Coffee's on. Al-Zaidi says the government is sticking with its development plans and is committed to controlling the exchange rate, and the Central Bank says it is protecting the value of the local currency. Exchange companies sent the Prime Minister an urgent proposal for a remittance initiative, while the IMF projects Iraq's economy shrinking 16% this year and warns of rising deficits in advanced economies. Markets are shaky: Korea's KOSPI dropped more than 4% and tripped a circuit breaker, and MediaMarkt pulled Ledger wallets over tampering reports. Overseas, Trump's energy ceasefire runs into Zelensky, Farage vows to shut the asylum system for five years, and France and Belgium keep boiling. At home, a winter storm threatens 19 states. Here's the drop.
Iraq & the Dinar
- Prime Minister: the government continues its development plans and is committed to controlling currency exchange rates — Iraqi News Agency (Arabic)
- Central Bank: the exchange rate matters for the economy, and we are maintaining the value of the local currency — Alsumaria (Arabic)
- Exchange companies submit an urgent proposal to al-Zaidi to launch a domestic and international remittance initiative — Jaredaiq (Arabic)
- The IMF expects Iraq's economy to shrink 16% in 2026 — is the country facing its most serious economic crisis in years? — Independent Press Agency (Arabic)
Money & Markets
- IMF warns of rising budget deficits in advanced economies — Iraqi News Agency (Arabic)
- South Korea's KOSPI plunges more than 4%, triggering a sell-side circuit breaker for the first time in two months — BigGo Finance
- MediaMarkt's parent pulls Ledger wallets amid tampering reports — Cointelegraph
Around the World
- Watch: Trump says Russia and Ukraine “agreed” to a ceasefire because he told them they did — ZeroHedge
- “Britain is full”: Farage vows to shut down the asylum system for five years and deport 90,000 pending claimants — ZeroHedge
- Two teachers shot in France; a far-left network is funding the chaos — Modernity
- “Our message is: smash everything” — Belgian student can't say why he's protesting in revealing video — Remix News
Home Front
- “Winter storm battleground”: millions face potentially crippling snowstorms across 19 states — ZeroHedge
- Feds raid Ilhan Omar's DC home as immigration fraud investigation heats up — ZeroHedge
- Lorenzo — Baby of the Year — Baby of the Year
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