A Sharp Drop In Iraq's Oil Revenues And Looming Economic Challenges !

[DinarThug]

Somebody Needs To Put This Chick In Charge - She Has More Common ‘Cents’ Than All Of Them Put Together !  

 

 

Hashtag #GirlPower - #MakeupNotBurqas - #UGoGirlfriend ...

 

     

 

 

LINK

Sumaisem to El-Masala: Reducing the value of the Iraqi dinar reduces the per capita income of Iraq in half

 

5th May, 2020

Economist Salam Semsem said on Tuesday 5 May 2020 that the government will not be able to manipulate salaries, and it is constitutionally and legally obliged to provide the salaries of its employees and workers in its sectors.

Semsem said, in an interview with Al-Masala, that cutting salaries or deducting them will lead to the wrath of the Iraqi street, which will not be silenced by cutting its livelihoods today, so the Iraqi government will resort to another option to bridge the financial deficit.

She added that the government will resort to a ploy, which economists know, which is to reduce the value of the Iraqi dinar, and when the value is reduced, the per capita income will be halved, so an employee who has a salary of 600,000 dinars will actually receive 300,000, making him unable to secure his life requirements.

The Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy, Thamer Al-Ghadban, said that the total Iraqi revenues from selling oil amounted to 87 billion dollars in 2019, at a price of 61 dollars per barrel. 

After the big drop in oil prices, and the reduction of production by one million barrels per day, and after the recent agreement with OPEC, the total amount that will enter the budget due to the sale of oil will be only about 40 billion dollars, from which the revenues of the oil companies will be deducted.

The Parliamentary Finance Committee indicated that the Iraqi government will not be able to borrow from foreign banks, because it has debts that must be paid first before resorting to borrowing, pointing out that resorting to the stockpile in the Central Bank of Iraq will create a legal crisis with the World Bank, and that local banks and companies cannot deal With a bankrupt government.

It indicated that the government can resort to issuing treasury bonds and selling them to citizens as happened in 2016, or selling land to merchants, and resorting to printing the currency locally.

[DinarThug]

LINK

Al-Rasheed Bank announces reducing the interest rate for personal advances

 

5th May, 2020

 

Al-Rashid Bank announced that it continues to grant personal advances to employees of the endemic state departments whose salaries are with the bank (without a sponsor) that were promoted earlier

The bank said in a press release, that the bank issued administrative instructions to reduce the interest rate for the Nakheel MasterCard predecessor from 8% to 5% with a three-month grace period for the monthly installment except for the interest as of 4/15/2020

The bank confirmed that it has started developing a mechanism for granting advances and adopting an advanced electronic system that reduces procedures and time

[DinarThug]

The Iraqi Stock Exchange closed on the rise in light of the
contraction of the economy

 

5th May, 2020

 

The Iraqi Stock Exchange closed, today, Tuesday, an increase of 2.43 % after the index closed at point 415.74, although the Iraqi economy is facing deflation due to the financial crisis it is suffering after the drop in oil prices and partial closure of the economy for fear of the spread of the Corona virus

The traded shares reached 1.2 billion shares, while the traded value amounted to 655.1 million dinars

Today 448 transactions were concluded on the shares of 28 companies, of which 15 companies rose, while 8 companies decreased shares

 

##########

The Iraqi Stock Exchange closed at a height in light of the contraction of the economy   

LINK

[DinarThug]

LINK

Government financial advisor: The agreement will be returned if this condition is met

 

5th May, 2020

 

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed on Tuesday that the agreement with China will continue, with the possibility of converting it into company contracts in the event of an improvement in oil prices

Saleh said in a statement to the official media affiliated to "Digital Media NRT", today (May 5, 2020), "The Chinese agreement extends for 20 years, indicating that the revenues of the 100,000 barrels allocated to the mutual fund do not allow large investments

He added that "the agreement with China exists and is continuing in the field of infrastructure and will be linked to the establishment of the next reconstruction council, which will have resources independent of the budget." Noting that "the improvement of oil prices will restore the Chinese agreement correctly with the possibility of converting them into corporate contracts

The Ministry of Planning announced projects intended for completion within the Chinese agreement

Minister of Planning Nuri al-Dulaimi said, “The ministry prepared plans for large projects within the Chinese agreement, including the Al-Fao port project and the cities and main roads projects.” He indicated that “the Chinese agreement is still in place and the projects have been prepared, but they were suspended due to the caretaker government

Al-Dulaimi added that "the amount of the cost of 100,000 barrels within the agreement of the Chinese bank stopped due to problems with oil sales, and the deduction will continue, and it is possible that work will begin with it

[DinarThug]

LINK

Government counselor: The Chinese agreement is continuing and will be linked to the Construction Council

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed on Tuesday the continuation of the agreement with China, while noting that it is linked to the Construction Council.

Saleh said in an interview reported by the Iraqi News Agency, that "the Chinese agreement extends to 20 years," considering that "the returns of 100,000 barrels allocated to the mutual fund do not allow large investments."

 

He added that "the agreement with China exists and is continuing in the field of infrastructure and will be linked to the establishment of the next reconstruction council, which will have resources independent of the budget." 

Signed Iraq and China in September 2019, eight agreements and memoranda of understanding at the end of the talks held by Abdul - Mahdi , in his visit to Beijing.

[DinarThug]

LINK

Brent exceeds $ 30 a barrel for the first time since last month

 

 

18:27 - 05/05/2020

 

Brent crude prices in the world continue to rise, since Tuesday morning, recording a 12.1% increase, to exceed $ 30 a barrel, for the first time since April 15, according to trading data.

By 14:47 Moscow time, today, Tuesday, the price of futures contracts for Brent oil for the month of June increased by 12.1% to $ 30.49 per barrel, and futures contracts on Texas Intermediate crude oil for the same month rose by 18.29% to $ 24.12 a barrel.

Overall, oil prices jumped today, Tuesday, thanks to hopes of recovering fuel demand, as some American states, European countries, and Asia began easing general isolation measures imposed to contain the spread of the emerging Corona virus "Covid 19".

Expectations for fuel demand improved with the start of US states and several countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, India and Thailand, to allow some to return to work and resume work on construction sites and open the doors of parks and libraries, according to the Reuters news agency.

But analysts said that global oil demand probably fell by about 30% last April, and that the recovery is likely to be slow, especially with expectations that most international airline operations will continue to halt for months.

The markets ignored a decision by the energy regulator in the US state of Texas, the largest oil producing state in America, to drop a proposal to cut production by 20% in light of Saudi Arabia, Russia, and other major oil producing countries and prominent companies to produce them.

[DinarThug]

Will attempts by China and Shanghai countries to abandon the dollar succeed?

 

- Two Hours Ago

 

 

US President Donald Trump has long insisted that Corona be called the “Chinese virus” despite the widespread criticism leveled at him, and finally he revealed that he might seek compensation from Beijing after the epidemic that started from Wuhan injured one million people, killing more than 61,000 In American cities, he said he is "considering imposing punitive customs duties on China."

Trump's statements sparked an angry response in Beijing, raising the level of tension between the two largest economic powers in the world in an unprecedented manner, and therefore the question has become how will China respond to the American accusations that may open the door to the compensation that the United States gets from this Asian country that could reach hundreds of billions of dollars And other countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy may claim similar compensation for the lives lost by the Corona epidemic, which in total have so far exceeded 248 thousand deaths in addition to 3.5 million confirmed cases in the world.

China is heading towards divorce the US dollar from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization portal, which might be the weapon that it will use to respond to Washington's threats, especially since Beijing is pushing the eight member states of the organization to abandon the dollar, as the organization has taken a decision, including Russia, China and India to conduct trade and investments Dualism and issuance of bonds in local and national currencies in place of the US dollar, which was the news that was published by “Independent Arabia” last March, and received a great following from the newspaper's readers.

Russia hosts the organization's summit in 2020

It is noteworthy that Russia, which will assume the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, is scheduled to host the work of the 20th summit in Chelyabinsk, Russia, on July 22 and 23, but with the spread of Corona virus worldwide, it is not certain that the summit will be held as scheduled. . Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, hosted the 19th session, and the most prominent outcome of the summit was the pledge of member states to promote the lifting of the "share of national currencies in mutual financial transactions and settlements, instead of the dollar."

In the statement made by the Bishkek Summit, six members of the group, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, confirmed the support of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, while India did not mention this list, especially as it sees in China a fierce competitor and fears From her ambition in Asia.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an inter-governmental organization established in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. It currently consists of eight member states: Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, India and four observer countries that have expressed the desire to have The full membership includes Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus, Mongolia and six dialogue partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Nepal).

Last year, the organization began expanding cooperation to India and Pakistan, making it now a strong and strategic regional group, representing 40 percent of the world's population, about 20 percent of gross domestic product and 22 percent of the world's land mass.

For its part, the consultant of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, Alina Suponina, said in a call to “Independent Arabia”, “There are efforts to promote trade and investment between the member states of the Shanghai Organization by using the local currencies of those countries, and there are bilateral agreements between the countries of the organization in this regard, but this is The approach, in my view, will not deal a strong blow to the dollar, and it is too early to abandon the American currency in trade and investment transactions. ”
And she explains that “abandoning the dollar also has a political split, as there are many countries that want to divorce from the dollar, and get out from the cloak of American hegemony that dominates all areas of life, and directs the Shanghai countries towards using their national currencies is an attempt by these countries to form a system Multipolar, not unipolar, which is what is happening today and what Russia has always sought.

Supunina noted the United States' concern about the trends of multi-polarization, and said that America understands that many aspects of trade and economics are still linked to the dollar, and do not like to see any independent trends or go beyond their hegemony.

As for Russia hosting the summit, it is not certain, if it will be held on schedule in next July, and the reason is the Corona crisis that is sweeping the world.

Attempts to annex Iran

With the accusations of the international community led by the United States of Iran, of supporting terrorism and supporting the wars of its proxies in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and many other countries torn by internal wars with an Iranian footprint, it became unclear how the organization would accept membership of Iran, which is developing a nuclear program and military satellites, and if it is an acceptance of this The genre paves the way for the birth of new military alliances in the world led by Russia, China and perhaps India, especially after the war of the American-Indian commercial fees.

The consultant explains, “There are no US-Iranian understandings regarding Europe. She believes that it is necessary to deal with Iran as it is an important regional country, so that some Gulf countries deal with it and have commercial relations, but for Europe there is an understanding of what the Shanghai Organization is doing in this.” The matter, while the United States has its own position, and it differs a lot towards dealing with Tehran, but this will not place many obstacles in front of the Shanghai Organization and its dealings with Iran. The real problem is international and unilateral sanctions against Tehran, and the organization will demand the easing of sanctions imposed on this country, especially in light of the continued spread of the Corona virus.

The peremptory dollar

On the future of the dollar’s hegemony, Kuwaiti businessman and economist Ali Abbas Al-Naqi said, “The American currency dominates most of the world's economies and their budgets since the end of the Second World War, until the dollar (the final order) has become a strong demand for it, as it is closely related to oil and gold sales. And many global commodities. ”

He added that many countries have linked their local currency to the American currency, and do not print them unless the dollar is in exchange for them, as well as their monetary reserves, and established the financial infrastructure on it and the SWIFT system for bank transfers and transactions, and that it is among the secrets of the United States that it has deviated from the old rule (printing money for Its value in gold), and it succeeded in exporting inflation abroad and printing its currency based on the issuance of treasury bonds or the creation of a future debt, which if other countries made it, its currency would collapse, which gave it influence and control and a “whip” against the economic systems opposing it.

Attempts to disengage from the dollar

Al-Naqi continues, “Multiple attempts and moves were made to disengage from the dollar. Russia adopted a long-term strategy in its international trade and export contracts, although it has not yet severed the link with the American currency holding the reins of the global economy, so the Russian Central Bank reduced the dollar’s share of the monetary reserve. The foreigner, and increased the shares of foreign currencies to protect the reserve from external risks and US sanctions such as those approved against it in the Crimea case, and the oil and gas companies have systematically abandoned the implementation of their deals in dollars and diverted their transactions to the euro and the Russian ruble. Li held a bilateral alliance with China to dispense with them and adopt the yuan and the ruble, and the idea of creating a digital currency linked to gold or local currencies was raised, as it adopted with Turkey its currencies in payments and settlements, and it was decided to link Turkish banks and companies to the Russian version of the Swift system and to use the Mir cards as an alternative to Master and Visa , And agreed with India to adopt

He added, “On a parallel line, China also maintains important papers if it sells its holdings of American treasury bonds, which could lead to a drop in the value of the dollar, and that it pegged its currency (the yuan) to it to maintain a low value in front of it, thus controlling to provide low prices for its exports. To the United States, and if this option is deemed unlikely by the fact that the damage will affect China itself as its largest commercial customer, it is not in its interest to do so, and any tension and tension between them will not only affect the fundamental interests of the two countries, but rather the stability and growth of the global economy.

He said, “Trade and inter-investment in the currencies of the member states instead of the dollar is not the only decision taken by the eight member states of the Shanghai Organization, as these countries signed a document related to cooperation between members in the field of digitization and information and communication technology.

Euler's sufficiency

Independent Arabic

LINK

[DinarThug]

Payroll is at stake ... a double blow to the Iraqi economy ... Why are they talking about terrifying months?

 

Economy  ,   05/05/2020 18:22   

 

 

 

Baghdad - Iraq today:

 

A report by the Washington Post reported that the Iraqi economy is facing a double blow represented by low oil prices and preventive measures that affected the market.  

The newspaper stressed in a report that "the outbreak of the epidemic led to a decline in global oil prices, and Iraq relied heavily on oil for financing, to come after the closing procedures that affected the livelihoods and put some poor Iraqi families in a critical situation."  

She hinted that this crisis is not a result of today, but formed over the past years due to corruption, the politicians' preoccupation with their interests and the accumulation of their wealth.  

As a result of the embargo, millions of Iraqis who live daily jobs are stuck in their homes and unable to feed their families. 

The collapse of oil prices  

At the same time, the epidemic reduced the demand for oil. Just a few months ago, about 90 percent of the country's 2020 temporary budget was expected to come from oil exports, with the price calculated at $ 56 a barrel.  

But as economies stalled, oil revenues fell to their lowest level in a decade, according to figures published by the Iraqi Oil Report.  

For his part, said Ahmed Tabakli, chief investment officer at the Asia Frontier Capital Fund for Iraq "AFC": "I think the next two months will be very terrifying for everyone."  

In the political system of Iraq after 2003, power is distributed among the various ethnic and religious groups, and each party seeks to exploit state resources, especially in government jobs, to develop large-scale patronage networks, until the result has become a bloated public sector, which depletes an estimated 50 billion dollars every year for salaries and benefits alone, and they constitute the majority of the state budget.  

He pointed out that, even before the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Iraqi government was facing multiple crises, the most important of which was the escalation of violence between Iranian-backed militias and American forces, the attempt by ISIS to return again, in addition to isolating former Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in the largest demonstrations in the country.  

Although the street has calmed down a little due to the epidemic, the problems that prompted tens of thousands of young men and women to protest remain unresolved, led by the high rate of unemployment. 

Salary cuts  

For his part, Jeffreys Institute for Financial Services estimated that Iraq will need external financing of about $ 40 billion in 2020, and while foreign governments and international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund are ready to provide support, their contribution alone will not be sufficient to provide this amount, according to Alia Moubayed, managing director of the fixed income strategy at Jeffreys.  

"Iraq is too big for the donor community to bear. The Iraqis will need to rely on themselves through painful financial control measures, reduce the size of the government, and perhaps weaken the currency more to reduce the rapid erosion of its foreign currency reserves," Moubayed said.  

As for Iraqi officials, they are concerned that the worsening economic crisis in the country could push more demonstrators to the streets in the coming months, as summer temperatures rise and power and water supplies falter, as they have done repeatedly in recent years.  

Although Iraqi officials say they are studying proposals to strengthen the country's financial position by reducing public sector salaries, experts say it is unlikely the government will make sweeping changes in the short term.  

As for the solution to this crisis, Nabil Jaafar, an economist in Baghdad, stated: "The only solution is to reduce the salaries of employees, but reducing these salaries will have catastrophic results," in addition to achieving economic reviews, and this will not happen unless politicians give up favoritism, the most important A vital source of their popular standing.  

According to government officials, the controversy surrounding salary cuts revolves around who will reduce his salary and how much, and public sector salaries are usually supplemented with additional payments.   

In turn, Abdul Hussein Al-Hanin, advisor to the interim Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, confirmed that there is a program to cut all government employees, and that the most important cuts will be on the salaries of employees and other senior officials. 

link

[horsesoldier]

. . . a double blow - - is that anything like having intimate relations with Twins ?