Some "International News" Posted by Samson Tuesday PM 8-9-2022
KTFA:
Samson: Baghdad Airport Seizes 113 Million Counterfeit Dinars, Accompanied By An Iraqi Passenger Coming From Beirut
8th August, 2022
The Iraqi Customs Authority announced Monday, that the Baghdad International Airport customs office seized more than 113 million forged Iraqi dinars, accompanied by an Iraqi passenger coming from Beirut. In a statement received by Earth News, the authority stated,
“With direct follow-up by the Director General of the General Customs Authority, Shaker Mahmoud Al-Zubaidi, with the Baghdad International Airport Customs, an Iraqi passenger coming from Beirut was seized with an amount of (113,100,000) one hundred and thirteen million. And one hundred thousand Iraqi dinars, and after taking the necessary measures by examining the currency by Al-Rasheed Bank, it was found without any doubt that it was forged.”
And the authority confirmed that "the traveler was referred to the competent authorities, and the amount was seized." And the commission indicated that "the seizure process was carried out through cooperation with the National Intelligence Service and the Directorate of Customs Port, Baghdad International Airport, with the support of the Customs Police." LINK
4Cash: Maybe this person knows something is about to happen in Iraq, so he was bringing in some extra non circulated currency (non-compliant) to exchange soon!!!
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Samson: Because of oil.. Report: The Saudi economy is preparing for the trillion dollar threshold
9th August, 2022
Forbes reported that the Saudi economy rebounded this year due to the high oil prices caused by the war in Ukraine, putting the kingdom close to the trillion-dollar economies
According to IMF forecasts, the Saudi economy will grow by 7.6 percent over the course of the year as a whole, bringing the Saudi gross domestic product to 1040 billion dollars, noting that there are 18 countries whose gross domestic product will exceed one trillion dollars in 2021
In first place is the United States with its economy of $23 trillion, followed by China in second place with $17.5 trillion, and Japan in third place with $4.9 trillion. Saudi Arabia ranked nineteenth among the largest economies last year, but it was still far from the trillion-dollar threshold, with a gross domestic product of $834 billion
According to the US Energy Information Administration, the average cost of a barrel of Brent crude - the main international standard is expected to reach more than $104 this year, up from $70.89 in 2021 and just $41.69 in 2020
On July 31, government data showed that the Saudi economy expanded 11.8 percent year-on-year during the second quarter, with the oil sector growing by 23.1 percent, and the non-oil sector growing by 5.4 percent
Thanks to higher oil prices due to the war in Ukraine, Riyadh posted a budget surplus of 77.9 billion riyals ($20.8 billion) for the second quarter of this year when oil revenues rose nearly 90 percent year on year. "
We expect the (Saudi) budget to record a surplus of 10.4 percent of GDP this year, after nearly a decade of budget deficits," Dubai-based Emirates NBD said in a note on August 5 LINK
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Samson: Putin saves Erdogan and deals a strong blow to the US dollar
9th August, 2022
The Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, comes at a critical moment for him, while Ankara needs to stabilize the economy less than a year before the general elections.
This is what the writer, Onur Enk, mentioned in the newspaper "Bloomberg", where he indicated that the meeting between the two presidents Putin and Erdogan, which lasted four hours in Sochi last week, it resulted in understandings allowing Turkey by forgoing dollar payments for some Russian gas imports.
According to the author, this partial transition of Turkey in paying for Russian gas, it will stabilize the Turkish lira and prevent new waves of price increases. This comes shortly after increasing reserves Turkey. In addition, the Russian state nuclear energy company, Rosatom, transferred money from Russia's state nuclear energy company, Rosatom, to its Turkish subsidiary, Akkuyu Neuklear, to build a Turkish nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast.
Moreover, the newspaper states that Ankara refrain from joining Western sanctions against Moscow Erdogan wants to deepen economic relations with Russia without provoking a complete rupture with allies Nato.
The Turkish lira collapsed in November of last year by 18%, which is the maximum decline in the past twenty years, and on December 20 a record high of 18.4 lira was recorded for the dollar, then the annual inflation accelerated against the background of fluctuations in the national currency, reaching 36%, which has raised the cost of everything in Turkey from food to energy and services, and pushed consumer price inflation to 80%, one of the highest rates in the world. LINK
Samson: Putin allows sanctioned Russian banks to stop some foreign exchange operations
8th August, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on Monday allowing banks with hard currency funds frozen due to Western sanctions to suspend operations in such currencies with their corporate clients.
Russian authorities have intensified the process of devaluing the currencies of countries it classifies as "unfriendly" since Western countries imposed sweeping sanctions after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Putin's new measures
The decree, signed by Putin, said the new measures may remain in place until sanctions that have stymied deals in foreign currencies are lifted. The sanctions restricted foreign currency transfers that Russian banks could make between themselves. Many banks in Russia have been disconnected from the SWIFT global payments system.
On the other hand, Russia has "fully" fulfilled its two tranches of dollar-denominated Eurobonds by sending interest payments in rubles to the national depository for settlement in its latest attempt to avoid a sovereign debt default.
The latest step comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last June to establish temporary measures aimed at meeting Russia's foreign debt obligations. LINK
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Samson: Oil prices rise after suspension of Russian oil flows to Europe due to payments
9th August, 2022
Oil prices rose by more than $1 on Tuesday, Aug. 9, after falling earlier, after Russia said that oil exports to Europe through the southern part of the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended since early August, reviving concerns about a supply shortage.
Brent crude rose $1.42, or 1.5 percent, to $98.07 a barrel at 11:13 GMT, after falling earlier to $94.90. US West Texas Intermediate crude also rose $1.01, or 1.1%, to $91.77.
New oil crisis
Russia's Transneft said on Tuesday that Ukraine had halted Russian oil flows to Europe because European sanctions prevented Moscow from paying transit fees.
The company said that Ukraine has suspended oil flows to southern Europe since August 4, due to Western sanctions against Russia.
The pipeline monopoly Transneft said it made the August oil transit payments to Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta on July 22, but the money was returned on July 28 that did not go to it.
Russia usually supplies the southern part of the Druzhba pipeline with about 250,000 barrels per day to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. "We don't need that at this point, but it's another reminder of how tight the market is and how sensitive the price is to supply disruptions, particularly from Russia," said Craig Erlam of brokerage Oanda.
The development related to Druzhba's pipeline comes at a time when supply concerns have been waning amid growing concern about a recession.
Earlier, oil came under pressure in connection with talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that would allow for an increase in Iranian oil exports. Oil prices rose earlier in the year after Russia's war on Ukraine heightened supply concerns, sending Brent crude to $139 in March, close to an all-time high. LINK