Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

Will the $200 oil analysts keep their job?, was my first thought ..

December 9, 2008 Goldman Sachs Layoffs: Lather. Rinse. No Repeat .. Posted by Heidi N. Moore

When Goldman Sachs Group announced last month that it would cut 10% of its
work force, it was the worst news employees of the bank had received in years.

This week, rumors on Wall Street had Goldman preparing a fresh round of layoffs. The timing
seemed to fit, as the bank will notify employees next week of their year-end bonuses, and
tensions and fears will run high until the bonus checks are safely in employees’ bank accounts.

The truth is that Goldman isn’t planning another round of layoffs, according to a person with knowledge
of the matter. There are people being laid off this week, but they are part of the 10% cuts announced earlier.

Laying off people is never fun, and even less so during the most brutal economic downturn since
the Great Depression. Why did Goldman extend the pain by splitting the same round of layoffs
into two chunks? A person familiar with the situation says the layoff process took a break as
the New York investment bank scrambled to prepare for the end of its fiscal year on Nov. 30.

With fiscal year-end preparations over, Goldman resumed the layoff process. It should
be interesting to see what Goldman’s work force looks like in the new year, with the layoffs
completed and any employees unhappy with their bonuses looking to leave for greener pastures.
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/12/09/goldman-sachs-layoffs-rinse-lather-no-repeat/

heh, i still don't know .. now, over to Iraq

One .. MP: Oil and Gas law set to be read by house of representatives

PNA- President of the Committee for oil and gas in the Iraqi Council of Representatives
said that the draft of the oil and gas law which was approved by the Council of Ministers
with its annexes has been delivered to the committee but no date is set for its discussion.

Dr. Ali Bello told PNA news agency that "the draft law of oil and gas, which
contains four annexes and was approved by the Council of Ministers in Feb.
2007 is expected to be discussed together with a group other related laws"

He added that a higher committee was formed to discuss and finalize the issue of oil wealth, oil and gas law,
the structure of the Ministry of Oil and the National Company for oil and gas. The committee is headed by the
Prime Minister and with members of Adel Abdul Mahdi, Tariq al-Hashimi , Dr. Barham Salih and Ruz Nuri Shaways "

Second .. Reevaluation of 2009 budget after oil prices decline:

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Finance Minister Bayan Jabr al-Zubaidi said on Friday
that his ministry will re-evaluate the 2009 budget after the huge decline in oil prices.

“The state’s general budget for 2009 was prepared in cooperation with the international financial
institutions according to the global crude oil prices,” the finance ministry quoted al-Zubaidi as saying.

“Sudden oil prices decline took place recently. The ministry is following up these
prices and will take measures in early 2009 to re-evaluate the budget,” he added.

“The ministry will also decrease unnecessary spending to achieve the progress,” the minister asserted.

Third .. Iraq requests $6B for security upgrades

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The Iraqi military has ordered $6 billion worth of equipment
from the United States to boost its mechanized forces, congressional records show.

U.S. congressional records through the Defense Security Cooperation Agency show the Iraqi
government through a supplemental budget passed during the summer intends to purchase weapons
to upgrade its mechanized forces for national defense, The Long War Journal said in a document review.

Purchases slated for the Iraqi navy will double the number of patrol boats for the fledgling force, while the
Iraqi air force will double its number of attack helicopters and fixed-wing training vehicles, the report said.

The intended purchase of some 80,000 M16 rifles and 25,000 M4 rifles will boost the capabilities of the Iraqi
army, while the purchase of 140 M1A1 Abrams tanks will bring the total number of tank battalions to eight.

The congressional records also show Iraq plans to buy $485
million worth of communications equipment for joint-service use.

Not included in the Iraqi arms purchases are surface-to-air missiles or rocket launchers,
suggesting further upgrades may be needed to develop a stand-alone national security force.
http://www.iraqog.com/