Key Articles From Labor Day Weekend

Iraq adopts a new mechanism to distribute the salaries of 4.5 million employees

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The project is expected to be completed by the end of the current year, the project of automation of salaries or what is known as electronic settlement through the use of smart card, as all the employees of Iraq, about 4.5 million, representing 10 percent of the population of smart cardholders, and receive salaries from banks Via this card with different uses.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers requested that the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Iraq to issue a unified job number for the employees of the government departments, for adoption mainly in government databases.

The Council of Ministers also granted the employee the freedom to choose a bank approved by the Central Bank in the process of settling salaries to open a bank account in preparation for receipt of his salary through the account electronically under a bank card.

The project is an important step that will contribute to a qualitative change in the life of Iraqis with the presence of so many employees.

The economist Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawi, that "the country is witnessing a real savings movement by citizens in banks, whether government or private, especially as the salaries of employees represent the largest mass of cash traded in the local market, but this trading is not an investment, And the entry of a large monetary block in the banking portfolios with a clear vision to invest these funds in a developmental way would move the economy in a remarkable way in light of the financial crisis that has plagued the country since 2014, in addition to establishing banking policies that must be of dimensions Sound development ".

He added that "the project pays to encourage employees to save, especially in light of the widespread culture of hoarding funds and the lack of confidence between citizens and banks, especially private banks," noting that "banks must work on the principle of competition between them through services and benefits provided to customers and compete in the annual interest rate On the funds deposited, which drives the citizen to go to the bank that gives a higher interest rate than others, as well as other services that banks can offer to attract depositors of smart card holders, such as granting loans and facilities banking.

He pointed out that "this experience will face challenges, as we will find fear in the employees of the failure of banks to meet their obligations to depositors," noting that "the banks selected for this task is guaranteed by a government agency."

The task of selecting the Central Bank of Iraq as the sectoral sector supervising the banking sector, he announced that he chose 16 banks, some of which are government and some of the private banks to take over the task, and that the selection process was in accordance with global standards and the level of the bank will be the guarantor of any of these banks May face problems or falter in the fulfillment of its obligations to the extent that he expressed his willingness to pay dues instead of the bank stagnant ».

Al-Hindawi stressed the importance of mechanisms and procedures that will reassure employees about this new experience which they are not yet accustomed to. He pointed out that the presence of ATMs in public markets and important commercial centers, as well as the headquarters of ministries and government departments, is necessary to enable the cardholder to shop through them. .

He said many of the managers of private banks that the localization of salaries of state employees electronically a step bear important implications, which will be reflected positively on the performance of banks in terms of securing liquidity and restore confidence between the citizen and the sector, which witnessed during recent years reflected the results reflected the reality of the Iraqi economy, stressing the ability of banks to implement expansion programs The base of its services to citizens in a form that strengthens the investment base of the sector to reflect its results on the financial sector in general.
alhayat alhayat



  This is a China article .... very interesting

China Begins To Reset The World’s Reserve Currency System

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It’s a strategic move swapping oil for gold, rather than for U.S. Treasuries, which can be printed out of thin air. – Grant Williams
A report released by the Nikkei Asian Review indicates that China is prepared to release a yuan-denominated oil futures contract that is convertible (backed by) physical gold. The contract will enable China’s largest oil suppliers to settle oil sales in yuan, rather than in dollars, and then convert the yuan into gold on exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
This is a significant step in removing the global reserve currency status of the dollar and resetting the the global economic and geopolitical “landscape.” Over the past several years, China has quietly established yuan-based currency exchange facilities, which has set up the ability to implement this new non-dollar trade settlement financial instrument. According to the Brookings Institute, 34 Central Banks around the world have signed bilateral local currency swap agreements with the PBoC as of of the end of September 2016, including the major oil-producing countries. With this new contract, China’s largest oil suppliers will now be able to transact directly with China, and other oil importing countries, using yuan which are directly convertible into gold to settle the trade.

As Alasdair Macleod asserts, “It is a mechanism which is likely to appeal to oil producers that prefer to avoid using dollars, and are not ready to accept that being paid in yuan for oil sales to China is a good idea either.”

Since 1973, OPEC oil has been quoted and traded using to U.S. dollars, otherwise known as “petrodollars.” The “recycling” of petrodollars into U.S. Treasuries has been the life-blood of the U.S. economic and political system. In addition to reducing a major source of funding for the the U.S. Government’s enormous deficit spending, the introduction of a gold-backed yuan oil futures contract is an important step toward removing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. More significantly it reintroduces gold into the global monetary system.
While the new gold-backed “petroyuan” will allow oil producers to sell oil for gold rather than Treasuries. Furthermore, it reduces the ability of the U.S. Government to impose its will on the rest of the world. It’s a strategic step toward not only ridding the world of its dependence on dollars, but also of reducing the ability of the U.S. to exert global economic and financially tyranny. I would also argue that it’s one of the primary reasons behind the inability of the western Central Banks to drive the price of gold lower recently.