Sidelined in US crisis, IMF's day may still come - Forbes.com

"The IMF's response in the current crisis has ignited a fierce debate between IMF staff, management and its Asian members over the even-handedness of the IMF's endorsements of U.S. government's bailouts of institutions and its advice during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis.

During the Asian crisis, the IMF opposed moves by Asian governments to pump public money to support the capital of ailing financial institutions, which led to a string of bankruptcies and thousands of job losses.

Still bitter toward the IMF, Asian government officials, and some senior staff, have told IMF management that the institution's actions smack of double standards."

[Read More:Forbes.com]

Steven Pearlstein - Tossing Aside History, Conventions and a Few Cliches - washingtonpost.com

"Tossing Aside History, Conventions and a Few Cliches: "Now U.S. taxpayers have been asked to come to the aid of banks and financial institutions that, while nominally American, have long since become global players. Meanwhile, foreign banks and investors are also benefiting significantly from the U.S. government initiatives. While that is the burden that comes with being the world's leading economic power, it raises the question of whether some of the costs and risks of our trillion-dollar rescue should be shared with other countries, through the International Monetary Fund."

[Read More:Steven Pearlstein - Tossing Aside History, Conventions and a Few Cliches - washingtonpost.com]

Best beaches: Hammamet, Tunisia - Telegraph

"A beautiful arc of golden sand, 40 miles from Tunis, backed by a band of greenery which screens the low-rise hotels beyond, and attached to what was once a little fishing port built around a charming little walled medina."


[Read More:Telegraph]

Tunis Sports City

Dubai firm wants to build new city in Tunisia

"TUNIS, Tunisia: A Dubai development company has announced a US$25 billion deal for the largest-ever foreign investment project in Tunisia, pledging to build a new city near the capital, authorities and the group said."


[Read More:International Herald Tribune]

FROZEN RIVER

It is too soon for the Oscars' season, but this is a winner. Read the LATimes' review:

"AS THE summer heats up, let 'Frozen River' wash over you; let its bracing drama and the intensity of its acting restore your spirits as well as your faith in American independent film."

[Read More:Review: 'Frozen River' - Los Angeles Times]

Book World: Fall Books Preview 2008 (washingtonpost.com)

" America and the World, by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, with David Ignatius (Basic, Sept.) Two former national security advisers -- a Democrat and a Republican -- coach our next president about global affairs."

[Read More:Book World: Fall Books Preview 2008 (washingtonpost.com)]

Recommended Reading for Our Times

About the current financial crisis:

"MARK CUBAN

Dallas Mavericks owner;

chairman of HDNet;

founder of Broadcast.com,

sold to Yahoo for $6 billion in 1999

No recommendation.

Cuban says:'I don't think there is such a book. In my humble opinion, people who actually believe they can understand all the issues are the ones that got us to where we are today. In reality, there are so many variables and so little data, it's all a guess. I don't think a book exists that can explain it. Is there a book out there called 'No One Has a Clue What Is Going On and the Whole World Is Guessing'?'"

Recommended Reading for Our Times:

Pics Tunis August 2008

Pics Nouakchott August 2008

Millénium par Stieg Larsson

J'ai "devore" en l'espace de deux mois ces trois livres.

A quant la suite?

Television - Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America? - NYTimes.com

Mellouli Becomes Tunisia's First Champion

What is IMF?

The Souk des Etoffes, Tunis

"Anton Robert Leinweber (1845-1921)
The Souk des Etoffes, Tunis
Oil on canvas
71 1/4 X 53 1/4 inches"


[Read More:Forbes.com]

Who runs the world? | Wrestling for influence

"The post-war global institutions have largely worked well. But rising countries and growing threats are challenging their pre-eminence"

[Read More:Economist.com]

Communiqué du Conseil d'Administration de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie

Communiqué du Conseil d'Administration de la Banque Centrale de Tunisie, réuni le 24 juin 2008.


L’environnement international a été marqué, au cours du mois de juin 2008, par la poursuite de la hausse des prix de la plupart des produits de base, notamment les denrées alimentaires et le pétrole dont les cours ont atteint de nouveaux records, soit environ 140 dollars le baril, ce qui accentue les risques de déséquilibres et les tensions inflationnistes dans la plupart des pays et pourrait amener les principales banques centrales à durcir leurs politiques monétaires. Cette situation, conjuguée aux fluctuations des marchés des changes et financiers internationaux, est de nature à affecter le rythme de la croissance mondiale.

Sur le plan national, les échanges commerciaux avec l’extérieur ont continué à progresser, enregistrant au terme du 20 juin 2008 un accroissement de l’ordre de 26% des exportations et des importations. L’activité s’est également, poursuivie dans le secteur des industries manufacturières au rythme de 7,5%, au cours des quatre premiers mois de 2008, contre 10,1% durant la même période de 2007, et l’activité touristique a progressé, jusqu’au 20 juin 2008, à un rythme proche de celui de l’an passé.

Toutefois, les pressions exercées par l’instabilité de la conjoncture internationale requièrent l’intensification des efforts pour en contenir les éventuelles répercussions, préserver le rythme de la croissance économique, maîtriser l’inflation et sauvegarder les équilibres financiers tant intérieurs qu’extérieurs, en particulier à travers le maintien du déficit courant et celui du budget de l’Etat à des niveaux acceptables. Aussi, est-il impératif d’œuvrer, notamment, à accroître la productivité, améliorer la compétitivité et rationaliser la consommation.

Sur le plan monétaire, la masse monétaire et les concours à l’économie se sont accrus, au cours des cinq premiers mois de 2008, de 6% et 4%, respectivement, contre 4,5% et 3,4% durant la même période de l’année précédente reflétant la consolidation de l’intervention du secteur bancaire pour soutenir l’investissement et l’emploi. La persistance de la situation de surliquidité a nécessité une intervention accrue de la Banque centrale pour se prémunir contre les pressions inflationnistes. Le taux d’intérêt au jour le jour sur le marché monétaire a fluctué, depuis le début du mois courant, entre 5,13% et 5,38%.

Concernant l’indice général des prix à la consommation familiale, il s’est stabilisé au cours du mois de mai 2008 en comparaison avec le mois précédent, contre une hausse de 0,7% en mai 2007. Les données provisoires disponibles font état d’un recul du glissement annuel des prix à 4,8% au terme du 20 juin 2008, après avoir atteint 5,3% à la fin du mois de mai dernier.

S’agissant du cours du dinar sur le marché des changes, il a enregistré, depuis le début de l’année et jusqu’au 23 juin 2008, une appréciation de 3,7% vis-à-vis du dollar américain et une dépréciation de 1,9% contre l’euro.

A la lumière de ces évolutions, le Conseil d’Administration a décidé de maintenir inchangé le taux d’intérêt directeur de la Banque Centrale, tout en insistant, de nouveau, sur la nécessité de continuer à suivre de près l’évolution de la conjoncture internationale et ses retombées éventuelles au plan national.

Statement by the IMF Mission to Tunisia

Statement by the IMF Mission to Tunisia
Press Release No. 08/148
June 23, 2008

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission headed by Mr. Abdelhak Senhadji visited Tunis from May 27-June 9, 2008, to conduct the regular consultation under Article IV of the IMF Articles of Agreement, which requires an annual review of the economic policies of all IMF member countries.

The mission issued the following statement in Tunis on June 9, 2008:

"The discussions focused on economic policies as well as the short- and medium-term economic outlook. The mission held wide-ranging discussions with H.E. Mr. T. Baccar; Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT); as well as with H.E. Mr. R. Kechiche, Minister of Finance; H.E. Mr. N. Jouini, Minister of Development and International Cooperation; H.E. Mr. A. Chelbi, Minister of Industry, Energy, and Small and Mediumsized Enterprises; H.E. Mr. A. Chaouch, Minister of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad; H.E. Mr. R. Touiti, Minister of Trade and Handicrafts; H.E. Mr. K. Lajimi, Minister of Tourism; H.E. Mr. M. Bouden, State Secretary to the Minister of Finance; H.E. Mr. A. Daâloul, State Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources; and H.E. Mr. A. Triki, State Secretary to the Minister of Development and International Cooperation. The mission also met with other members of the government and the administration, representatives of the banking sector and the business community, and with social partners. The IMF staff wish to express their deep appreciation to the Tunisian authorities for their excellent cooperation, the high quality of the discussions, and their customary warm hospitality and full availability.

"Good economic management and social policy are continuing to yield results, as evidenced by accelerated growth and improved social indicators, and a stable macroeconomic position.

"Tunisia recorded an excellent economic performance in 2007. Growth in real GDP accelerated to 6.3 percent, contributing to lower unemployment. The BCT's prudent monetary policy contributed to reducing inflation to 3.1 percent, although it recently picked up again, primarily on account of new increases in world prices for food and petroleum products. The current account deficit, while remaining sustainable, deteriorated from 2 percent of GDP in 2006 to 2.6 percent in 2007, largely on account of declining terms of trade. The current account deficit has nonetheless been comfortably financed by foreign direct investment, as reflected by an increase in international reserves to over US$8½ billion at the end of first quarter of 2008. The fiscal deficit stayed within the 2007 budget target of 3 percent of GDP in spite of higher subsidies on food and petroleum products. The prudent fiscal policy and the use of a portion of the privatization proceeds helped reduce the public debt from 53.9 percent of GDP in 2006 to 50.9 percent in 2007.

"The proactive policy pursued by the authorities helped to further strengthen the soundness of the banking system, as reflected in particular by a decrease in nonperforming loans (NPLs) to total loans ratio from 19.3 percent in 2006 to 17.3 percent in 2007 and an increase in the provisioning ratio from 49.2 percent in 2006 to 53.8 percent in 2007.

"The challenging international environment is expected to slow down economic activity to some extent but the outlook remains encouraging. Real GDP growth in 2008 is expected to remain relatively strong at 5.5 percent. Inflation should be around 5 percent. Rising world prices of food and petroleum products will bring about a significant increase in subsidies. Nevertheless, the fiscal deficit should be kept within the budget limit of 3 percent. The current account deficit should remain in the 3-3½ percent of GDP range. The medium-term outlook remains favorable, with mega-projects expected to support growth. Given the scale of these projects, it is desirable to rapidly incorporate them into the medium-term macroeconomic framework in order to better manage their impact and control any potential risks, particularly those associated with real estate projects.

"The major challenge at present is to limit the impact on inflation and growth from rising world prices of food and petroleum products and global financial turbulence in order to further reduce the unemployment rate which is still relatively high, particularly among young graduates. This requires pursuing structural reforms and strengthening Tunisia's macroeconomic position. In this context, the mission considers that the prudent monetary policy pursued by the central bank is appropriate but may require additional tightening if inflationary pressures should intensify. Monetary policy should also be supported by a more flexible exchange rate policy. On the budgetary side, the authorities are faced with a delicate tradeoff between the need to maintain the purchasing power of Tunisians in the face of rising international prices of food and petroleum products while preserving fiscal sustainability over the medium to long term. Given the very rapid increase in direct and indirect subsidies related to these products (which the authorities currently estimate at 7.1 percent of GDP), and the strong likelihood that the current high world prices will persist, the ongoing reform of the subsidy system to improve its targeting should be continued in conjunction with the implementation of the energy conservation policy.

"The financial system should undergo further strengthening to enable it to withstand the potential shocks to which Tunisia may become exposed as it pursues its integration to the global economy. In particular, it is important that the regulatory and supervisory frameworks are continuously adapted to reflect developments in the international financial system. The mission encourages the authorities in their preparations for the implementation of Basel II.

"Tunisia has recently made significant progress in improving its business climate, as evidenced by the new law on economic initiative (promulgated in December 2007) designed to foster business creation. The authorities are continuing the gradual liberalization of the capital account. Finally, Tunisia is pursuing its efforts to strengthen its framework for Anti Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).

"The authorities are continuing to further integrate the Tunisian economy into the regional and global economy, the current economic environment notwithstanding. Trade liberalization is progressing, particularly in the context of the Association Agreement with the EU, which culminated in free trade of goods in 2008; negotiations focusing on agricultural goods and services are under way. In addition, Tunisia is actively engaged in promoting regional integration and has entered into a number of bilateral trade agreements."

This review will conclude with the preparation of a report, which will be discussed by the Executive Board of the IMF in August 2008. The preliminary conclusions of the mission as well as the final report on the consultation will be published on the IMF's website: www.imf.org/external/country/TUN/index.htm. Reports for previous years and other IMF publications on Tunisia can also be found at that Internet address.

French Version

New Crisis Threatens Healthy Banks - washingtonpost.com

"Increasing struggles by consumers and businesses to make payments on a variety of loans, not just mortgages, are setting off a new wave of trouble in the financial sector that is battering even institutions that had steered clear of the subprime-home-loan debacle."

[Read More:Washingtonpost.com]

Stade Nabeulien

I did not know that my father in law played basket ball. He even created le Stade Nabeulien who took both the championship and the cup this year.

"Nabeul voit la création de sa première association spécialisée en basket-ball en 1937: la Jeunesse Sportive Nabeulienne où joue Abdelkader Kerkeni, l’un des premiers Tunisiens à avoir pratiqué ce sport. Il est, d’ailleurs, avec Hédi Fathallah, l’un des deux Tunisiens sélectionnés en 1941. C’est lui qui, en 1943, prend l’initiative de créer la section de basket-ball du Stade Nabeulien."

[Read More:La Presse]