, you may not have to file, but most would want to if they paid in federal or state tax withheld. She said that her lawyer told her she didn't have to so it would be his fault. I told her the IRS wouldn't care that she got bad advice. Needless to say, I she did not take me seriously. 2 weeks ago, she called (apparently she kept my number just in case). She explained the situation and I remembered the story from 5 years previous. The IRS was auditing her for failure to file and she was in a deep mess. I am now working with her to clean that mess up, but if she'd only had listened, she wouldn't be in the mess to begin with. The IRS doesn't care if you knew the laws or not. They don't care that your accountant, banker, lawyer or neighbor down the street gave you some advice and you followed it. Ignorance is not an excuse and they will take away everything that you've worked so hard for. My advice to everyone is to do your taxes the CORRECT way only! The end result is just not worth it! The IRS will wait a couple years before they come knocking on your door, then will audit you, charge you the tax and then interest and penalties which are accrued DAILY for those years the IRS waited. It is done for that purpose, so they can collect more! You must get yourself a trusted tax professional! And then, you must also educate yourself that when you are reviewing your return, you understand that it was prepared properly. Just because a paid professional signs that they prepared the return does not mean that you will be able to hold them responsible. More often than not, a CPA will have you sign a contract that says they can only advise you, but you are liable for any mistakes they may make.

Yes, captspiffy, you are exchanging one currency for another. If that were the only thing that were happening, then no tax paid. However, when there is a revaluation of currency and you are able to exchange one currency for a better valued currency then you have a capital gain. Technically, you are supposed to pay tax on anything that you purchase and then sell/exchange/barter for a better price. However, most small purchases/sales go unnoticed by the IRS. For example, if I buy a car and then later sell it for more than I purchased it for (or if I depreciated it under a business and the depreciatable value of the vehicle was less than what I sold it for) I have a taxable gain....even though it my personal property! All income earned as a US taxpayer is deemed taxable! ALL! It is not just what you receive from others in the form of a 1099 or w-2! ALL! That is how the IRS is able to take homes, cars, and other property from people, because they forgot to report this income or that income. Sure, you can try to use this loop hole or that. The IRS doesn't care if you knew the laws or not. They don't care that your accountant, banker, lawyer or neighbor down the street gave you some advice and you followed it. Ignorance is not an excuse and they will take away everything that you've worked so hard for. My advice to everyone is to do your taxes the CORRECT way only! The end result is just not worth it! The IRS will wait a couple years before they come knocking on your door, then will audit you, charge you the tax and then interest and penalties which are accrued DAILY for those years the IRS waited. It is done for that purpose, so they can collect more! You must get yourself a trusted tax professional! And then, you must also educate yourself that when you are reviewing your return, you understand that it was prepared properly. Just because a paid professional signs that they prepared the return does not mean that you will be able to hold them responsible. More often than not, a CPA will have you sign a contract that says they can only advise you, but you are liable for any mistakes they may make.

I couldn't have said it any better....exactly what I was thinking. Obama won't care to get us a lower tax rate because that doesn't benefit the government and I have read every news clipping and IRS doc over the last couple months are there is no rule that says a tax rate will be 50%. Now, state tax is different, but I have never seen a state tax that was more than or equal to the federal tax rate. Mariodi, you are not forgetting anything...except to make sure that your accountant has every bit of information and to see a TAX Lawyer who will be able to advise you on the most advantageous way to exchange your dinar...ie. set up as a trust, etc.

Operator News in Brief - 29th Mar 2010 *Canada's Wind Mobile has launched its service in Ottawa, expanding its network to a third city. This following launches in Toronto and Calgary in December of 2009. Service in Vancouver is set to launch in later this spring. Belarus based operator, Life has deployed an interconnect billing system from Ukraine based Telesens India's Tata Teleservices has launched a PrePay tariff for BlackBerry that enables users to pay for the service on a per-week basis as opposed to buying the service for a whole month at a time. USA based WiMAX operator, Clearwire has expanded its sales operations throughout greater Houston. The company also named John Smith as general manager for the Houston market. Vodafone UK says that it has won a smart-metering contract from UK energy provider, British Gas. The contract covers the deployment of nearly 1 million GPRS enabled connections with household meters over an unspecified timeframe. Russia's MTS has secured a US$97 million credit facility that will be used to finance equipment purchases from Alcatel-Lucent for the deployment of its mobile networks in Russia. MTN Uganda announced that its Chief Technical Officer, Eng. Francis Kazinduki, will be leaving the company after eleven years with the firm. Iraqi mobile network, Asiacell announced plans to change the currency it uses in all its dealings and tariff prices from US dollar to the Iraqi dinar. Asiacell said that its decision to implement this currency switch is based on the Iraqi Government's request for telecom companies to switch to the local currency. Japan's Softbank Mobile has announced plans to boost its capital expenditure over the next twelve months by 54% to US$4.3 billion. The company's CEO, Masayoshi Son told reportersthat the budget will help double the number of base stations to 120,000. Bangladeshi operator, Aktel has rebranded as Robi. The company said that by changing the name to a Bengali word, it aims at aligning its services to local culture and tradition. http://www.cellular-news.com/story/42619.php

Couple of issues with STEVE's Chat thread: 1. I can not find any where in the news where they claim that Allawi lost 11 seats and those seats were won by Maliki giving him 203 seats. If that is true, post your link to actual news ...not a chat 2. Sistani - who????? the current president of Iraq is Jalal Talabani 3. No one can announce Maliki as PM tonight! Allawi has 30 days to form a new government. If he can't, the president may give another a bloc a chance to form new government...the president is appointed by parliment, therefore, he can't choose the prime minister!!!

I remember members of the Kuwaiti government stating that they wanted to have peace with their neighbor country....that $ was trivial to a more precious comodity of peace. Hope they bring this issue back to the forefront and cancel the debts

position would also mean the position in the economy!!!! Allawi's way of saying he's pushing for the RV? Hope so!!!

A candidate for election to the Council of Representatives must be an Iraqi (Article 49(2) of the Constitution) who is not permitted to combine the office with any work or other official position (Article 49(6)). Article 6 of the Election Law No. 16 of 2005 states that: A candidate must be a voter [i.e. registered to vote], in addition to the following: 1- Must be no less than thirty years old of age. 2- Must not be covered by the DeBa’thification law. 3- He must not have enriched himself illegally at the expense of the state or public funds. 4- He must not have been convicted of a crime that violates honor and must be known for his good conduct. 5- He must have at least a high school certificate or its equivalent. 6- He must not be a member of the armed forces upon nomination. Article 7 states: Nominees shall be subject to the approval of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq. The Electoral Commission Regulations do not add anything to these stipulations but Regulation 16 set out IHEC’s powers in relation to candidates and the appeal process from any IHEC decision. The Accountability and Justice Law No. 10 of 2008 does not specifically refer to candidates for election but provides a process by which senior Ba’th party members are to be identified and barred from public office. It is possible to appeal under Article 2(9) & (10) of that law to a Cassation Board of Accountability and Justice. There is a separate appeal route to an Electoral Judicial Panel (also drawn from members of the Court of Cassation) under Article 8(3) and (4) of the Independent High Electoral Commission Law No. 11 of 2007 from a decision of the Independent High Electoral Commission to bar a candidate from standing for election. Article 20 of the Constitution states: Iraqi citizens, men and women, shall have the right to participate in public affairs and to enjoy political rights including the right to vote, elect, and run for office. However Article 9© states: The Iraqi armed forces and their personnel, including military personnel working in the Ministry of Defense or any subordinate departments or organizations, may not stand for election to political office, campaign for candidates, or participate in other activities prohibited by Ministry of Defense regulations. This ban includes the activities of the personnel mentioned above acting in their personal or professional capacities, but shall not infringe upon the right of these personnel to cast their vote in the elections. and Article 7(1) of the Constitution states: Any entity or program that adopts, incites, facilitates, glorifies, promotes, or justifies racism or terrorism or accusations of being an infidel (takfir) or ethnic cleansing, especially the Saddamist Ba’ath in Iraq and its symbols, under any name whatsoever, shall be prohibited. Such entities may not be part of the political pluralism in Iraq. This shall be regulated by law. And Article 46 of the Constitution states: Restricting or limiting the practice of any of the rights or liberties stipulated in this Constitution is prohibited, except by a law or on the basis of a law, and insofar as that limitation or restriction does not violate the essence of the right or freedom. Article 18(4) of the constitution states: An Iraqi may have multiple citizenships. Everyone who assumes a senior, security or sovereign position must abandon any other acquired citizenship. This shall be regulated by law. Although at first sight this might appear to prevent a legislator from carrying dual nationality, it has not been interpreted in this way and many Members of the Council of Representatives have dual nationality.

Way to go GW!!! Props! You are not forgotten!

"A jubilant Mr. Allawi said he would work with any group that was willing to join him in forming a government. “We will not exclude anyone,” he said. “Our coalition is open to all.” " What I got from the article was that if parties were unwilling to consolidate their seats won (Maliki 89 and Allawi 91) then there would be the possibility of violence. The way I see it, if Allawi is true to his statement above, then he knows he has a long way to go to reach the 163 seats needed to form a government. Therefore, he has a couple of options. #1 he can do the easiest way and join with Maliki. Now in order to join with Maliki, Allawi would have to agree to joint prime ministership (if that's a word). I don't think Maliki would allow it any other way....after all, all he has to do right now is sit back while the fighting is going on and he remain prime minister. Now obviously, there are 145 other seats that Allawi could try to win, but some of those seats were won by leaders of unscrupulous character and would reflect badly on Allawi which would create more unrest. If majority lies with both Maliki and Allawi, then it only makes sense that the two men join together. Both have value to the Iraqi people, just different kinds. And in government, it's not always good to have a leader who only wants to run things one certain way. If both would have give and take, then a more democratic government would be formed. Problem would be that both would have to agree on everything, so they would need to side which battles are worth fighting over. Maliki's 89 and Allawi's 91 would be 180 which is more than the 163 seats needed. Lets hope for a quick non-violent resolution and for the dinar to revalue!!

I know that the winner is not whom most wanted, but it is not the winner that we should be totally concentrated on. It should be how the Iraqi people feel about whom is the winner, and most importantly, that they feel their voice was heard and the elections were fair. I believe that the RV has been waiting for several reasons. 1. To make sure one of the extremists did not end up the winner (which I don't think that was ever believed to have a chance in happening). 2. To see how the country of Iraq handles itself once the election results are in. Note in the article that the winner, Allawi, wants to cooperate with other parties. That is what democracy is. Having your views, but being open to other views. I believe it is a giant step forward....as long as we don't have any cry babies saying that they refuse to step down or to follow a new leader. This isn't dodge ball on the play ground! If the Iraqi people voted for Allawi, then they have spoken. Al-Maliki should accept things, and gracefully take his place, or be a voice that few will listen to because they hear are the wails of a grown a** man.

From the Atlantic Wire How Election Shocker Will Change Iraq More By Max Fisher on March 26, 2010 4:01pm The results Iraq's national elections are finally in, and current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may be in trouble. Buoyed by support from Sunni Arabs and from secular Shia in Baghdad, former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's political party has eked out a surprise victory in the elections. Allawi's party, Iraqiya, won 91 seats to Maliki-run State of Law's 89, setting up a possible defeat for Maliki. But it takes a plurality of parliament--163 of the 325 seats--to form a ruling coalition. So the race is still open. With Maliki making accusations of fraud (which American officials reject), anything could happen.

Article from the Atlantic Wire How Election Shocker Will Change Iraq More By Max Fisher on March 26, 2010 4:01pm The results Iraq's national elections are finally in, and current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may be in trouble. Buoyed by support from Sunni Arabs and from secular Shia in Baghdad, former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's political party has eked out a surprise victory in the elections. Allawi's party, Iraqiya, won 91 seats to Maliki-run State of Law's 89, setting up a possible defeat for Maliki. But it takes a plurality of parliament--163 of the 325 seats--to form a ruling coalition. So the race is still open. With Maliki making accusations of fraud (which American officials reject), anything could happen. •Revolutionary for MidEast Politics "Wow," writes the New America Foundation's Steve Clemons. "Incumbents hardly ever lose -- particularly in the Middle East." He warns, "There may be trouble ahead. I don't think al Maliki will step back easily or will be enthused about playing the minority role in a coalition government. But these election results are surprising as it's rare to see incumbent governments in the Middle East lose, or if they do lose -- to let that loss be actualized." •Will Maliki Accept Defeat? Spencer Ackerman says he should. "Nouri al-Maliki will secure his place in history if he becomes the first non-interim Iraqi leader to willingly relinquish power after the results of an election," he writes. "Maliki can look at it this way: he made the country safe enough for people to feel comfortable very narrowly voting for one of his opponents. Perhaps Maliki will prevail, but that will only delay this reckoning." •If He Doesn't, Will U.S. Still Withdraw? Foreign Policy's Marc Lynch warned in The National that Maliki "may not surrender power without a fight – and many of his backers may reject the prospect of being ruled by Allawi, who drew so heavily on Sunni votes." This could delay or altogether halt the planned withdrawal of 90,000 American troops still in Iraq. •Option 1: The Sweeping Coalition The Economist explains, "Both [Allawi and Maliki] face an uphill struggle to find a winning coalition." That requires a broad compromise that will gain the 43-seat Kurdish party and the support of some less-than-attractive options: The highly pro-Iran ISCI party or the Sadrist party of violent religious leader Moktada al-Sadr, who "commands a militia known as the Mahdi Army that in the years after the toppling of Saddam Hussein battled ferociously against American, British and Iraqi government forces." •Option 2: The Unity Partnership What if Maliki and Allawi joined? This Kumbaya scenario could require one of the two men to step down. "Their views are much closer than their fierce and rhetorically exaggerated campaign rivalry suggests. Together they would have a comfortable majority—and a chance to reconcile Iraq’s two main Muslim sects. The trouble is that neither man can abide the idea of playing second fiddle. In the end, one of them—or both—may have to be shoved off the stage by ambitious lieutenants capable of reaching across the aisle." •Maliki Abandoned By Own Party? Juan Cole analyzes the mood in State of Law, Iraq's largest coalition of political parties, which is led by Maliki. "It sounds as though the State of Law leadership is entirely prepared to throw al-Maliki under the bus to get the votes required to form a government." The coalition, which is losing seats in the election, will need to ally with other parties, such as that of Moktada al-Sadr, whose hatred of Maliki comes from violence in the worst days of the war. "The State of Law may well have to sacrifice him to get an alliance with the more religious Shiite parties."

I think I am with Captain Jack on this....although I wouldn't be upset if it happened sooner!

More proof that something big is going to happen. Why would these international firms agree to be paid in IQD if it held the value it is at currently....and Iraq is not going to pay in $ or Euros, so IQD needs to be internationally recognized and revalued in order for these international companies to be able to come in and build and make any kind of a profit

This has been posted a couple times, but I have read the 3 page article in full and I really like what it has to say....shows monumentous promise for our investment when big financial gurus are also investing in Iraq. They are talking about a different kind of investment, but i believe that the two go hand in hand.

I just read this yesterday and found it very interesting...

I was wondering...netinfo (thanks by the way)...can you provide the arabic word for revaluation? Also, I'd like to thank barbarann; I thought I was going nuts or something was wrong with my view of this website that I couldn't thank anyone anymore.

See the following quote from the IMF Staff Report for the 2009 Article IV Consultation and Request for Stand-By Arrangement: "Iraq’s exchange rate regime is classified as stabilized against the U.S. dollar. Iraq continues to avail itself of the transitional arrangements under Article XIV.

In all honesty, I am going to have to take this home tonight and really study it along with all of the other data I've compiled. I think within this document lies the answers we've been looking for. Rather than just yellin out "go RV", I think that some indepth analysis can be done by myself and others with a financial background and we may be able to come up with the answers we are looking for. I would welcome anyone who'd like to private message me to help me and others with this analysis, before we post any findings that may not be legitimate

Also, most of their goals and audit procedures are to be put in place by 3/31/10............could this be the date we are seeking

One thing that is interesting about the tables is that they are using USD to show their monetary amounts...not IQD

(memo continued) 31. Performance under the program will be monitored through twice-yearly reviews, with macroeconomic policy performance monitored through semi-annual quantitative performance criteria (Table 1). Progress in structural reforms will be monitored through benchmarks (Table 2). There are tables that wouldn't post correctly........or perhaps I just don't know the correct html codes to do so. Look for them here http://www.imf.org/External/NP/LOI/2010/irq/020810.pdf roughly half way down.

24. We have continued to strengthen the accounting and reporting framework of the CBI. The CBI has appointed a control committee, which is responsible for developing control procedures and manuals, and for establishing a modern internal audit function with the assistance of external consultants. An internal audit committee including two external experts has also been set up to make recommendations regarding external and internal audit oversight, financial reporting, and controls. We have also reconciled almost all the outstanding suspense accounts and CBI intra-branch accounts, and established a register of outstanding off-balance sheet commitments (letters of credit and guarantees). As of July, the CBI has completed the process of becoming IFRS compliant. 25. We are committed to strengthening the management of international reserves by moving ahead with the implementation of new reserves management guidelines that were adopted in early August 2008. We will follow the guidelines to diversify currency composition and establish appropriate duration and credit risk, build capacity for risk analysis, and work towards establishing a dealing room. We will also provide by end-March 2010 more frequent reports to the CBI board based on the investment criteria established in the guidelines. 26. To improve the functioning of foreign exchange auctions, we plan to develop organized exchange markets outside the central bank, including an interbank foreign exchange market. Our aim is to establish a forward market in Iraqi dinars in the near future. IV. PROGRAM SAFEGUARDS AND MONITORING, DEBT AND DATA ISSUES 27. As we intend to use the domestic counterpart of IMF resources for budget support, the CBI—which is the fiscal agent—will request the IMF to disburse the resources directly into a government account at the CBI. To provide adequate safeguards to the Fund, the following steps have been taken or will be implemented in the near future:  A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed between the CBI and the government clarifying responsibilities with regard to servicing the debt to the Fund;  An external auditor has been appointed to undertake the audit of the CBI 2008 financial statements in accordance with International Standards on Auditing, and the audit is expected to be completed by March 31, 2010. The external auditor has already completed a verification of the CBI’s international reserves as of June 30, 2009. The completion of the external audit will allow the IMF to prepare a safeguards assessment update by the time of the first review of the program. In the future, the CBI will work with the Ministry of Finance to adopt a timely selection and rotation policy for future audits; an auditor for the 2009 CBI financial statements will be appointed before end-February 2010.  The external auditor will also undertake special audits of (i) CBI Net International Reserves, and a full count of gold and foreign reserves held at the Central Bank, as of June 30, 2009, (ii) CBI data reported to the Fund, including, but not limited to, Net International Reserves, Net Domestic Assets, credit to government and a full count of gold and foreign reserves held at the Central Bank, as of December 31, 2009, December 31, 2010, December 31, 2011 and the other test dates during the SBA, and (iii) procedures surrounding government accounts at the CBI. 28. Progress has been made in moving toward accepting the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2(a), 3, and 4, of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. We have worked with IMF staff to complete the review of exchange laws and regulations and are considering measures to remove the identified exchange restrictions on current international transactions. We remain committed to avoid imposing any restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions or introducing any multiple currency practices. 29. We will continue our efforts to resolve outstanding external claims under terms that are consistent with the 2004 Paris Club agreement. Bilateral agreements with twelve non- Paris Club official creditors have already been signed and are being implemented. We will continue our best efforts to reach bilateral debt agreements with the remaining non-Paris Club creditors. The United Arab Emirates has announced the full cancellation of Iraq’s debt, and implementation of a bilateral agreement with Greece is awaiting the Greek parliament’s approval. Debt reconciliation was completed with Morocco, Egypt, and China, and we hope to sign the relevant debt agreements, particularly with China with which an agreement has been initialed recently, in the near future. Regarding private creditors, most of the commercial debt has been restructured, and is serviced as agreed. We also expect that the proceeds of the liquidation of the London branch of Rafidain Bank will be distributed to private claim holders by the end of the year. 30. Efforts will continue to improve Iraq’s statistical database. Monetary and balance of payments data are now being published in the IMF’s International Financial Statistics regularly, and annual national accounts data have been compiled up to 2007. We will focus on improving the quality of these annual data developing quarterly national accounts data. While the Socio-Economic Household Survey has been completed, the updating of the CPI weights has been delayed for a number of reasons. A new national coordinator for the General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) has been appointed. As of December 15, we are participating in the GDDS and comprehensive information on Iraq’s statistical production and dissemination practices now appears on the IMF’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board.