“The Gulf monetary union pact has come into effect,” said Kuwait’s finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking at a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait.
The move will give the hyper-rich club of oil exporters a petro-currency of their own, greatly increasing their influence in the global exchange and capital markets and potentially displacing the US dollar as the pricing currency for oil contracts. Between them they amount to regional superpower with a GDP of $1.2 trillion (£739bn), some 40pc of the world’s proven oil reserves, and financial clout equal to that of China.
...Mohammed El-Enein, chair of the energy and industry committee in Egypt’s parliament, said Europe’s example could help the Arab world achieve its half-century dream of a unified currency, but the task requires discipline. “We need exactly the same institutions as the EU has created. We need a commission, a court, and a bank,” he said.read more @ telegraph
2. Credit Suisse forfeits $536m to US
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Credit Suisse AG will forfeit a record $536 million to the United States for violating sanctions against Iran and other countries, officials said Wednesday.
The Swiss banking behemoth, based in Zurich, agreed to the forfeiture in connection with violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and New York state law, alleged to have occurred between 1995 and 2006, the U.S. Justice Department said in a release.
Federal prosecutors alleged in a one-count criminal information filed in U.S. District Court in Washington that Credit Suisse illegally conducted million of dollars in transactions on behalf of customers in Iran and other countries like Sudan, Myanmar, Libya and Cuba. Credit Suisse accepted responsibility for the criminal count and entered into an agreement to settle related civil allegations.
"One of this administration's top priorities is to employ our resources aggressively to hold accountable those who engage in financial misconduct," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "Credit Suisse's decades-long scheme to flout the rules that govern our financial institutions robbed our system of the legitimacy that is fundamental to its success. Today's announcement sends a strong message that we will not let this type of conduct stand." hahahahahahhha
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3. India-China clash unlikely
NEW DELHI - CHINA and India have a history of tensions over their long and disputed frontier, but they are unlikely to come to blows since both are focused on growing their economies.
Giving his assessment of the two Asian giants, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said on Wednesday: 'There is no economic value if the border is shifted 200 metres on one side or the other.'
He added: 'It will not be all sweetness and reasonableness but I would be surprised if there was any conflict in the next 20 to 30 years. It will take that time for both to get their economies to speed.'
read more @ straits times4. china steel to invest in brazil mine
Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) An official from Taiwan's largest integrated steel maker, China Steel Corporation (CSC), said Thursday that the company has reached an agreement with two Japanese major shareholders of Brazil's NAMISA iron ore mine to obtain a 1 percent share in the mine.
It is the first time CSC has sought to obtain a stake in a foreign iron company and the decision is seen as an effort to try to take control of the raw material source, as Brazil is one of Taiwan's main suppliers of iron ore.
.. ."After years of exploitation, iron ore and coal are destined to become rare resources, with prices continuing to increase in the long run. Therefore, this participation project is of great investment value," Chung said. He noted that CSC's 1 percent stake is too little to suggest that the company is trying to get total control of the iron ore resource.
No comments:
Post a Comment