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Nigeria said yesterday that it would not send troops to end the fighting in Liberia unless the West offered more cash. As fighting continued to rage in Monrovia, the Liberian capital and Buchanan, the second city, despite rebels declaring a ceasefire, the Nigerians said they needed more than the £7 million offered so far by Washington to help end the clashes. "We made it clear we needed assistance in their deployment, in terms of logistics, in terms of funding," said Oluyemi Adeniji, the Nigerian foreign minister. "All the cards are not in Nigeria's hands." Nigeria had volunteered to deploy 1,500...

US tourists take France off menu SUSAN BELLIN PARIS AMERICAN anger over the French stand against the war in Iraq has led them to boycott France in huge numbers. The president of the French travel agents’ union has estimated the number of American visitors plunged by up to 80 per cent in the first half of 2003 compared to the same period in 2002, when some four million US tourists came to France. César Balderacchi’s calculation was far more gloomy than that of the French ministry of tourism, which says numbers fell by 30 per cent in the first three...

The telephone background music at the federation of French tourist offices yesterday was "Georgia on My Mind". Who said that France was anti-American? A lot of people did - over and over again - before and during and after the Iraq war. As a result, it appears that many fewer Americans, from Georgia or any other state, have France on their mind this summer. The official figure - American visits down 30 per cent - does not tell the whole story. The union of French travel agents suggests that American tourism has fallen by 80 per cent this year. An...

It's nice to feel wanted. And American travelers can bask in that feeling right now. Because all across the globe, there are people who want us. Really want us. Yes, we Americans, we normally "ugly Americans," are looking très attractive to countries that have, for one reason or another, been suffering from our dearth of visits. Could we ever have imagined, six months ago, the French wanting to celebrate our Independence Day? It's true. The four-star Victoria Palace Hotel in Paris was offering a free night for American visitors on July 4. "This is the hotel's way of saying that...

Dubai Customs to inspect all bank note shipments His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Emirates Group, has signed an agreement, on behalf of Transguard, with the Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation under which Transguard will carry out the inspection of all shipments of bank notes into and out of Dubai. Sheikh Ahmed presents Sultan bin Sulayem with a gift following the signing of the agreement between Dubai Customs and Transguard. Recent attempts to import counterfeit bank notes into Dubai have resulted in a requirement by Dubai Customs for all banknote shipments, either...

<p>Dollar May Gain on Outlook for U.S. Economy, Survey Indicates July 7 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar may extend its 2 percent gain against the euro in the past month on optimism U.S. economic growth will accelerate and spur demand for stocks and other assets, according to a Bloomberg News survey.</p>

Weaker dollar may boost Bush re-election prospects Reuters, 07.06.03, 11:47 AM ET By Daniel Bases NEW YORK, July 6 (Reuters) - George W. Bush won the 2000 U.S. presidential election by a razor thin margin and some economists reckon that a weakened dollar could put him back in the White House in 2004 with a comfortable victory. On the surface, a weak dollar may not seem very relevant to Bush's re-election, but in the five Midwest states where Bush lost by slim margins to Al Gore it could make a huge difference when Americans go to the polls in 15...

Washington- The nation's paper-money experts plan to meet with gaming and banking employees in Las Vegas to help educate them about the new $20 bill, which is expected to go into circulation later this year. Officials from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Federal Reserve and the Secret Service will hold a seminar July 15, kicking off a series of events. Government officials say that educating people about their currency - especially those who handle money - is one of the best ways to stem the circulation of counterfeit notes. The new bill will sport some extra color and...

On his current pay grade, Captain Brad Boyd would need to work for 209 years and seven months to earn the stack of $US100 bills piled on the table in front of him. "It sure is a big stash of money," Captain Boyd said as he told how $US12.5 million ($18.6 million) came to be sitting on a sideboard in the presidential palace in Saddam Hussein's home town, Tikrit. His patrol, surviving on four hours' sleep a night and attacked by rockets that night, was too tired to get excited by two farmhouses a few kilometres south-east of Tikrit. Within...

China has to allow the yuan to riseBy Tung Chen-yuanFriday, Jun 20, 2003,Page 8 China attended a G8 summit for the first time earlier this month. This not only indicates that the international community acknowledges China's achievements in economic development, but also implies that Beijing will have to shoulder more responsibilities for the world's economy. The appreciation of China's yuan might become its admission ticket into G8. Because the yuan has been pegged to the US dollar at US$1 to 8.28 yuan and the dollar began to depreciate last year, the yuan has followed suit and devaluated against other currencies....

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND 7115 South Boundary Boulevard MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101 Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 June 19, 2003Release Number: 03-06-67 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4ID SOLDIERS SEIZE CASH, VALUABLES IN TIKRIT FARM HOUSES TIKRIT, Iraq – Fourth Infantry Division soldiers conducted two raids June 18 at separate farm houses outside of Tikrit, seizing $8 million (U.S.), millions of Iraqi dinar, a large sum of British pounds, British Sterling and Euro still waiting to be counted by Coalition Forces. Other items seized in the raid were expensive jewels and gems with an estimated value...

<p>June 19, 2003 -- BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. troops raided two farmhouses near Tikrit north of Baghdad yesterday and seized millions of American dollars, British pounds, euros and Iraqi dinars apparently designated, in part, to pay bounties to kill American soldiers, a senior U.S. general said.</p>

CHINA may be ready to break the link between its currency and the dollar, rather than track the falling American currency, analysts believe. The hugely competitive Chinese economy has been greatly helped by the dollar’s fall, which has pulled its currency, the renminbi yuan, lower against the euro and yen. The currency link has prevented America getting the full benefits of the dollar’s depreciation, and it has also intensified the pressure on exporters in Britain and Europe. According to a new analysis by Goldman Sachs, China seems ready to soften the dollar link. It expects the dollar to drop gradually...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - For much of Saddam Hussein's regime, possession of U.S. dollars was a crime punishable by the amputation of a hand. But nowadays the greenback is the hottest item in Baghdad. Since the U.S.-led war in Iraq, dollars, either looted from banks or handed out by U.S. administrators, have flooded the currency market. The $100 bill, or the "waraqa," Arabic for paper, has become the preferred trade tool in the city of 5.5 million. From an exchange rate of three dollars for an Iraqi dinar in the 1980s, the local currency plummeted to 4,000 for a dollar...

I am curious if the changes to the $20 bill were accelerated by the vast amounts of American currency found in Iraq. In World War II, Hitler's Germany was counterfeiting the British pound sterling on an industrial scale and shortly before the end of the war, they were close to perfecting the $100 bill for German mass production. After the war, Britian completely changed their entire currency so that it could be ensured as "valid". Here's the series of events as found on FR: 1. U.S. Probes Fortune in Cash Found in Iraq April 22nd. 2. U.S. forces trying to...

<p>May 23, 2003 -- The dollar continued its silent war against Europe yesterday, deepening political turmoil there and raising new demands for the European Union to fight back.</p> <p>Political leaders Italy, France and Germany publicly and privately demanded yesterday that economic steps be taken by the EU's central bank to block the dollar's affect on their weakened economies.</p>

<p>For anyone who thinks Japan's 12- year slump is ending, here are two words: Resona Holdings.</p> <p>It's the nation's fifth-largest bank, and it's asking the government for a 2 trillion yen ($17.2 billion) bailout.</p> <p>Resona Holdings Inc.'s meltdown is the starkest sign that Japan's economic recovery last year was more spin than reality. There was ample talk about painful reforms and bold changes in the world's second-largest economy, but little action.</p>

<p>The euro edged closer to an all-time high against the U.S. dollar Monday, continuing a 16-month rally that has helped the fledgling currency win back respect.</p> <p>Still, the ascent carries hazards for Europe's struggling economy.</p> <p>Monday's euro surge above $1.17 came after U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said over the weekend that the dollar's fall was part of "really fairly modest realignments" in currency markets.</p>

His Face Still Gives Fits as Saddam Dinar Soars By EDMUND L. ANDREWS American dollars have dipped as the old Saddam Hussein dinar is at its highest level since 1996. A money-changer inspects $100 bills. BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 16 — Saddam Hussein may be out of power or even dead. But his maligned currency, the so-called Saddam dinar, has abruptly skyrocketed in value. In a display of what might be called Saddam's revenge, the discredited dinar soared by about one-third against the dollar on Thursday and is now at its highest value since 1996. Its remarkable comeback is likely to...