"Tidbits From TNT" Tuesday 7-5-2022
TNT:
Tishwash: The Iraqi Stock Exchange will stop for nine days
The Iraqi Stock Exchange (the Stock Exchange) announced today, Tuesday, the suspension of its activity for a period of nine days.
The market said in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency, "Based on the decision of the Council of Ministers to declare a nine-day official holiday on the occasion of the blessed Eid Al-Adha, the last trading session will be on Thursday, July 7."
He added: "The activity will be practiced after the official holiday, starting from Sunday, July 17, according to its official timings."
It is noteworthy that the market organizes five trading sessions per week from Sunday to Thursday, and includes 103 Iraqi joint stock companies representing the sectors of banking, telecommunications, industry, agriculture, insurance, financial investment, tourism and hotels. link
Tishwash: Warnings of the spread of chaos in Iraq
The political crises in Iraq, and the withdrawal of the "Sadr movement" from the political process, raised many repercussions that would provoke a second wave of protests after the events of October 2019, amid warnings against resorting to weapons during the protests.
Although months have passed since the early elections, great complications and challenges have emerged from the current stage for the political forces.
With those close to the leader of the Sadrist movement threatening the forces of the "coordinating framework", many tweets were published on Twitter by those close to the movement showing their readiness for any order from Muqtada al-Sadr, which indicates that the doors of popular demonstrations are at the door.
Haider al-Moussawi, deputy head of the Al-Ittihad Political Decision Center, confirmed that the geography of southern and central Iraq is a “hot slate,” noting that with the different social level, partisan movement, political orientations and the large number of tensions that the country witnessed, especially in the face of terrorist challenges and the formation of military wings for these movements, Things began to take an ascending trend towards the splitting of a number of movements and the continuation of the cleavage.
Al-Moussawi pointed out that public opinion, after the recent elections, the continuation of the political blockage and the withdrawal of the "Sadr movement" from Parliament, fears of an upcoming chaos that will sweep through that geography similar to what happened in the eighties of the last century in Lebanon.
He stressed that "tension hangs over these cities and their residents, fearing the outbreak of a second wave of protests in which arms may be resorted to."
And he added: “The external position will not be silent and will take its last decision regarding the invalidity of this system, and may go to internationalizing the situation and finishing off the rest,” explaining that “in both cases, the geography of central and southern Iraq will be the loser first at the level of infrastructure, social fabric and civil peace.” And what will urge at that time that the Kurdistan region declares its independence and the right to self-determination and the pretext that the situation in Baghdad is no longer safe, and the western provinces will follow the example of the region.”
Al-Moussawi stressed that “the population of central and southern Iraq is facing a great challenge, and what we see of escalation and mobilization in social media are messages that are not reassuring. Away from tension, and there is no harm in agreeing on a new date for the elections link
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CandyKisses: Is the “white paper” behind the recovery of the Iraqi economy or oil?
Despite the security and environmental risks and the political impasse that the country is experiencing, the Iraqi economy has witnessed a remarkable recovery, as a result of the increase in the price of oil in international markets, which contributed to the increase in government revenues at a positive rate.
According to the reports of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund, it was found that Iraq is at the forefront of the fastest growing countries in the Middle East, and also in the first ranks in the world.
Despite Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi’s talk about saving Iraq’s bad economic situation through the reform “white paper” project that his government adopted last year, economic observers believe that this recovery came as a result of high oil prices, and not as a result of smart economic plans or strategies that they followed. the government.
The white paper is a comprehensive road map aimed at reforming the Iraqi economy and addressing the serious challenges it faces, which have accumulated over the past years due to faulty policies, mismanagement, corruption and lack of planning, in addition to the almost total dependence on oil as a primary source of state revenue.
Increase in cash reserves
Last week, the Iraqi Prime Minister announced that foreign exchange reserves had risen to $76 billion in the Central Bank, stressing that the reserve was $50 billion when it was received by the government about 3 years ago. He considered this to be “the fastest growth in the monetary reserve in the history of Iraq,” and he also expected that the reserve would reach $90 billion by the end of this year.
However, the economic expert specializing in managing economic crises, Ali Jabbar, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “all the general indicators that are being circulated indicate a clear recovery in the volume of cash revenues, as a result of the rise in oil prices globally, and not as a result of smart economic plans or strategies followed by the government. “.
He explained that “after the two crises of Corona and the decline in oil prices, the deflation rates in 2020 reached approximately 11.3%, and improved by 1.3% during 2021,” stressing that “the monetary increase in Iraq’s revenues after the devaluation of the dinar against the dollar at a rate of 23%, with an increase The average price of a barrel in 2021, at an average of $68.3 a barrel, contributed to an increase in government revenues by 78%.
He added that the GDP growth is estimated at 33% due to the impact of the monetary increase that occurred as a result of oil revenues and not by the positive impact of the growth of the Iraqi economy, in addition to the expectation of a decrease in the public debt ratio to a rate of 54.8% this year compared to 2020, which was at rates of 64.7% of the total general output.
With regard to general economic growth for 2022, the economist expects that “the growth rate will reach about 8.9%.”
He stressed that “this growth was achieved as a result of the effects of oil export rates and international prices,” pointing out that this type of growth and increase made the future of the economy constrained by the pressures of the economy limited in revenues, as well as the management of spending revenues negatively at rates of negative operating budgets exceeding 87% of public budgets.
He pointed out that “the cash revenues financed by the sale of crude oil are still wasted in a chaotic manner without developing wise economic strategies on how to invest them to stimulate the inactive sectors within the country, in addition to the dangerous rise in the rates of waste and theft in the movement of government spending (unproductive) that It is adopted by public budgets, as well as the almost lack of real control procedures.”
The expert continued his speech, saying: “Despite the increase in the volume of revenues and the recovery of the economy, the poverty rates in Iraq exceeded the 31% threshold, and there are more than 4.2 million people living in the margin line, offset by a dangerous rise in unemployment rates among the labor force exceeding 13%. “.
A jump in oil revenues
, according to the final statistics issued by the Iraqi Oil Marketing Company SOMO. According to a statement by the Ministry of Oil, exports and revenues for the month of May amounted to about 11 billion and 477 million dollars.
For his part, a member of the Finance Committee in the former parliament, Falah Abdel Karim, confirmed what the experts spoke, telling Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that “the positive improvement in the economy came as a result of the rise in global oil prices, not as a result of the reform measures taken by successive governments.”
He added, “In light of the high oil prices, Iraq needs an integrated economic plan to save the country from potential crises, especially since oil prices are unstable as a result of the political and economic turmoil that the world is experiencing as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
Abdul Karim pointed out that any recovery in the economy that does not achieve stability and dignity for the citizen is not considered real growth, because improving the living conditions of citizens is the most appropriate indicator and measure to know the economic indicators of any country.
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Tishwash: Iraq and the United States are discussing the recovery of the smuggled Iraqi funds
The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, and US Senator Lindsey Graham discussed, on Monday, cooperation in combating the scourge of corruption and assistance in recovering Iraqi funds smuggled abroad
The Presidency of the Republic said in a statement, "The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, received today, Monday, July 4, 2022, US Senator Lindsey Graham, and the meeting discussed the strong bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them in the political, economic and cultural fields in accordance with understandings and common interests.
She added, "The importance of continuing work and coordination to combat terrorism and eradicate its roots in the whole region, cooperation in confronting economic fluctuations, combating the scourge of financial and administrative corruption, and assistance in recovering Iraqi funds smuggled abroad, as well as cooperation in confronting the phenomenon of climate change and protecting the environment, was emphasized.
During the meeting, according to the statement, "the latest regional and international developments of common interest were discussed," and the President affirmedBarham SalehOn "the importance of easing tensions in the region, defusing crises through dialogue and ending terrorist havens," noting that "the importance ofIraqIn the region, it is an essential axis for the security and stability of the whole region
On the other hand, SenatorLindsey GrahamThe United States' commitment to support security and stabilityIraqEstablishing close relations in various fields,” noting “the importance ofIraqin the region and its active role in establishing security and stability. link
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