* FINAL POST HERE
All,
I am moving away from posting on this temporary site, but will keep the site up for anyone who wishes to continue to access the links, cash-in information, or other reference material here. If you wish to access my ongoing, live blog that also has ALL the links and reference material provided here, please visit www.theiraqidinar.com, and you can join my free blog by simply registering there.
All the best…. And, as always… Go Dinar!
Dinar Daddy
* Iraqi PM Refuses to Accept Election Loss
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news…0329-r5i2.html
ASSAD ABBOUD
March 29, 2010 – 6:49AM
AFP
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has sharply criticised the UN over its inaction on his vote fraud allegations, after results showed his bloc finished second in Iraq’s general election.
Maliki’s remarks came as rival Iyad Allawi, whose bloc finished with two more seats than the incumbent’s alliance in the March 7 poll, opened talks on Sunday with political foes to form a coalition government.
“If I were in Melkert’s position and in front of this wave of problems, I would have said, ‘You should go all the way through (to detect fraud)’,” he said in a television interview, referring to UN envoy Ad Melkert.
“But Melkert has said, ‘Well, it is difficult because of time’,”
Maliki has called for a nationwide manual recount from the election, claiming irregularities in the counting procedure, but Melkert and Iraq’s election commission have downplayed the fraud allegations.
The complete results, which were only released on Friday, showed Maliki’s State of Law Alliance finished with 89 seats in the 325-member Council of Representatives, two fewer than fellow Shi’ite Allawi’s secular Iraqiya bloc.
“I asked the IHEC (Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission) to manually recount – they refused, and the United Nations was more vehemently against my request than the IHEC,” Maliki said.
“The United Nations should have been more keen and more pushy to the IHEC to accept the request of the people” for a manual recount, he added.
The incumbent prime minister said late on Friday the election results were “not final” and refused to accept them.
Shortly before the results were released, though, Melkert hailed the polls as “credible” and called on all parties to accept the outcome.
“It is the UN’s considered opinion that these elections have been credible and we congratulate the people of Iraq for this success,” he said.
The United States has also given its blessing to the election and the results, with US Ambassador Christopher Hill and General Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, saying in a statement there was “no evidence of widespread or serious fraud”.
The results come around five months before the United States is due to withdraw all of its combat troops from Iraq, and Washington was keen to see a smooth outcome from the election.
It could take up to two weeks for Iraq’s supreme court to certify the results, as parties can still submit complaints to the election commission.
“I expect him (Maliki) to wage a pretty aggressive campaign to present his challenges, argue his case in the hopes of changing the ultimate seat allocation that goes to court for certification,” said Gary Grappo, the head of the US embassy’s political section.
Maliki “will pursue all means at his disposal through the established judicial process.”
On Saturday, Allawi confirmed that his bloc had launched discussions with a variety of political groups in Iraq, noting that he would hold talks with all “political forces, without exception”.
“There must be a strong government, capable of taking decisions which serve the Iraqi people, and bring peace and stability to Iraq,” he said.
Neither Iraqiya nor State of Law clinched an overall parliamentary majority and a protracted period of coalition building, which could take months, is now expected.
Security officials have warned a lengthy period of coalition building could give insurgent groups a chance to further destabilise Iraq, with bombings northeast of Baghdad that killed 52 people on Friday illustrating the concerns.
© 2010 AFP
* Alaa al-Sadoun: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have refused to bring down the debt on Iraq
28 03 2010 12:44
BAGHDAD (AP) – The head of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives outgoing Alaa al-Sadoun, “Iraq quote from a foreign debt with the exception of some countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which refused to drop the debt.”
She told Iraq is our home, “We do not expect the Arab summit in Sirte, Libyan debt relief for Iraq from the Arab world.”
Saadoun and predicted: “The only Final recommendations on debt to pay tribute to the initiative of Arab Emirates, which canceled the debt earlier and if the summit I learned today that initiative and recommend to other Arab countries to review their debt for the purpose of reduction similar to the UAE”.
* rdg1957 Post: Starting to Add Up
Just an old Navy Vet with some simple math…
X = Obama sneaking off to that part of the World looking for photo opps
Y = The April 1st deadline is Weds night.
Z = The LARGEST cell phone company in Iraq has come off the USD and went to the DINAR
X+Y+Z = RV
AND it will NOT be less than $1 for a very simple reason….. A large cell company with millions of customers would not go to a different currency if it was VALUED LESS. Would you? My contacts insist it will be around 2.5 but not below 2.
My fellow Investors…. we are about to see the end of this ride. Please put your seats in the Kick-back position and prepare for retirement………….God Bless
* Israeli banks urge America clients to close accounts
LINK TO ORIGINAL POST
Israeli banks urge America clients to close accounts
All over the world banks are closing investment and bank accounts with U.S. clients. As a bank official states, “Since the U.S. is desperate to get any kind of revenue possible, because things are tough there and they’re running huge deficits, this is one of their ways: to make American citizens either pay huge fines or repatriate the money back to America.”
I am afraid that this is just the beginning of pressure the U.S. will apply to foreign banks. It will become very difficult to have a bank account outside of the U.S. if you are a U.S. citizen, and it is difficult to live outside the U.S. without one. I would expect there will be banks that will accept U.S. accounts on the condition that all transactions will be subject to review by the IRS. There are thousands of expats working abroad and they will need to have bank accounts.
Hat tip to Michael for this article.
Excerpts from Haaritz.com;
Obedient to intensifying U.S. government pressure to crack down on offshore tax evaders, in January Israeli banks began ordering clients they identify as “Americans” or “U.S. tax residents” to close investment accounts they hold in Israel. It is apparently an anticipatory measure, ahead of changes in U.S. law. Local banks are apparently responding to changes in American regulations as their legal counsels interpret them.
“If we do not receive your instructions by March 16, 2010, we may liquidate the securities in your account,” Mizrahi warned.
Local finance professionals agree that the situation is likely will evolve as the Americans develop and implement new banking guidelines, but differ in their assessment of the possible consequences for U.S. citizens living in Israel.
Americans in Israel are left with “with very few options,” added Philip Braude, CEO of Beit Shemesh-based financial planning company Anglo Capital Limited. His suggestion: “Take the money back to America. If you’re an American you should be investing in America.” He agrees that the current situation is murky, with Israeli banks aiming to avoid conflict with U.S. authorities.
“Israeli banks have branches in the U.S. and they know [the U.S.] would make it very hard for them to operate if they don’t give them the same information that UBS gave them,” Nir Amikam, head of research at Wareham Investment Bank, told TheMarker. “I don’t know if it makes economic sense, I guess it depends on how much money [Americans have in Israeli banks],” he added. “The banks are probably thinking that it’s not as much as they themselves are making by having branches in the U.S.”
* Disturbing new U.S. law aims to end individual foreign bank accounts
March 27, 2010
Disturbing new U.S. law aims to end individual foreign bank accounts
Thanks to my good friend Paul McBride for bringing this latest attack against freedom to my attention. I had posted some time earlier this year about this potential legislation, but was not aware it is now the law of the land. Here is his email from Paul and a copy of the new law in PDF at the end. The law is aimed at foreign bank account holders and those sending money outside the U.S.. This could affect peoples ability to buy homes outside the country. It will certainly affect their ability to have an account offshore. What banks wants to deal with this?
In answer to his question on what I think about this? It sucks!
Sam, in all the controversy surrounding the recently passed health care bill in the U.S., another piece of legislation was pushed through Congress (and signed by the President) that will have a far reaching impact on anyone thinking about buying real estate or investing overseas.
The name of the bill is the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (H.R. 2487) commonly known as the HIRE Act. This is the jobs incentive bill that was signed by the President on March 18th amid little fanfare.
Relatively small by Washington standards (“just” an $18 billion stimulus package) the bill was drafted to provide incentives to employers to hire more people but contains some very disturbing language concerning the ownership and transference of money to any overseas account. The truly galling part of the bill is that it attempts to require “foreign financial and non-financial institutions to withhold 30% of payments made to such institutions by U.S. individuals unless such institutions agree to disclose the identity of such individuals and report on the bank transactions”. Think about this – the U.S. government is attempting to strong arm foreign financial and non-financial institutions (think banks and law firms) to either withhold 30% of the transactions in a U.S. individual’s account (and presumably remit this to the U.S. Treasury) or disclose the account details to the U.S.. The language of the bill addresses both bank accounts and any foreign trusts (ie- Private Interest Foundations).
But what if a foreign, sovereign country has laws against the disclosure of this information? Well, the bill contemplates this as well. Here’s the actual language from the bill:
‘‘(F) in any case in which any foreign law would (but
for a waiver described in clause (i)) prevent the reporting
of any information referred to in this subsection or subsection
(c) with respect to any United States account maintained
by such institution—
‘‘(i) to attempt to obtain a valid and effective
waiver of such law from each holder of such account,
and
‘‘(ii) if a waiver described in clause (i) is not
obtained from each such holder within a reasonable
period of time, to close such account.” (my emphasis)
In other words, under this legislation, a U.S. citizen having an account with a foreign institution will be required to waive the privacy protection afforded by local law. If they fail to do this, the financial or non-financial institution is required to close the account.
And what information do they want. Here again is the actual language of the bill:
‘‘(c) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE REPORTED ON UNITED
STATES ACCOUNTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The agreement described in subsection
(b) shall require the foreign financial institution to report the
following with respect to each United States account maintained
by such institution:
‘‘(A) The name, address, and TIN of each account holder
which is a specified United States person and, in the case
of any account holder which is a United States owned
foreign entity, the name, address, and TIN of each substantial
United States owner of such entity.
‘‘(B) The account number.
‘‘(C) The account balance or value (determined at such
time and in such manner as the Secretary may provide).
‘‘(D) Except to the extent provided by the Secretary,
the gross receipts and gross withdrawals or payments from
the account (determined for such period and in such
manner as the Secretary may provide).
Keep in mind Sam, this is not proposed legislation. This is already law.
There is much, much more in this bill. I’ve attached a PDF file containing the language of the bill. The important information can be seen if you scroll down to section on page 27 of the bill entitled:
TITLE V—OFFSET PROVISIONS
Subtitle A—Foreign Account Tax
Compliance
PART I—INCREASED DISCLOSURE OF
BENEFICIAL OWNERS
SEC. 501. REPORTING ON CERTAIN FOREIGN ACCOUNTS.
As we have suspected for some time, the U.S. government is closing the window for U.S. citizens to protect their assets by moving them offshore. It won’t be long before it will be punitively expensive to move any amount of money overseas for any purpose.
I haven’t seen this legislation discussed anywhere on the Internet and I think it would be a good story for the blog. Sadly, America is losing its freedoms and its citizens are standing meekly by while the noose of government control gets tighter and tighter.
* Transferring Iraq to a Private-Sector State as IMF condition to grant it loans
Sunday, March 28th 2010 9:29 AM
Sulaimaniyah, Mar. 28 (AKnews) – Iraq’s Finance Ministry Undersecretary, Fazil Nabi, has announced on Sunday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is going to push Iraq forward in order to shift into a “private sector” system, in order to grant it a loan to cover the deficit into its state budet..
“The State Presidency seems to force the Finance Minister to make a deal with the IMF to receive money for covering the state budget deficit, despite our disagreement on such conditions,” Fazil Nabi said.
According to the above-mentioned funds, Nabi said: “the Iraqi government has made the deal with the IMF, in order to use it in reconstruction and housing projects in Iraq.”
The IMF, at the mean time, has forced Iraq to shift into the “private-sector system,” but this process must be taken gradually for accepting it.
Earlier, the Iraqi MP and Financial Commission Member, Sámi Atrushi said: “the IMF has impelled tough conditions, such as increasing oil prices and decreasing domestic spends, as well as restricting the salaries of employees and retired personnel, as a condition to lend money for Iraq.”
“The above conditions have negative impacts on the Iraqi financial and economic aspects together with changing both educational and health sectors to private ones,” Atrushi said.
Ba/SH (AKnews)
http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/129259/
* Obama lands in Afghanistan for surprise visit
KABUL (AFP) – US President Barack Obama landed in Afghanistan Sunday on a surprise visit, his first since taking office, to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US troops, an AFP photographer on the trip said.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100328/usa/us_afghanistan_obama_visit
* Allawi on NBC last night – “Iraq needs a Govt with a Mission”
Here’s a short video clip of Allawi on NBC last night.
He states that there a 3 important things for iraq:
1. Security and stability
2. Providing adequate services
3. Improving the income of the Iraqi familes
http://www.nbc.com/news-sports/msnbc-video/allawi-iraq-needs-a-government-with-a-mission/
* Asiacell Plans to Change the Currency Used In All Its dealings and tariff prices from US Dollar to Iraqi Dinar
28 March 2010
As part of its ongoing commitment to contributing to the development of the Iraqi economy, and within its aim to advance the financial situation in Iraq, Asiacell – the largest private Iraqi company and the first and only mobile telecommunications company to provide coverage for all of Iraq – announced its plans to change the currency it uses in all its dealings and tariff prices from US dollar (USD) to Iraqi dinar (IQD).Asiacell‘s decision to implement this currency switch is based on the Iraqi Government’s request for telecom companies to use Iraqi dinars instead of US dollars in all their transactions and dealings. The company’s plan also reflects Asiacell‘s efforts towards developing the Iraqi telecom sector and bolstering the nation’s economy, which would positively impact both the nation and its citizens.
Within this context, Mr. Faruk Mustafa Rasool, Asiacell‘s Chairman, said: “Asiacell is a leading national company in the Iraqi telecom sector, and is an authentic Iraqi investment that adheres to national policies aimed at serving the nation and its people. As such, we proudly bear our responsibility towards driving the country’s economic development, overcoming all economic obstacles, and contributing to restoring the domestic currency. Our decision confirms our ongoing dedication to enhancing the trust our customers have placed in us in order to remain as their number one choice for telecom services in Iraq and contribute to supporting the collective developmental efforts towards building the new Iraq.”
About Asiacell
Asiacell , the first mobile telecommunications company in Iraq, was established in the city of Sulaimaniya in 1999 by the well-known entrepreneur Mr. Faruk Mustafa Rasool. It is today the only national Iraqi telecom network to provide coverage for all of the country’s provinces in the north and the south and is the largest private Iraqi company, serving over 7.5 million subscribers and connecting the Iraqi nation together.
This press release was issued by AsiacellAsiacell . For more information, please contact us at:
Public Relations Department
Tel: +9647701195758
Email: abdulla.hassan@asiacell.com
© Press Release 2010
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