Iraq's Ailing Banking Industry Is Slowly Reviving
12/30/04
"At the government-owned banks, the branches are cold, musty chambers where customers stand in line for hours as employees sit idly at their desks. While the private banks tend to look better, there are no cash machines or online payments in Iraq. Banks handle transactions by hand rather than using electronic Swift codes, for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the international standard for moving money." (New York Times, Thursday)
[Bleep in a bucket!! They've already archived it! I wonder if I can find anything else about this for you.]
The best thing the Iraqi government could do for the private banks is to leave them alone.
FEE Timely Classic
"Banking Without Regulation" by Lawrence H. White
And
King of Nepal Takes Charge
2/8/05
"Six days ago Nepal's king ended the country's 15-year experiment with democracy and took power for himself, imposing a state of emergency and suspending a host of civil liberties, including freedom of expression. Nepalis have been facing something between fear and a farce since then, adjusting to a combination of royal rule and martial law. Those in politics and the news media feel particularly under siege." (New York Times, Tuesday)
L'etat, c'moi.
FEE Timely Classic
"The Assault on Free Choice" by Roger Ream
The latter article strikes me as particularly important.
