Thursday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 7-27-23
Thursday Afternoon Iraq Economic News Highlights 7-27-23
The Dollar Exhausts The Dinar.. The Suffering Of Citizens Continues, And An Economist Proposes A "Crazy Solution"
Economy 2023-07-27 | 2,652 views Alsumaria News – Economy The repercussions of the high exchange rates of the dollar in the Iraqi markets against the dinar and its effects on the Iraqi economy continue to exhaust economists and the political class and increase the suffering of citizens.
Despite the many measures taken by the current government, through the Central Bank of Iraq, all that it has worked on will not be able to confront the rise of the dollar and will not be able to stop the series of bleeding the local currency.
The new rise in the Iraqi markets came after the imposition of new US sanctions on 14 Iraqi banks, which caused a big jump in the exchange rates of the dollar, in light of the growing demand for it in the local markets during the past week.
Al-Sumaria News published the exchange rates of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the Iraqi local markets for Thursday, July 27, 2023. The purchase price of the dollar in Baghdad reached 157,500 per 100 dollars, i.e. an increase of 3000 dinars from yesterday, while the selling price of the dollar reached 155,500 per 100 dollars.
Economists and government advisors proposed a number of solutions, but most of them did not reach the point of solving a problem that threatens the Iraqi economy from time to time. However, what the economist, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, put forward may be considered a "crazy solution."
"The only solution currently available to address the current exchange rate crisis is to return the dollar exchange rate to the level before the Corona pandemic, that is, to the level of 1180 dinars per dollar," said economist Nabil Al-Marsoumi, in a post followed by Alsumaria News.
And he adds, "This solution is economically insane and at a high financial and economic cost," pointing out that "it is a temporary solution that will not address the essence of the problem, but it will stop the continuous bleeding of the Iraqi dinar and give the monetary authorities an opportunity to search for serious solutions to the origin of the crisis instead of unenforceable promises."
And the economist asserts, "This idea will be violently rejected by economists, and politicians will implement it, even after a while, because the current battle goes beyond the exchange rate to breaking bones." LINK
The Oil And Gas Law Awaits The Mercy Of The Political Consensus For Its Legislation
2023-07-26 | Source: Sumerian 52 views The oil and gas law is still outside the halls of Parliament due to lack of commitment to political consensus, while the law awaits the mercy of legislative consensus, according to observers.
Oscillating between obstruction and passing, the oil and gas law that regulates the economic relationship between the center and the region has not yet touched the door of the legislative house, and the reasons are due to the inability to resolve the most controversial points that revolve around how to manage oil fields and the marketing mechanism.
Lawmakers are waiting for the law to discuss it during the new legislative term, but the fate of its approval remains dependent on the commitment of the political blocs to the compromises on which the government was formed. LINK
The Repercussions Of The Dollar's Rise Cast A Shadow Over Food Prices In Baghdad
2023-07-27 05:29 Shafaq News/ Shafaq News Agency publishes the prices of basic foodstuffs for the consumer, according to wholesale market traders in the capital, Baghdad, today, Thursday.
According to wholesalers in the Jamila central market in Baghdad, the price of Mahmoud rice (30 kg) reached 63,000 dinars, and the single price was 2,500 dinars per kilogram.
The price of sugar (25 kg) was 33,000 dinars, the price of a single kilogram was 1,500 dinars, while a box of "Zeer" paste (weight 825 grams), consisting of 12 boxes, amounted to 33,500 thousand dinars, the single price was 3,000 dinars.
The price of a liter box of "Zeer" oil, consisting of (20 cans), amounted to 50,000 dinars, and the single price was 3,000 dinars, while the price of Iraqi red eggs for the box (12 layers) amounted to 49,000 dinars, and the single price was 4,500 dinars.
And the exchange rates of the US dollar continued to rise against the Iraqi dinar, today, Thursday, on the main stock exchange in the capital, Baghdad, and in the Kurdistan Region, 157 thousand dinars. 100 dollars ahead. LINK
$32 Billion In Meta Revenue In 3 Months
Arab and international Economy News _ Baghdad Meta Platforms reported a strong rise in ad revenue, beating Wall Street expectations for the second quarter, and the company also provided a better forecast for its revenue in the next quarter.
The results for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, come a day after a strong performance by Alphabet Inc, the owner of the Google search engine, proving that consumers and advertisers eager to reach them are spending despite broad economic concerns.
However, Meta also expects expenses to rise in both 2023 and 2024, citing costs including legal fees and increased infrastructure spending that are key to the AI frenzy in the technology sector.
The spending follows significant cost cuts in other areas of the company, including safety teams and core business functions.
Meta shares rose 7.5 percent in after-hours trading.
WhatsApp owner revenue rose 11 percent year-on-year to $32 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $31.12 billion, during the reported quarter.
Advertising revenue jumped 12 percent in the second quarter, registering faster growth than Google, which had advertising revenue of 3 percent.
The earnings per share of “Meta” were recorded at about $2.98, compared to expectations of $2.91 per share during the three months ending in June, while the owner of “Threads” said that revenues in the third quarter will range between $32 billion and $34.5 billion.
And the results of the Facebook owner's business showed that net profit increased by 16 percent on an annual basis, to reach $ 7.79 billion in the three months ending in June.
This is the first time that Mita has reported double-digit growth since the fourth quarter of 2021, as revenue declined before the first quarter in three consecutive periods as the challenges facing the company grow in light of the faltering economy.
The average daily active users of the Facebook app for June were 2.06 billion, up slightly from 2.04 billion three months ago and 1.97 billion a year ago.
On the other hand, the Meta Reality Labs unit, which is tasked with developing Metaverse, achieved sales of $276 million during the second quarter, down from $452 million in the same quarter last year.
The unit tasked with developing Metaverse incurred losses of about $3.7 billion in the second quarter, and the company indicated that these losses will continue to increase significantly year-on-year due to ongoing efforts in product development.
The unit has lost more than $40 billion since 2021, including $13.7 billion last year.
Meta said it expects Reality Labs' operating losses to increase in 2024 as the company continues to invest in augmented and virtual reality and "expands the ecosystem." Zuckerberg had previously said Meta would "accelerate" investments in the division after 2023.
Zuckerberg told investors he understands why many of them feel uncomfortable with such a long-term bet on the Reality Labs unit.
The company expects total expenses this year to be in the range of $88 billion to $91 billion, compared to its previous forecast of $86 billion to $90 billion, citing "legal expenses".
Meta said second-quarter expenses included $1.87 billion in legal costs, mostly related to a fine by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner in May for transferring user information to the United States. The fine itself amounted to 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
It said it expects "higher infrastructure-related costs" in 2024, as well as growth in payroll expenses "as we evolve the composition of our workforce toward high cost technical roles".
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The Ministry Of Justice Publishes A Statement Correcting The General Budget Law In The Iraqi Al-Waqa’i Newspaper
Money and business Economy News – Baghdad The Ministry of Justice announced, on Thursday, the publication of a statement correcting the Federal General Budget Law in the Iraqi Al-Waqa’i newspaper.
A statement by the ministry, received by "Al-Iqtisad News", stated that "Issue (4729) of the Iraqi Al-Waqa'i newspaper included the issuance of a correction statement issued by the Presidency of the Presidency of the Republic."
He added, "The correction regarding the Federal Public Budget Law of the Republic of Iraq No. (13) for the year 2023 for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025)."
Views 23 07/27/2023 - https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=35371
The Ministry Of Justice Announces The Publication Of The Statement To Rectify The General Budget Law In The Iraqi Gazette
Political | 10:49 - 07/27/2023 Baghdad - Mawazine News The Ministry of Justice announced, on Thursday, the publication of a statement correcting the Federal General Budget Law in the Iraqi Al-Waqa’i newspaper.
The ministry stated in a statement, which Mawazine News received a copy of, that "Issue (4729) of the Iraqi Al-Waqa'i newspaper included the issuance of a correction statement issued by the Presidency of the Presidency of the Republic."
The statement added, "The correction regarding the Federal Public Budget Law of the Republic of Iraq No. (13) for the year 2023 for the fiscal years (2023, 2024, 2025)."
https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=232163
An Iraqi-American Forum In Washington At The End Of The Year
Baghdad today – Baghdad Today, Wednesday (July 26, 2023), the Ministry of Commerce announced the holding of an Iraqi-American trade forum in Washington, DC, at the end of this year.
A statement of the ministry, received by "Baghdad Today", stated that: "The Department of Foreign Economic Relations at the Ministry of Commerce organized, through the Commercial Attaché in Washington, a meeting via closed-circuit television between the Iraqi private sector and its American counterpart."
The statement quoted the director general of the department, Riyad Al-Hashemi, as saying, "The meeting resulted in adopting the proposal of the Commercial Attaché in Washington on the need to establish an Iraqi-American forum in Washington to be held at the end of October of this year."
He added, "The trade attaché in Washington will take all the logistical measures required to hold the forum, after coordinating with the American side, in order to achieve common goals that are in the interest of both countries."
Al-Hashemi pointed out, "The meeting comes within the framework of the department's endeavor to stimulate the Iraqi private sector and qualify it to play a more effective role in developing Iraqi-American economic relations by finding real opportunities for partnership with the American side in various economic sectors in line with the goals set by the government program and its implementation." LINK
Parliamentary Finance: The Budget Will Be Implemented Within The Next Few Days
Economy 10:57 - 2023-07-27 The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, on Thursday, that the federal budget law for the next three years will enter into force during the next few days, pointing out that sub-committees have been formed to monitor exchange operations.
Committee member Muhammad Nuri said in a press interview, "The budget instructions have now reached the State Shura Council," noting that "the budget will be implemented within the next few days."
He explained that "Parliament will have an important responsibility, which is to monitor the executive performance, to follow up on the movement of funds and projects, and to work to maintain services."
He pointed out that "the concerned parliamentary committees will follow up on the file of contracts and owners of 2/10, as well as all job grades approved by the House of Representatives within the budget law." https://kirkuktv.net/AR/Details/16511
Dhi Qar Sets The Priorities For The 2023 Plan In Accordance With The Budget Law
Reconstruction and building
Economy News – Baghdad On Wednesday, the Governor of Dhi Qar, Muhammad al-Ghazi, held a meeting of the Planning and Development Council in the province to discuss the general lines and set priorities for the 2023 plan in accordance with the budget law.
Al-Ghazi said in a statement, "The meeting first decided the general plan based on the budget's instructions, and for the purpose of continuing to complete infrastructure projects in the districts and districts, it was decided that the strategic projects would be only 10%, and the remaining 90% of the amounts would be divided among the administrative units according to the population percentages to complete the infrastructure."
It was also decided, according to the statement, "to contract with an engineering consulting office whose costs are covered from the petrodollar budget for the purpose of conducting the structural assessment and proposed solutions for all old government buildings and buildings that the civil defense warned against using (such as (the lobby of the local administration, the Directorate of Agriculture of Dhi Qar, and all old government buildings, especially health and educational) and to develop engineering solutions and the necessary examinations to rehabilitate them to perform their function and not to grant any approval to invest any site for a government building."
With regard to the health aspect, the Planning and Development Council decided to "allocate part of the petrodollars to continue the medical evacuation plan that Dhi Qar Governorate started with in the year 2023 and add (recruiting doctors) for rare specialties to the medical evacuation contracts to activate district and sub-district hospitals. This is part of the projects of the strategic plan for the province.
On the environmental side, the council decided to "form a committee headed by the deputy governor for planning affairs and the membership of the planning, health and environment directorates for the purpose of preparing a report on the problem of environmental pollution in the Rifai district due to the oil companies' abuses of the environment and submitting it to the prime minister."
In addition, the decisions oblige the administrative units in the governorate to include projects from the allocations that will be allocated to them (according to the population percentage) for the purpose of equipping mechanisms according to the need for sectors (water, sewage, electricity, health, civil defense) within the allocations specified for each sector and according to priority, especially ambulances and civil defense.
Al-Ghazi stated, “The council also decided, within the decisions it issued, to address the Ministry of Education for the purpose of requesting the transfer of lagging ministerial projects (106 mud schools, 65 schools that are about to fall) to the governorate with their allocations due to their reluctance and for the purpose of their completion and follow-up by the governorate directly. School furniture for the entire province within the province's strategic plan, provided that the equipment is during the summer vacation.
He pointed out that "the meeting decided to include the project of supplying pumps, pipes and sterilization materials within the strategic plan of the province, and with regard to sanitation projects, it was decided to include the project of supplying submersibles and generators within the strategic plan of the province."
According to the statement, it was also decided to "divide the amounts allocated to the administrative units, amounting to 90%, according to the population percentage of each administrative unit, and the plans for the administrative units shall be raised by the head of the administrative unit, provided that the administrative units adhere to the five-year plan of the province 2021-2026 to complete the infrastructure in all administrative units, and the administrative units that have reached the stage of completing city centers with infrastructure such as (Nasiriyah, Ur, Al-Manar ... etc.) begin to include infrastructure projects for agricultural areas and expansion areas." 51 views 07/26/2023 https://economy-news.net/content.php?id=35357