Iraq to Evacuate its Citizens from Egypt

The wheel has certainly turned:

BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi government says it will evacuate its citizens living in Egypt for free as the chaos in this North African nation enters its sixth day.Sunday's offer is a role reversal since many of the Iraqis living in Egypt fled their homeland because of rampant violence, with near-daily attacks still continuing.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Aqeel Hadi Kawthar tells The Associated Press that "we will send whatever planes needed to those who want to leave Egypt." He says the number of flights will depend on demand.

Kuwait Prime Minister in Iraq

Events that would appear revolutionary have a habit of appearing banal when no one is paying attention:

Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah was received at Baghdad airport by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and other officials.

The two prime ministers then met in “a positive atmosphere” and discussed steps to deal with outstanding issues in ties, said Ali Moussawi, a Maliki adviser. “The two sides showed their insistence on developing relations, and getting over problems of borders and economic and security files,” he added.

They agreed to form a committee to address outstanding issues, which will be jointly headed by the countries’ foreign ministers, Moussawi said.“The committees will meet soon, to find solutions via dialogue,” he said.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah, who accompanied Sheikh Nasser, said at a news conference that “there are several issues the Iraqi-Kuwaiti committee will discuss, including the issue of debts.”

He added that Kuwait is interested in investing in Iraqi infrastructure: “We have a real desire to set up bridges between two peoples, and there is a big Kuwaiti desire for investment in Iraqi infrastructure,” he said.

Sheikh Nasser’s visit is the first by a Kuwaiti prime minister to Iraq since Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah visited in 1989. In August 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered his forces to invade Kuwait. The invasion was quickly met with a concerted international military response that seven months later pushed Saddam’s forces out of the emirate.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=123610#ixzz1AufDmAqs
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

SEC to Investigate Calpers

Public Pensions have been racked by major scandals lately, on the one hand the benefits promised in exchange for short term political favors are underfunded creating massive state liabilities which cannot be paid. The other scandal is the pension funds being used for ill advised investments in exchange for favors and bribes, as seen in New York. What makes the California case so interesting is that the SEC might be swooping in, and if they do what they find probably won't be pretty.

The fund, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, known as Calpers, lost about a quarter of its total investment portfolio during the financial crisis, leaving the state responsible for replacing billions of dollars each year and contributing to its huge deficit. The question is whether California adequately disclosed in the preceding years how risky the pension investments were and how much money it might need to cover any shortfall.

But it is unclear whether investigators are focusing on those risks or on possible conflicts of interest in steering investments to related parties, the subject of a separate investigation by the attorney general of California.

S.E.C. officials declined to confirm an investigation, citing agency rules. But the person with knowledge of the investigation said it was among the agency’s top priorities. A spokeswoman for Calpers, which is America’s largest pension fund with assets of about $220 billion, said it had not been contacted by the S.E.C. about its accounting or about financial disclosures.

“The SEC has an ongoing look at pension funds in California” because of revelations about the use of placement agents who recommended investment managers, said Patricia Macht, a spokeswoman for Calpers.

Along with concerns about the use of placement agents, regulators have grown increasingly concerned about whether states may have hidden financial weaknesses, particularly in their pension portfolios, and whether investors who buy municipal bonds can fully appreciate the risks.

(I know blogging has been slow at The 46, but I have been very busy. In time I should pick up the pace again)