Thunderhawk: Well Well Well – Look at what we have here (see articles below)
BACKDOC: IS THERE ANY DOUBT THAT THESE TWO SHIA BROTHERS ARE TRADING PARTNERS?
WELL, I GUESS WE ALREADY GOT THAT, BUT THIS GIVES SOME TEETH (WHICH I MAY NEED), TO MAKING THAT HAPPEN!
LIKE IRAN SAID THEY ARE LOOKING TO LAUNCH TOGETHER AND BY THE NATURE OF THIS TRANSACTION CLEARING PROCESS THEY ARE PAVING THE WAY! DOC IMO
Mountainman: Well Hawk/Doc……this A Timely…… “COMING OUT”…….I can Truly Appreciate……Show Yourselves Brothers……(COOPERATIVE BANKING)…….Huh………Signs Of the TIMES!!!!!!!!…….IMO
Thunderhawk: Iran, Iraq banking ties to normalize
In a visit with Governor of Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Al Alagh, Iranian ambassador to Iraq said that all banking relations between two countries will return to normal in upcoming days.
Hassan Danaie Far told IRNA that all banking services and cooperation will be re-established between the two countries.
An Iranian banking delegation is scheduled to have a trip to Iraq and it is expected to achieve a new understanding during this trip.
In the wake of lifting crippling sanctions imposed on Iran the Central Bank of Iraq employed measures regarding normalization of banking ties.
Experts expect considerable growth in Iraq-Iran bilateral turnover which was announced $12-14 billion for 2014.
http://www3.irna.ir/en/News/82000934/
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Thunderhawk: Iran, Iraq to interlink ATM bank services
Baghdad, March 13, IRNA – Head of Iraq’s Central Bank Ali al-Allaq on Sunday agreed to interlink bank services of Automated Teller Machines.
[Iran, Iraq to interlink ATM bank services]
The ATM will enable travelers in Iraq and Iran to use their debit cards for financial operations.
Iran’s ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaeifar in a meeting with the Iraqi CBI chief put forward the proposal to interlink Iranian-Iraqi ATM bank services which was accepted by the Iraqi side.
Speaking to IRNA, Danaeifar said the system will enable the travelers both in Iran and Iraq to take advantage of banking facilities.
http://www3.irna.ir/en/News/82001098/
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BACKDOC: OBVIOUSLY FROM LAST NIGHTS NEWS WE KNOW THAT EMERGING COUNTRIES ARE GOING TO PLAY A ROLE WITH SOME TYPE OF “POLICY ACTION” THAT WILL LAUNCH THE WORLDS ECONOMIES AGAIN.
WE ARE SEEING CAUTION BY THE FED POLICIES SINCE THEY CANNOT MAKE FINANCIAL DECISIONS ANYMORE FOR AMERICA WITHOUT CONSIDERING THE GLOBAL MARKETS!
FIRST THEY DANCED AROUND ABOUT RATE HIKES BECAUSE OF CHINA, THEN THEY STARTED TALKING ABOUT GLOBAL CONCERNS! MMMMM
LET’S BE REAL CAN WE? GOOD.
WE ARE ENTERING THE TRANSITION INTO THE NEW REALITY AND IT ALL WILL BE DIRECTED BY THE IMF WHICH WILL BE GUIDED BY THE 50 POLICY MAKERS WHICH WILL BE DIRECTED BY THE BIS! DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert
IMF backs unconventional monetary policies despite warnings from emerging economies
Unconventional monetary policies of central banks in Europe and Japan received an endorsement from the International Monetary Fund on Sunday, even as policymakers from emerging markets warned that such policies were increasing risks for the global economy.
The debate over the merits of unconventional policies comes days before major central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan unveil their interest rate decisions.
At the conclusion of a three-day IMF event in New Delhi, the fund’s chief, Christine Lagarde, said countries should continue with unconventional monetary policies if they were accompanied by structural reforms and low inflation.
“Monetary policy is needed but (it) cannot be the only game in town,” Lagarde said.
Speaking at the same event on Saturday, India’s central bank chief Raghuram Rajan, a vocal critic of such policies, had said that the costs of them were increasing even as the benefits seemed to be diminishing.
He called on global central banks to adopt a system for assessing the wider impact of their actions, including unconventional monetary policies now in use.
The European Central Bank recently eased monetary policy further by cutting all its main interest rates, expanding asset purchases and launching a loan program which could see it pay banks to lend to firms and households.
The Bank of Japan has also taken interest rates into negative territory for the first time while the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to tighten monetary policy only gradually after years of near-zero rates and quantitative easing.
Rajan proposed that a group of academics should measure and analyze the “spillover” effects of monetary policies and indicate which should be used and which avoided. He suggested a traffic light system, grading policies green, orange or red.
The monitoring system could be implemented through an international agreement along the lines of the Bretton Woods currency accord or via the IMF, he added.
Although Lagarde avoided commenting on the merits of the proposal, the Indian central banker’s idea struck a chord with policymakers from other emerging markets.
Sukudhew Singh, deputy governor at Bank Negara Malaysia, said the proposal was worth looking at.
“We need to first assess how these policies are affecting, what kind of distortions are being created,” he told Reuters. “Only then, we can look for remedial measures.”
While negative interest rates in Europe and Japan are bringing yield-chasing investors into emerging markets, their policymakers fear further interest rate increases in the United States could ignite massive outflows.
NO GUARANTEES
When Rajan took over as Reserve Bank of India governor in September 2013, India and other emerging economies such as Indonesia and Brazil were battling a currency crisis sparked by fears the U.S. Fed would begin tightening policy, exposing their crippling current-account shortfalls.
That experience has made them strong critics of the kind of stimulus measures adopted by developed economies in recent years.
Chatib Basri, who was Indonesia’s finance minister then, said the 2013 currency crisis could be repeated in 2017 unless imbalances created by ultra-easy monetary policies were addressed.
Since mid-2013, several emerging economies including India have taken steps to shore up their forex reserves, improve public finances and narrow big current account deficits in a bid to shield themselves from any external shock.
But big sell-offs recently in their financial markets have called into question the conventional wisdom that “getting your house in order” guarantees safety.
“Frustration that Raghu (Rajan) and emerging markets policymakers feel really comes down to the shift in global economic circumstances,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University professor. “These classical answers don’t work anymore.”
http://www.reuters.com/article…..SKCN0WF08O
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BACKDOC: IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT THE GRAY AREAS OF THE IRAN DEAL IS STARTING TO BE CHALLENGED!
BESIDES THE SAFETY OF IT WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT WILL BE IMPORTANT IN THE NEW REALITY WHEN COUNTRIES CAN’T CHEAT ON THEIR CURRENCIES ANYMORE? MMMM
WELL THUNDER, I THINK ITS DOWN TO TRADE AND SHIPPING! THATS RIGHT! HE WHO CONTROLS THE WORLDS TRADE AND SHIPPING WILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE.
I HAVE TO ASK MY SELF IF THIS DEAL WAS PRECISELY SET UP THIS WAY SO THAT IT COULD BE CONTESTED AND GET A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF COUNTRIES TO AGREE AND THUS SHIFT MORE TRADE THROUGH IRAQ ITS SHIA TRADING PARTNER WHICH OF COURSE WILL USE DINAR AND THE U.S. CURRENCY FOR OIL! MMMM
JUST A THOUGHT. LETS SEE WHAT DEVELOPS SHALL WE? DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert
France says EU could impose sanctions over Iran missile tests
The European Union could impose sanctions on Iran over its recent ballistic missile tests, France’s foreign minister said on Sunday.
The United States, France and other countries have already said that, if the missiles are confirmed as nuclear-capable, the tests, conducted last week by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, would violate U.N. Security Council resolution 2231.
Asked whether this could trigger sanctions from the European Union, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said: “We condemn ballistic missile tests and, if necessary, sanctions will be enacted.”
The tests are due to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at a meeting on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, whose country in January imposed sanctions on 11 companies and individuals for supplying Iran’s ballistic missile program after a series of tests at the end of last year, said the latest tests were a clear violation of U.N. Resolution 2231.
The United States plans to raise the issue in U.N. Security Council consultations this week and is urging other countries to help thwart Iran’s missile program.
“The missiles are a violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution because they are longer than the distance allowed for ballistic missiles and, because of that, they represent a potential threat to the countries in the region and beyond,” Kerry said.
“We have made it very clear that the missile concerns remain part of sanctionable activity with respect to Iran. If Iran chooses to violate that, they will invite additional sanctions, as we put them in place just a month ago as a result of the prior tests.”
Resolution 2231, adopted last July as U.N. sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear program were lifted, “calls upon” Iran to refrain from certain ballistic missile activity.
Western diplomats say this amounts to a clear ban, but acknowledge that Russia, China and Iran probably interpret it as an appeal for voluntary restraint, and that Russia and China would be likely to block any action by the Security Council. Iran says none of its missiles are designed to carry nuclear weapons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, which sees Iran’s missiles as a direct threat, on Saturday urged world powers to take “immediate punitive steps” against Iran over the tests.
http://www.reuters.com/article…..SKCN0WF0MP
Thunderhawk: TPP 2 Years away? NOT- It’s happening NOW !!!!!!
Blessings T-Hawk IMO
BACKDOC: WOW! SLAP! WE KNOW THAT VIETNAM HAS ALREADY APPROVED THE TPP SINCE THEY ARE NOT A PURE DEMOCRACY.
WELL, IT APPEARS LIKE WE HAVE TPP ALREADY FUNCTIONAL IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!
WE RECENTLY READ AN ARTICLE THAT THUNDER PUT UP EARLIER THAT JAPAN MAY APPROVE THE TPP BY MID-MARCH! HEE HEE
GUESS WHEN IRAQS BONDS ARE STARTING TO BE SOLD AT THE 1170 RATE? HEE HEE RIGHT! MID-MARCH
NOW LETS THINK FOR A MOMENT SHALL WE?
WE KNOW THAT JAPAN HAS THE HIGHEST GOVT. DEBT PER GDP OF ALL EMPIRE COUNTRIES.
DO YOU THINK THEY MIGHT BE MOTIVATED TO BUY SOME BONDS AT THAT 1170 RATE JUST BEFORE THE IMF ACTIVATES THESE EMERGING COUNTRIES CURRENCIES? HEE HEE
BUT AS FAR AS TPP TAKING TIME TO BE RATIFIED I THINK IT WOULD TAKE SOMETHING SPECIAL TO STOP ITS CURRENT IMPLEMENTATION!
BY THIS ACTION IT WOULD APPEAR THAT TPP IS ALREADY FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND WOULD HAVE TO BE OVERTURNED BY ALL THE DEMOCRATIC PARLIAMENTS! ANOTHER WORDS ACTIVE UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.
NO WONDER IT WAS SO SECRETIVE! REMEMBER WE GAVE THE PRESIDENT THE POWER TO MAKE THE DEAL!
LOOKS LIKE INDIA GOT SLAPPED! JUST LIKE WE DID WITH OUR COAL BUSINESS!
EVERYBODY GETS SOMETHING AND EVERYBODY HAS TO GIVE UP SOMETHING!
DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert
USA uses TPP-like trade-court to kill massive Indian solar project
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission was on track to deliver deploy 20,000 MW of grid connected solar power by 2022 (“more than the current solar capacity of the world’s top five solar-producing countries combined”) but because India specified that the solar panels for it were to be domestically sourced, the USA sued it in WTO trade court and killed it.
The USA has its own domestic solar initiatives that generally have “buy local” rules, but those are permissible under the WTO. The WTO court ruled that India’s buy-local rules were not, and ordered the initiative’s cessation despite its role in helping India to meet its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The Trans Pacific Partnership, a secretly negotiated trade agreement, expands the sorts of powers the WTO creates to allow multinationals to sue governments to repeal policies that undermine their profitability. Expect lots more of this in the future if the TPP passes.
By putting pressure on India’s solar program, and by hiding behind the biased WTO agreements, the United States wants to boost its solar exports to India, which it argues have fallen by 90% from 2011, when India imposed the rules. Claiming that India was unfairly restricting access to American suppliers, US trade representative Michael Froman justified the perverse move in February 2014:
“These domestic content requirements discriminate against US exports by requiring solar power developers to use India- manufactured equipment instead of US equipment. These unfair requirements are against WTO rules, and we are standing up today for the rights of American workers and businesses.”
http://boingboing.net/2016/03/…..g+Boing%29
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Thunderhawk: Irish delegations heading for Tehran
Iran’s Ambassador to Dublin Javad Kachouiyan referring to the interest of the Irish side in reopening their embassy in Tehran, described political and economic relations between the two countries in the last year as developing.
Speaking to IRNA on Saturday, the Iranian ambassador said there is strong will on both sides for further expansion of ties in 1395 (2016-2017).”
He said Iran’s present position in the international system and its national, regional and international capabilities especially in the post-sanctions era, political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological capacities and their application have attracted the attention in the bilateral relations.
The Iranian ambassador said that in line with the expansion of bilateral economic relations a delegation comprising representative of over 20 companies producing dairy products and foodstuffs are due to visit Iran in the spring.
Meanwhile, he added, another delegation including representatives of major investment-export companies of Ireland is due to travel Iran early next Iranian year (starting March 20, 2016).
Finalization of a draft health certificate of Irish sheep for export to Iran is another issue demanded by Ireland with the completion of which quality Irish sheep meat will be exported to Iran.
Kachouiyan further remarked that with regard to the interest voiced by Irish officials for reopening of their embassy in Tehran its realization will certainly have great impact on the growing trend of relations and cooperation of the two countries.
http://www3.irna.ir/en/News/82001132/
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BACKDOC: THIS REMINDS ME OF THE “BACK TO THE FUTURE” MOVIE WHEN MARTY ARRIVES AT THE SODA SHOP. THE OWNER AKS HIM WHAT HE WANTS TO DRINK AND HE SAYS HE’LL HAVE A PEPSI FREE! BAA HAA THE OWNER SAYS HEY BUDDY THERE’S NOTHING FREE AROUND HERE! HEE HEE
BOY , IS THAT IS THAT EVER THE TRUTH HERE WITH TRADE! AND IT LOOKS TO JUMP INTO HIGH GEAR HERE SOON!
LIKE THE ARTICLES ON IRAN SAID, “IN THE COMING DAYS”! SEEMS TO ME WE ARE CLOSE TO THOSE DAYS EXPIRING WHEN WE L0OK AT SEVERAL THINGS.
1. 20TH IRAN NEW YEAR
2. BOND SALES IN IRAQ
3. ACTIVATION ON THE 8TH WHICH LEADS TO POSSIBLY 10 DAYS WHICH IS A WEEKEND. THE 22ND IS THE FIRST TUES. WED. OR THURS.
4. STOCK MARKET HALTING FOREIGN TRADES BUT ALLOWING IN COUNTRY TRADES
5. THE FEDERAL COURT ACT BY EVIDENCE OF THE BAD GUY ROUND UP! HEE HEE
DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: Backdoc Alert
Here’s why everyone is arguing about free trade
As U.S. presidential hopefuls continue to battle through the primary season, America’s trade policies have risen to the top of the political discourse.
Although there has always been opposition to free trade measures, recent decades have seen political leadership in the U.S. tending to push agendas focused on removing trade barriers between the U.S. and other countries. Both sides of the issue argue that jobs and the economy are at stake, but they disagree on the question of results and how domestic economic success is really defined.
To start with, free trade is the practice of removing restrictions on imports and exports between countries. Such restrictions can include bans, quotas and taxes among other measures. Many governments have sought to sign bi- or multilateral free trade agreements constituting an agreement to mutually lower these barriers. The U.S. currently has 14 agreements with 20 countries, according to the Commerce Department.
Republicans have often argued for such measures as an extension of their free market economic goals, and Democratic presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have joined in supporting major international trade deals. Opposition has tended to come from the pro-labor quarters of American liberalism, as unions worry their constituencies won’t be able to compete against cheap foreign workers.
This has played out prominently in recent debates over a proposed Pacific trade agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would include 11 countries besides the United States — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,Singapore and Vietnam.
The argument against unfettered trade
Some liberal politicians, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, argue that trade agreements frequently do more harm than good for America because they favor the well-being of businesses over workers — both in America and in poorer trading partners.
“These treaties have forced American workers to compete against desperate and low-wage labor around the world. The result has been massive job losses in the United States and the shutting down of tens of thousands of factories,” a statement on Sanders’ Senate webpage said.
“These corporately backed trade agreements have significantly contributed to the race to the bottom, the collapse of the American middle class and increased wealth and income inequality,” he adds.
Those critical of recent trade agreements also argue that labor standards are not enforced in other countries, so the U.S. is effectively rewarding those businesses abusing their workers.
Those are arguments against free trade when it is practiced perfectly, with both countries firmly dedicated to maintaining low barriers to trade, but many argue these agreements are bad for the U.S. because its partners often seek to subvert the relationship.
The most common charges of “cheating” on free trade involve a country’s keeping its currency artificially low (so its products are cheaper, and therefore more competitive, in the U.S.), subsidizing its domestic firms so they have better margins, or even levying protective tariffs without regard for prior agreements.
If the U.S. leaves its markets open to unfairly cheap foreign products while its own goods are stymied abroad, then the job-killing concerns about free trade are all the more pressing,
“Trade deals are absolutely killing our country — the devaluations of their currencies by China and Japan and many, many other countries, and we don’t do it because we don’t play the game,” GOP front-runnerDonald Trump said at a Thursday night debate, reiterating his call to employ threats of retaliatory tariffs. “And the only way we’re going to be able to do it is we’re going to have to do taxes unless they behave.”
The argument for free trade
Despite a wide array of arguments in the field, economists have presented a uniquely united front on the benefits of free trade policies.
One early summary of that position can be found in Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations.”
“It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy,” Smith wrote. “If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry employed in a way in which we have some advantage.
The general industry of the country, being always in proportion to the capital which employs it, will not thereby be diminished, no more than that of the above-mentioned artificers; but only left to find out the way in which it can be employed with the greatest advantage.”
In other words, the money that the American economy saves on cheaper foreign products can be put to use for other economics means — thereby increasing overall well-being. (A philosophical debate could then arise about the inequality of wealth potentially resulting from this capital reallocation.)
In a 2015 open letter to House and Senate leadership, 14 major economists (including former Federal Reserve Chairmen Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan) presented the case for free trade deals.
“Expanded trade through these agreements will contribute to higher incomes and stronger productivity growth over time in both the United States and other countries,” they wrote. “U.S. businesses will enjoy improved access to overseas markets, while the greater variety of choices and lower prices trade brings will allow household budgets to go further to the benefit of American families.”
Acknowledging that the benefits of these agreements are “unevenly distributed,” and some individuals may be negatively affected, those economists argued that “the economywide benefits resulting from increased trade provide resources to make progress on important social goals, including helping those who are adversely affected.”
A 2003 survey of economists found that more than 86 percent opposed the notion of tariffs to protect American industries, andanother from 2007 found more than 83 percent of economist respondents thought the U.S. should eliminate its remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade.
And beyond the economic argument, some politicians — including the Obama administration — highlight the geopolitical benefits of multilateral international trade agreements.
For the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, the White House has argued that it wants the U.S. to help set the global rules for labor and environmental practices. It’s important not just to further American standards, but also to establish the country as a power broker in the Asia-Pacific region, many argued.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/11…..trade.html
BACKDOC: I LOVE THE FACT THAT IRAN RUNS A HUGE TRADE DEFICIT TO VIETNAM. I THINK IT WILL BE THE ASIAN GOLDEN CHILD OF THE EMPIRE! OZ WILL BE VERY PROUD! DOC IMO
Thunderhawk: Vietnamese president arrives in Tehran
Tehran, March 13, IRNA – Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang heading a delegation arrived in Tehran on Sunday afternoon.
Upon his arrival at the airport, the Vietnamese president and his entourage were welcomed by Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines and Commerce Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh.
During his three-day stay to Iran, the Vietnamese president will confer with senior Iranian officials and President Hassan Rouhani on issues of mutual interests and the regional and global developments.
They are to discuss various topics as expansion of economic, finance, banking, oil and gas cooperation with their Iranian counterparts.
Vietnamese president welcomed nuclear deal between Iran and G5+1 and said implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) would bring peace and stability to the region as well as the entire globe.
He also called for expansion of relations and cooperation on oil, agriculture, tourism, commerce and joint venture investment with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Trade between Iran and Vietnam increased from dlrs 80 million in the year 2010 to dlrs 300 million in the year 2013.
Iran has already voiced readiness to make investment in Vietnam’s state-run as well as private projects.
Vietnam and Iran established relations in 1973 and have increased level of political and economic cooperation through exchange of visits by senior officials from both sides.
Iran opened embassy in Hanoi in 1991 and Vietnam opened its embassy in Tehran in 1997.
http://www3.irna.ir/en/News/82001077/
