News, Rumors and Opinions Wednesday Afternoon 9-23-2020
TNT:
Tishwash: BAGHDAD TO SEND 320BN IQD TO KURDISTAN REGION BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 24 AND 27
As part of a temporary budget deal agreed last month, the federal government is expected to transfer 320 billion Iraqi dinars ($269 million) to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) between September 24 and 27.
Citing sources with knowledge of the process, NRT reporter in Baghdad Omed Muhammad said that the federal government will begin paying monthly salaries to its public sector workers on Wednesday and the transfer to Erbil will be made shortly thereafter.
Locked in a long-running disagreement over the federal budget, both Erbil and Baghdad are facing budget shortfalls because of low oil prices and the negative economic impact of the coronavirus, which has caused some delays in processing payments.
On September 21, the KRG Minister of State Khalid Shwani complained that the federal government had not yet sent the transfer.
In April, Baghdad cut off all budget transfers to Erbil after the latter failed to send any oil to the federal government, as it was required to under the 2019 federal budget law. The move put huge financial pressure on the KRG, which repeatedly delayed and then cut public sector salaries.
The two sides reached a temporary agreement in early August where Baghdad would send 320 billion Iraqi dinars per month, in return for bringing customs procedures at the Region’s international border crossings under federal control.
Despite the deal, more than a month has passed since the KRG paid its own public servants, with many worrying that the KRG will again delay salary payments.
It is estimated that the KRG requires 894 billion Iraqi dinars ($749.3 million) to pay its public sector wage bill, about half of which, 452 billion dinars, had been supplied by Baghdad before April.
The August deal helps to address that, but by no means does so fully.
Beyond what it owes to its people, the KRG also carries significant foreign and domestic debt and has delayed payments to international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region. link
KTFA:
Samson: The Turkish lira is under the most severe collapse against the dollar
22nd September, 2020
The Turkish lira fell to a new record low at 7.63 against the dollar today, Monday, with attention shifting towards the central bank meeting scheduled for September 24 and the possibility of further indirect monetary tightening measures, or even an explicit interest rate hike.
The currency has plunged more than 21% against its US counterpart since the beginning of this year.
This decline comes despite the optimistic statements of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the economic situation in the country, as he said that his country has overcome a large part of the effects of the Corona pandemic by continuing production in the third quarter of this year.
Yesterday, Erdogan confirmed that the real estate and auto sectors are setting successive records thanks to the adequate funding provided by the government, explaining that there has also been a noticeable increase in employment since last April, in which Turkey has been most affected by the Corona epidemic, and that his country will conclude the third quarter with a growth rate that satisfies All groups."
Earlier this month, Moody's downgraded Turkey's credit rating from B1 to B2, with a negative outlook, and said that the country's external weaknesses will likely cause a balance of payments crisis. While Erdogan declared in response that his country's economy is making strides to the upside, and considered Moody's rating "worthless."
Reuters had said that an unprecedented decline in the value of the lira made citizens rush to buy gold due to concerns about the depletion of foreign reserve currencies. Turkish government banks - in cooperation with the Istanbul Gold Foundation (İAR) - developed a gold valuation system that enables Turkish citizens to extract their gold savings from under the pillow into their bank accounts.
The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry said Friday before last, that keeping these quantities of gold outside the economy increases dependence on external financing, and leads to the inability of the state to use its full available capabilities. LINK
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Jeff Article: "A member of the Financial Committee, Ahmed Hama Rashid said on Tuesday that the 2020 budget needs 3 weeks to vote on it." Quote: "Parliament have not yet seen the numbers in the budget." Parliament have not seen the freaking numbers in the budget! ...They're hiding the numbers from us, from the public news and from parliament because it's calculated in the billions of dinar and it's linked to the rate change. It's calculated off the rate change. Doesn't have a rate in it but its figures are calculated off the rate. That's why they're freaking hiding it...we look amazing...
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Pariot Intel Report
PIR 09 23 20
Bix Weir
ALERT! Financial Storm Here! Silver, Gold, Cryptos & CHAOS!!
Sep 23, 2020
Remember when we said "The second half of "Year Zero" will be a lot worse than the first half...WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT THE SECOND HALF! Buckle up my friends...the CHAOS is about to GET REAL!
Kadhimi Will Visit France To Lift Iraq off EU Blacklist
Currency 365: Sep 23, 2020