News, Rumors and Opinions Tuesday PM 2-18-2020
TNT:
Harambe: Bloomberg: Zimbabwe Central Bank to Settle $1.2 Billion of Legacy Debt
(2/17/20)
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe approved the payment of $1.2 billion in legacy debt, but rejected claims for a further $861 million as the nation battles the twin effects of currency depreciation and a crippling shortage of foreign currency.
Settlement of the verified foreign debt will be amortized over an extended period, “with forex-denominated savings bonds” being issued to some of the creditors, the central bank said in its monetary policy statement Monday.
The southern African nation owes foreign entities, including airlines, and fuel and grain suppliers, about $2.6 billion in legacy debt since it dropped the 1:1 peg of its local dollar to the U.S. unit a year ago, but hasn’t been able to meet payment obligations due to the severe shortage of foreign currency.
Another 350 transactions valued at $457 millionwill be finalized by Feb. 29, the bank said.
Senior government officials have previously said they would ask creditors to take a cut on some of the debt, to save on the much-needed foreign currency.
Foreign debt of $361 million owed by the bank was not included in the amounts, Governor John Mangudya said.
Tishwash: Parliamentary: Abdul-Mahdi will not settle in France for fear of being tried for the crackdown on demonstrators
Independent MP, Bassem Khashan, confirmed on Tuesday that the stability of resigned Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi after the end of his presidency will not be in Iraq or France of his nationality, for fear of calling for his trial against the background of the crackdown on demonstrators, as he put it.
Bassem Khashan stated, in a press statement, that "Resigned Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi will not settle in France after the end of his assumption of the Prime Minister as he holds his nationality and according to its law is a French citizen, because he fears that he will be subjected to legal accountability from the French courts due to the suppression of the demonstrators in his state He was killed with accusations of taking responsibility, and we also rule out his stability in Baghdad, because popular demands can be pushed to his trial, and this is to be expected. "
Khashan added, "The safe haven for Abdul Mahdi will be the Kurdistan region because it has close and distinguished relations with the Kurdish leadership there, which has always praised its relationship with Abdul Mahdi in more than one forum."
The member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Repin Salam, had confirmed Thursday, January 30, 2020, that the relationship of the Kurds with the resigned Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi will continue even after leaving the post of prime minister.
Salam said in a press statement, "The relationship with Abdul Mahdi extends for the days of the opposition, and if he chooses to reside in the Kurdistan region, the gates of the region will be open to him, his family and all members of the Iraqi people."
He added that "in the event of an arrest warrant issued against him, the region respects the decisions of the Iraqi judiciary and cooperates with it and does not allow harboring people who have judicial warrants." He continued, "But there is a difference between what is issued against them arrest warrants based on political positions and targeting, these people are reserved for them, but the people who committed It is a crime that we hand them over, as happened with the person who was responsible for the ferry accident in the city of Mosul, where we handed it over to the Iraqi judiciary. "
The House of Representatives (December 1, 2019) voted on the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. link
*******************
Courtesy of Dinar Guru https://www.dinarguru.com/
Frank26 ...they have failed twice IMO to bring forward the reinstatement of the Iraqi dinar.
Delta ...the Central Bank of Iraq posted the updates on their spreadsheets and financial status...46 million dollars just for the month of December worth of lower denominations and that was the equivalent of about 825 billion dinar ...so far right now they've printed 180 million worth of currencies. And we all know this isn't just the paper notes that this also includes coins. For them to do that gives you an indication that they're moving forward there's no doubt about that...
Frank26 ...new prime minister = reinstatement IMO. A new prime minister means in my opinion the reinstatement will be fast. Fast! Not like the things we've been dealing with in the past years. I believe the cabinet formation is already there. I believe the Prime Minister is already there. I believe the Kurds are excited about doing business with Iraq and the HCL is already there. I believe article 140 is ready. I believe they are 1 to 1 electronically behind closed door because they do everything internationally...I believe things are happening at a very very volatile pace...MTA [Allawi] wants an overwhelming majority vote so there's no questions asked. So there's no problem whatsoever.
KTFA:
Don961: Amnesty International holds the Iraqi authorities responsible for the killing of more than 500 protesters, and reveals details of official investigations
Security 02/18/2020 21:50 214
Baghdad today - follow up
Amnesty International, on Tuesday 18-2-2020, held the Iraqi authorities responsible for "killing more than 500 protesters and wounding thousands", according to the data of its 2019 Middle East Human Rights Report released on Tuesday, focusing on a fundamental aspect of Iraq.
The report held the government and the Iraqi security forces responsible for keeping “thousands of men and boys missing” after fleeing areas previously held by ISIS.
The organization said that an official government investigation into the investigation of violent incidents in the demonstrations confirmed that 149 protesters were killed - most of them by bullets in the head - because of "the use of excessive force", and that security leaders lost "control of their forces" from October 1-7, 2019.
The organization reported that "widespread news about torture and other ill-treatment of detainees held by the Iraqi Central Government forces and the Kurdistan region of Iraq."
In its annual report, the organization said that "security forces" used excessive force against protesters participating in demonstrations across the country starting in October.
The organization added that activists, lawyers representing protesters, paramedics treating the wounded, and journalists covering the protests were subjected to "arrest, enforced disappearance, torture and other forms of intimidation by the intelligence and security services", while "the authorities blocked access to the Internet, to prevent - apparently Without circulating photos of violations.
The organization, quoting official investigations, said that 149 protesters and 8 security forces were killed between 1-7 October 2019 as a result of "the use of excessive force, including firing live ammunition."
The organization confirmed that 70 percent of the dead had been shot in the head and chest.
The organization said that the investigation concluded that "senior leaders of the security forces did not order the use of excessive force, but they lost control of their forces."
The organization said that the Iraqi security forces used "types of gas bombs that had not been seen before" in a manner "aimed at killing".
The organization accused the security forces in Nasiriyah of killing at least 30 protesters on November 28 in Nasiriyah, after killing 12 protesters in Najaf, the night before.
The report said that the injured protesters were arrested in Baghdad and Karbala, causing many of those injured to avoid seeking medical assistance.
For details of the report from Amnesty International's official website, click HERE link
*********************
GOLD FOR SHORT-TERM, GOLD TO SILVER RATIO… Q&A with Lynette Zang and Eric Griffin
Streamed live 2 hours ago
Question 1. Travis: Since the silver to gold price ratio is out of wack, wouldn’t that mean that when the price of gold goes up then the price of silver would increase and then silver would need to increase more beyond its initial increase? So why do some people feel that gold is a more solid form of insurance?
Question 2. Kris S: Let’s assume we’re heading dollar collapse and gold reaches price of $60000 and I would like to sell it. Who is going to buy it at that price? Dealers are not obligated to do that and it will be really hard to sell anybody else at that price.
Question 3. DK: Is it worth investing in gold to protect dollars in the short term? I am saving $9,000 to use within 6 to 9 months. Which is wiser, keeping the cash, or buying gold to sell back into dollars in that short time?
Question 4. Robin B: My concern is that if I hold sufficient fiat money to see me through two years of uncertainty I will suffer loss each time the dollar is devalued during that period. Would it not be better to keep the fiat money to a minimum (to cover my expenses for 2 or 3 months based on a 50% devaluation) and then resell some of my gold/silver when I have need of more fiat money, and keep on doing this until the reset is over?
Question 5. Rick J: Economists keeps saying that the Fed can control only short-term interest rates, not long-term rates. If the Fed is the buyer of last resort, they should be able to control any interest rate?