Maratheftis versus Papazian

In his audio interview of 27 November 2008, discussing the Dollar – UAE Dirham link, Dr. Armen Papazian, an Associate at the University of Cambridge, didn’t want to price oil in Honest Money. (1)

In his 30 November 2008 Emirates Business 24/7 article, Dr. Papazian advocates the separation of UAE government dirham expenditures from government dollar revenues, thus making room for dollar savings. (2)

Dr. Papazian then goes on to argue that the UAE monetary architecture needs to be reinvented and needs to be created in light of a new equation allowing stronger domestic policy-making. He then opts for a managed floating exchange rate of the dirham.

An Arab News article of 01 December 2008 reports that Marios Maratheftis, regional head of research, Middle East and South Asia, at StanChart Bank, said that a lot of the challenges currently facing the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) were created by ultra-loose monetary conditions and the distortions and excesses they caused. Therefore currency reform is not currently a priority. There is, however said Maratheftis, a need for the common GCC currency — which can still be implemented in 2010 — to be much more flexible. (3)

Whereas Marios Maratheftis says that a common GCC currency is needed,
Dr. Papazian concludes his article by saying that there is no need for a proxy anymore and that the creation of a dirham standard is the opportunity that should not be missed.

Does Dr Papazian want the dirham to be a proxy for the common GCC currency?

Why should we still need a proxy?

Ivo Cerckel

NOTES

(1)
http://www.zawya.com/radio/default.cfm/sidDE081127070910091471/Dr.%20Armen%20Papazian%2C%20an%20Associate%20at%20the%20University%20of%20Cambridge%2C%20discusses%20the%20Dollar-Dirham%20link

(2)
Time to create a dirham standard
Dr Armen V Papazian on Sunday, November 30, 2008
http://www.business24-7.ae/articles/2008/11/pages/11302008_55c0998e39b84f2c95130de0d18e48ef.aspx
SNIP
Indeed, reinventing the monetary architecture of the country will not only lead to more domestic empowerment, but it will also lead to an optimised use of foreign inflows, and a far more productive deployment of dollar revenues, from oil or other sources. Indeed, it will allow the government of the UAE to separate dirham expenditures from dollar revenues, thus making room for dollar savings.

(3)
Bahrain to outperform US, Europe in ’09
Arab News
01 December 2008
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081201031945/Bahrain%20To%20Outperform%20US%2C%20Europe%20In%20%2709

The National in Abu Dhabi is carrying an opinion this morning

When animals fail the test
Robert Matthews
Last Updated: November 30. 2008 9:29PM UAE / November 30. 2008 5:29PM GMT
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081201/FRONTIERS/821454234/-1/OPINION

in which it is being argued that
it is far from clear that thalidomide’s terrible effects would have been detected even by today’s animal testing.

Are they joking?

The whistle on thalidomide was blown at a congress of neurologists on 30 April – 1st May 1960 in Duesseldorf.

Gruenenthal, the maker of thalidomide, only withdrew thalidomide from Europe on 27 November 1961.

Real-life testing on humans does of course not qualify as “scientific” animal-testing.

Thalidomide – Dishonest Drug
April 6th, 2008
http://bphouse.com/honest_money/2008/04/06/dishonest-drug/

Thalidomide had been tested
September 28th, 2008
http://bphouse.com/honest_money/2008/09/28/thalidomide-had-been-tested/

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