1-28-11 Recap of the day's events/posts

Facts:

1.     CBI auction results

2.     Iraqi Dinar – Remarkable Rise Against Dollar

3.     Chuan Taha Barzani is Expected to Resolve the Crisis Intervention of the National Council

4.     Khalid Al Mulla calls for parliament for an emergency session

5.     Parliament will hold a special meeting to discuss the consequences of the decision to link the independent government bodies

6.     Parliament will tighten control over the bodies associated with the Council of Ministers

7.     Washington Post: Applying the provisions of the Federal first test of the partnership between Maliki and his rivals

8.     House of Representatives will vote on the budget without seeing the final accounts for previous years

9.     Arab League of Nations Summit (LETTER)

10.  Allawi declares its commitment to three candidates, and demands your intelligence

11.  Representative of the Secretary General of the UN in Iraq

12.  Maliki stressed the importance of continued political meetings and wise underlines its support for the Government

13.  Statement from IHEC

14.  Deputy rule out the possibility of candidates for the vacant ministries in the meeting of Parliament next Sunday   

Rumors:

Of Interest (rumors that I find of particular interest either because of who said it or because of how I think it relates to what is happening right now):

1.     Frank26 posting from yesterday

2.     Night chat

3.     8ball chat

4.     Bank rumor    

The Rest (doesn’t mean these are not happening):

1.     Buckeye rumor

2.     RV unlikely in 2011 

Where Are We At?

1.     The CBI auctions were low again today.  This is now the 4^th day in a row.  The last time the auctions had anything close to 4 days in a row was back in June of 2010, when the auctions were low for 7 days in a row

2.     The Central Bank advisor today said that dinar will rise against the dollar in the coming period!  Need I say more?!

3.     Government formation continues as it has in the last few days.  We have news that suggest forward movement with promises of resolving the ministry positions, and we have news of Parliament blocs wanting to review the Federal Court’s ruling on the independent bodies.  The date for resolving the ministries is still up in the air.  There are article stating that Maliki and Allawi will resolve the ministry positions this weekend and there are articles that state that they will be resolved in the next week.  The UN and IHEC are expressing their concern of the ruling.

4.      In terms of rumors, the bank rumors in the US are still dominating this week’s news.  The information the banks are giving out about selling and exchanging Dinar appears to be consistent.  Banks will not sell Dinar, but they will buy Dinar.  Also, most are consistent about something happening with the IQD this coming week.

What’s left?

1.    Reading of the budget for the first time (due to redraft).

2.    Closure on Security positions (5 in total) and the remaining unfilled positions (4)

3.    Formal announcement of government

4.    Agreement on outstanding Kuwait issues

5.    Lifting of remaining Chapter 7 sanctions (Kuwait related)

6.    RV/RI

7.    HCL

What’s It All Mean?

1.     With regards to the government formation, we need to watch for news this weekend regarding whether or not Allawi and Maliki actually meet to discuss all outstanding issues including the ministry positions.  There was one article saying that they would resolve all the ministry positions in their closed door meeting this weekend.  The only problem with this is that Maliki leaves for a regional tour on Sunday, and there was also news of Allawi not being in town.  So, I’m not sure if they

2.     I normally do not like bank news much.  I’ve heard all the bank rumors than I care to have heard, and I know I’m not alone on this.  However, the recent bank news is a little different this time around.  I’ve never heard of so many banks in the US saying the same things about the Dinar.  If they are correct, then perhaps we’ll see a rate change this coming week.