IRAQI FAIRS

In the tradable fixed interest market there are a number of different types of securities, from senior bonds with a fixed coupon (interest rate) and maturity date, through to perpetual preference shares with resettable coupons and no maturity date. Some of the key points to note about the various types of tradable fixed income securities available are:

Senior Bonds – These bonds can be either secured or unsecured. They rank ahead of subordinated debt holders and shareholders. Senior debt for large corporations is typically given a credit rating by a global credit rating agency. Typically these bonds have a fixed maturity date and fixed coupon. On maturity the principal is redeemed to the holder in cash. High quality corporate bonds are easily traded in the secondary market without undue premiums added for risk or liquidity.

Subordinated Bond – These bonds rank below senior debt and all other debt but before shareholders and unsecured creditors for repayment in the event of liquidation. There are also a large number of Subordinated Callable Bonds on issue by banks in the New Zealand market. These have tended to be 10 year bonds callable after five years meaning that the initial coupon is fixed for the first five years and if the bonds are not called (ie redeemed for cash) at the end of the first five years then the coupon will be reset at either a new fixed or floating rate for a further five years and then they are repaid in full.

Capital Note – Fixed rate unsecured notes are subordinated to all other debt obligations of the issuer. Rather than a maturity date, capital notes have an “election date” at which time the note holder may elect to invest for a further period on new terms and conditions or convert the notes into ordinary shares of the issuer. In any event the issuer retains the right to pay note holders in cash on the election date.

Capital Bond – Subordinated to all other debt obligations of the issuer. Typically these have a maturity date but may be exchanged, repaid or resold earlier in certain circumstances. They also tend to have a reset date at which time certain terms can be adjusted. On set election dates, holders can elect to retain the bonds at the new terms or request the company sell their bonds at the issue price on the election date, using a resale facility established by the company for that purpose. If the company is unable to sell the bonds the holder can elect to have the bonds converted to shares.

Perpetual Bond and Perpetual Preference Shares – As a perpetual issue the securities do not have a maturity date which means the only exit option for a holder is to sell on market. The primary difference between perpetual bonds and perpetual preference shares is that the bonds pay interest and the shares pay a dividend, which is usually fully imputed. Perpetual issues are typically unsecured and subordinated ranking behind all other creditors. The coupon paid by the security is reset periodically at a margin over the prevailing swap rate with the issuer also having the ability to call (redeem) the security.

Clutters are not only unpleasant to look at but are fire hazards as well. Most people mess up their homes with unnecessary used things and unused gifts. These ways can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle and poor hygiene of people living inside the house. To help them, blogger Ingrid Callot gave some advice to improve one’s home and re-use things that are just hanging around the house.

Ingrid Callot is a graduate of University of California at Berkeley. She is now a wife and a mother who also faced the problem of having cluttered space. But now that she had conquered this problem, she shares with her blog followers some of the tips they can use to improve their own homes. She installed double hanger rods inside her closet to maximize the space for her clothes and put a wood plank where she can put her shoes. Aside from this, she also teaches her readers how they can turn simple objects into efficient ones just like what she did with her own things. She didn’t spend a cent on decorating her house with lanterns as they were made of old tin cans. Also, she saved money by turning hardbound books into a nightstand and creating vases out of empty wine bottles.

Aside from re-using items, Ingrid Callot also advises her readers to avoid clutters by giving away or donating gifts that won’t be of use in the near future. With her talent and brilliant ideas, Ingrid Callot is starting to gain popularity and make a name for herself.

The Iraqi dinar (pronounced: di-’när) is the legal currency of Iraq.

Old Iraqi dinar

The Iraqi dinar was introduced into circulation in 1931 and was at par with the Pound sterling. The Iraqi dinar replaced the Indian rupee that was the official currency at the time of the British occupation in World War I. After the 1958 coup d’etat, the Iraqi dinar was dissociated from the Pound sterling, but continued to have a very high value.

After the Gulf War in 1991 and due to the economic blockade and unrestricted printing of banknotes by the government, the dinar devalued fast, and in late 1995, $1 equaled 3000 dinars.

Banknotes issued between 1990 and October 2003, along with a 25-dinar note issued in 1986, bear an idealized engraving of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Following the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq’s currency was printed using poor grade wood pulp paper (rather than cotton or linen) and inferior quality lithography.

Counterfeited banknotes often appeared to be of better quality than real notes. Despite the collapse in the value of the Iraqi dinar, the highest denomination printed until 2002 was 250 dinars.

Currency printed before the Gulf War was often called the Swiss dinar. It got its name from the Swiss printing technology that produced banknotes of a considerably higher quality than those later produced under the economic sanctions that were imposed after the first Gulf War. After a changeover period, the Iraqi government disendorsed this currency. However, this old currency still circulated in the Kurdish regions of Iraq until it was replaced with the new dinar after the second Gulf War.

New Iraqi dinar

Between October 15, 2003 and January 15, 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority issued the new Iraqi dinar to “create a single unified currency that is used throughout all of Iraq.

The Hampshire-based Company “De La Rue” printed the New Iraqi dinars, also known as the “Post – Saddam” dinars, in England, in six denominations: 50, 250, 1000, 5000, 10,000 and 25,000 Dinars.

In November of 2004 the new 500-dinar note was issued by the Central Bank of Iraq to facilitate market transactions. The banknotes are beautiful and of “Swiss” quality with many security features rendering them very hard to counterfeit, features include, watermarks, metallic inks, security thread, ultraviolet images and raised lettering.

Value of the new dinar

Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the Middle East and the largest reserves of natural gas. The new Iraq will be able to take full advantage of exporting these resources with sanctions no longer in place.

As Iraq is welcomed back into the International Community the value of the New Iraqi Dinar should rise. How high? That is what you speculate on when buying Iraqi Dinars! (And nobody dares to predict!)