Some "Friday News" Posted by Samson at KTFA 4-15-2022

KTFA:

Samson:  Saleh: Iraq is in its best economic conditions, and there is no need after today to borrow

15th April, 2022

The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, confirmed today, Friday, that Iraq is living in its best financial conditions, while ruling out the government's resort to external borrowing.

Saleh said, in a statement to the official agency and reviewed by "Mawazine News", that "Iraq is living today in its best financial conditions with its modern history in terms of cash flows."

He called for "the necessity of employing these cash flows in productive investments for the resource of the national economy, as well as the operation of national human resources in activities that should be income-generating and wealth-promoting at the same time."

He added that "investment policies for large resources require operating them with economic joints in order to achieve financial and economic sustainability," noting that "exceptional circumstances are what impose a borrowing policy, including the deficit of government revenues due to the cycle of declining oil assets."

He stressed that "the rise in oil prices and the resulting large rentier revenues will obviate the idea of ​​external government borrowing."   LINK

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Samson:  An unexpected surprise.. Leaks indicate that the coordination framework may present Al-Kazemi as a compromise candidate and keep his government

15th April, 2022

The forces of the coordination framework are studying all the options available to them to get out of the political crisis in Iraq with the lightest possible damage, with the expiry of twelve days from the forty-day period set by the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, to settle the crisis before returning the ball to him.

Leaks revealed that forces from within the framework believe that maintaining the government of Mustafa Al-Kazemi, with ministerial amendments to it, may be the most realistic and appropriate option in light of the current political blockage, especially with the Sadrist movement not showing any cooperation or response to the initiative put forward by the framework to form the largest parliamentary bloc.

Observers believe that the current crisis is forcing the framework to search for alternative options and from outside the box, in light of the conviction among its leaders that there is no hope in betting on a settlement with the current whose leader adheres to his negative retreat, pending the expiration of the deadline that ends after the Eid holiday to return the helm of managing the political process to him. 

The renewal of the premiership became possible, and the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, expressed the possibility of supporting the renewal option for Al-Kazemi, noting that his conservative position in the past was from a principled standpoint, which is not to renew the three presidencies.

A member of the coalition, Wael al-Rikabi, explained that "the prime ministership is a Shiite entitlement, just as the presidency of the republic is the entitlement of the Kurds, and the parliament's presidency is the entitlement of the Sunnis, so the prime minister must be in agreement with the Shiite forces such as the framework, the current and some independent forces."

He said that "the framework's position was clear, which was not to renew the three presidencies, but after renewing the tripartite alliance of Parliament Speaker Muhammad al- Halbousi , it became possible for the presidency and the prime minister." for Al-Kazemi. LINK

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Samson:  Al-Kazemi .. New ideas for a different Iraq

15th April, 2022

During his two years in power, it seems that Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi crystallized many ideas, and built many foundations in practice after they were only theoretical foundations, but also removed a lot of ambiguity and confusion in the understanding of the political forces of the meaning of state building, the concepts of its evaluation, as well as the mechanics of its movement as a machine. Great, a lifter of society, and a refined representation of societies that are still in an integrative process, hindered and delayed by decades of wars, dictatorships and crises.

For this reason, Al-Kazemi, who has an excellent understanding of the problem of Iraq, and has also written a book in this direction, responds in a press interview conducted by the (Washington Post), to the summary of his vision of the state administration, saying (sovereignty and the monopoly of violence).

Indeed, it is an accurate diagnosis of the components and possibilities of establishing any state. Without the sovereignty of the national decision, internal liberation, and the ability to diagnose interests, the political process remains incomplete and revolves in a vicious circle.

Just as any state’s retraction from the monopoly of violence in its own hands, using it in accordance with legislation and regulating laws, based on legitimacy and constitutionality, will lose the meaning of its existence, and it will be challenged in its credibility on the ground, and it will not be able to enforce the law, and go to settle the problems arising from the difference and conflict of interests between individuals or groups.

So, Al-Kazemi knows what we lack in Iraq, and he is aware of the importance of the presence of these factors in political practice, and he deeply understands the meaning of failure to complete these entitlements, and how the state will remain shaky, without decision, tottering, and without a stable and stable root for it, and it remains just an old "machine", It is unable to produce, manage the conflict between its parts, or digest its inputs, to produce outputs that are compatible with the urgent need of the state as a crucial element in the lives of peoples.

We hope that Al-Kazemi will succeed in his mission to be re-assigned, and we sincerely hope that this understanding and concern will be the dominant feature of the entire political scene. LINK

Economist: Separating Russia from the SWIFT system will destabilize the dollar's ability

15th April, 2022

Daisuke Karakama, chief economist at Japan's Mizuho Bank, said Russia's disengagement from SWIFT would shake the dollar's ability to face long-term rejection of the US currency in international settlements.

"The move away from the dollar in global foreign exchange reserves is a long-term trend that has been around for a long time, but after the start of the crisis in Ukraine, it may intensify," the analyst added.

The expert pointed out that the separation of Russia from the SWIFT system threatens in the long run the dollar’s ​​hegemony: “The possibility of Russia’s link to the Chinese international interbank payment system CIPS was discussed in connection with banning SWIFT... If this becomes the norm, the dollar’s ​​hegemony will decline and collapse.”

The Japanese expert explained that the separation from the SWIFT financial system has a significant impact, but over time Russia will adapt to it, and as a result, this will reassure those who fear financial sanctions from the United States.

The expert added, that the dominance of the US currency will not go anywhere in the near future, but when the world gets used to living without the SWIFT system, the situation will gradually change.

In general, over the past 20 years, the dollar's share in foreign exchange reserves has fallen by about 12 points, from 71% to 59%, and this void has been filled by other currencies, in particular the Chinese yuan, which rose by 8.3 points, from 1.7% to 10 %.

According to the economist, it is clear that the trend in managing foreign exchange reserves over the past quarter century has been to get rid of the dollar and switch to the currencies of rapidly developing countries and resource-rich countries: “Of course, the dollar-dominated international monetary system is unlikely to change significantly overnight, however, Russia’s break with SWIFT has created a simulation of a “dollar-free future,” and that may lead to changes in how some countries manage their foreign exchange reserves.

After the start of the Russian special military operation to disarm Ukraine, the West intensified its pressure on Moscow. The restrictive measures taken against Russia are directed primarily against the banking sector and the supply of high-tech products.  LINK

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Samson:  Putin: Banks of "unfriendly countries" are delaying payments for Russia's energy resources

14th April, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today, Thursday, that banks of "unfriendly countries" are delaying payments for Russian energy resources.

"We are observing a disruption in payments for the supply of Russian energy resources... Banks of unfriendly countries are delaying the transfer of payments," Putin said, during a meeting on the situation of the oil and gas sector, according to the Russian "Sputnik" news agency.

The Russian president noted that a task has been set for converting payments into national currencies, and gradually abandoning payments in dollars and euros. He added that the partners from countries not friendly to Russia admit that they cannot give up Russian energy sources, including gas.

Putin concluded by saying: "European countries are constantly talking about refusing Russian supplies, which further destabilizes the market, and thus they are working to increase prices themselves ... and in the first place for their citizens."

Putin had signed a decree on the mechanism for paying for natural gas supplied to "unfriendly countries", including the European Union, in Russian rubles.  LINK