Kalistani Major History

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News Brief
Kalistani Economy falls off a cliffInvestors take a bath, Government considers raising taxes
Kaliburg, Ananto
August 15, 4439

The Government of Kalistan announced that withdrawals from the Republican National Bank have been suspended today, suggesting that the Ruble is joining the long list of economic woes to hit the Republic.  The panic which set in for Kalistani stocks following the death of Al-Khali has now spread to the currency, and a currency crisis is most assuredly on the horizon.

Kalistani National Industries stocks have fallen more than 60% since May, and the many sectors in the Private sphere have lost significantly more.  Many businesses throughout the Republic are experiencing slowdowns and laying people off, which puts an additional strain on the social spending system.  All of this has wiped out almost 5 years of reserves stored at the bank, and has brought liquidity in the Monetary system to virtually nothing.  The Finance Minister therefore decided to suspend withdrawals to protect the ability of the Republic to continue to function properly.

A suspension of withdrawal means that currency supply in the society will be frozen and investors will lose confidence in the Bank, specifically in pulling their investments from the bank.  The Finance Minister has outlined a series of policies that are aimed at staving off a monetary crisis in Kalistan, including soaking up excess elasticity in the monetary market through an increase in taxes for the upper classes, as well as limited divestment in some of the National Industries.  Additionally, Hashimoto will be promoting FDI abroad, as he scrambles to find new investors from other countries.

In other news, Interim President Reina has called for new elections to fill the seats in the National Assembly.  She has announced her intention to name Hashimoto as the New Premier.

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Kalistani Enters Recession; Monetary Crisis hits 3rd monthShockwaves begin to be felt around Seleya
Kaliburg, Ananto
November 20, 4439


Millions of Kalistanis seek direct pay under Industry and Commerce programs designed to help unemployed people survive

Kalistan has seen negative economic growth now for half a year, officially putting Kalistan into a Great Recession. The Government has worked overtime, being granted extralegislative powers to attempt to deal with the crisis causes by a general loss of confidence in the Kalistani economy, and the ensuing monetary crisis which followed on the heels of the shuttering of the Banks last August.

Currency has become scarce and a deflationary spiral has set in, whereby hard currency is at a premium in the society and few have work.  The increased value of Kalistani currency has caused prices to drop on domestic made goods, which has further exacerbated the crisis for Kalistani producers, who have now laid off more than 20 million Kalistani Laborers.  As workers are laid off, tax revenues decrease, and the government is less able to fund poor relief programs.

"We are keeping the lights on with what we are currently bringing in,"  Finance Minister Julie Westin said.  "But that isn't much.  A lot of our money now goes out just to pay for the minimum requirements of our social system.  We keep the hospitals open, but we triage.  A lot of folks with scrapes and cuts are often sent directly to the pharmacy for OTC care rather than being seen by a doctor.  ODEN has been helping maintain our agriculture programs, because they benefit from them as well, but the NSP has ground to a halt, as there simply is no more money right now for new projects.  It's a real mess."

Hoping that Kalistan's economy has finally hit rock bottom, the Government is weighing raising taxes.  Minister Westin said:  "People are hording cash, so we have to pull that out of the economy and start buying imported goods.  But as long as they are sleeping on the money, it will be difficult to even get a lot of consumer goods into the market, because to be honest with you, many of the companies that made consumer goods last November don't exist anymore this November."

The currency crisis has gotten so bad that desperate Districts have been temporarily authorized to issue District scrip that will serve as currency until the Kalistani Republican Bank reopens.  "We have authorized each District to print and circulate something on the order of 200 Billion Rubles worth of scrip to circulate until the Bank reopens.  This is about 6 months worth of currency, if used sparingly, and should give us enough time to get our reserves built up, so that we can reopen the bank on sound footing.  Nothing would be worse than reopening the bank prematurely."  The Republican Government expressly forbade the private speculation in this District Scrip, but of course, that did not stop greedy public actors from attempting to completely undermine the value of the new Scrip by short selling the currency and raising prices in the Market for goods and services paid for by the Scrip. 

"This crisis in Kalistan may spread beyond our borders," Westin said, "But we are doing our damnedest to keep it contained to Kalistan. Fingers crossed, the financial downturn caused by the loss of our Premier doesn't infect other countries in Seleya."

The Kalistani Indicies are still down, but the rate of decline over the previous six month has slowed, and Kalistani stocks are almost flat, dropping just .34% on the week.

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"Tax Lag" shocks Kalistani Economy once moreLeading Economists call Government "Inept"
Kaliburg, Ananto
December 7, 4439


Premier Hashimoto, Governing from Weil Vanuku, issues support for tax and spending bills

Just when Kalistan thought they had hit the bottom of the trench, a new shock to the system shattered whatever confidence Investors had in the new Government.  The Premier, who is currently discussing an aid and investment package in Vanuku to attempt to shore up the Kalistani economy, issued support for the Finance Minister's proposals on taxing and spending back in Kalistan. 

What the new Government didn't know was that spending bills pass long before tax bills pass.  There is an 8 month lag between spending outlays and new Tax revenue generation.  This means that while the Government has approved a dramatic increase in spending, to the tune of 700 billion new Rubles, they will have to put a hold on the outlays until the money begins to be collected sometime next August.

The President was reportedly furious with Hashimoto and Finance Minister Westin.  Sources close to Reina-Rodriguez spoke on the condition of anonymity, and informed The Republic that the President railed against the stupid procedural rules in the Assembly.  "The President was livid when the Speaker of the Assembly informed her that due to a procedural matter, the spending bill passed immediately, but the revenue bill must remain on the floor for the entire 9 month.  'Why', the President demanded, 'is that stupid rule in place?'  The Speaker of the Assembly informed her that these were the rules.  And she went off.  I've never seen the President so agitated.  She's doing whatever she can to get this economy standing back up, and now we will have to wait for three quarters of a year to collect taxes."

To fill the gap, the President has authorized district governments to create a new series of 200 billion rubles worth of Scrip to hold out for another half a year, while Kalistan's revenue collection begins firing up.  In addition, District Governments and Ministries are freed to begin ad hoc planning for depression-relief programs and job programs to at least put the tens of millions of Kalistani citizens who are out of work currently to work somehow, and get them earning money.  Finally, the Finance Minister has permitted the payment of all taxes using district Scrip in lieu of Kalistani Rubles, with the aim of the Republic honoring the debts at the end of the crisis.  The aim of the proclamation is to cut down on speculation in the District Scrip market, which the Finance Ministry agrees has the potential to get out of control in the short term.

"I don't want speculators going around," said Finance Minister Westin, "and talking people out of their life savings for cents on the Ruble.  The Republic will honor the face value of the Scrip when the monetary crisis ends, and in the meantime, all District Scrip is legal tender for the payment of all debts within Districts, and any business caught either refusing the Scrip or raising prices on people who attempt to pay with the Scrip will be shuttered.  I don't care what the reason is.  This Scrip will be redeemed on a one for one basis when the Banks reopen."


Professor David Bianche of Vrassan District University lectures the Government

Liberal economists in Kalistan, who have long been a source of gloom and doom with regard to the Kalistani Economy, and as of late were behind such libertarian efforts as the RLU in Kalistan, called the Government's efforts to get control of the monetary and financial crisis "inept."  Professor David Bianche, who is one of the Nation's leading Rightwing pro-Market economists stated, "Well, yes, of course, we told them that there was no possible way they could have such a social safety system and low taxes in Kalistan.  And now look at them- like a worm on a hook.  Of course, my colleagues and I have written an open letter to the Finance Minister, to inform her about the proper way to run an economy, but we got no response.  The solution is to cut all social spending [emphasis was Bianche's], and lower taxes to a flat rate of 3% across the board.  Economic models prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt that this country will not only easily be able to manage with a MUCH smaller government, but people will be much freer, not having to accept the ignominy of a Government handout in the form of a UBI, which is akin to slavery and extortion of the making class for the benefit of the dozens of millions of leeches in this country.  The market will produce the winners and losers, thank you very much."

Finance Minister Westin brushed this sort of talk aside.  "Whatever Bianche and his friends say, what we need to do is reopen that banks.  This will be the priority of the Government over the next year.  Once the banks are re-opened, we can rebuild the trust and faith in the Kalistani economy, and begin to rebuild from this rubble.  I know there are likely some dark days ahead of us still, but once we get this right, we will be able to put our foot on the correct course, and will rebuild stronger than ever."

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Reprinted from the Telamon Morning Post

Telamon to Invest In Kalistan
December 4439

Earlier today journalists were dumbstruck when the Telamon government announced plans for massive investments in Kalistan's floundering economy. Despite having no formal relationship with Kalistan outside the Organisation of Drug Exporting Nations (ODEN) the government pledged to help Kalistani efforts to stabilize its economy. Forsætisráðherra Christine Leonhardsdottir announced a five-pronged effort. Telamon's government is about to make a substantial investment in Kalistan's currency, as well as offering the Kalistani government a sizeable loan without interest. Furthermore the Telamonese government will guarantee for loans to Kalistan by private banks in Telamon. Additionally investments in Kalistan will be one hundred percent tax-deductible for Telamonese investors for a period of five years. Finally, all state-owned drug producers -- which are responsible for roughly two thirds of drug production in Telamon -- have been instructed to reduce their exports of drugs also exported by Kalistan by fifty percent for five years.

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Kalistani and Telemonese investors open Small Businesses in SuldanorSigns of life in retail as KALNAMOCO is Divested
Yoshimi, Suldanor
February 1, 4440


Kal-Tel joint venture Greene's Grocers to open in fifteen locations in Suldanor

There are some signs of life as FDI from Telamon begins arriving.  The joint-venture firm, called Greene's Grocers, is a chain of Suldanese groceries which focus on selling healthy whole foods and nutritional supplements, including Telamonese and Kalistani therapeutic vitamins and supplements which are not covered by ODEN.  The venture will be 49.99% owned by a Telamonese Investment firm, and all Telemonese direct Investments have been guaranteed against catastrophic loss by the Kalistani Government.  Greene's Grocers will open 15 stores in Suldanor in 4440, and will employ more than 1750 workers.

In other news, the Kalistani Trade Minister has authorized the divestment of KALNAMOCO, and the national Motor Company will be put up for sale to public investors, including foreign Investors.  The goal of the Government is to offload the National Motor Company to help free up some liquidity in the Ruble, and to keep the more than 37,000 workers of KALNAMOCO employed.  The Divestment will hopefully begin by June, and the Kalistani Government will consider all offers that comply with the Kalistani Majority share requirements of the Law.

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Kalistani President Orders Banks Reopened, Devalues RubleReina-Rodriguez notes that Kalistan is not out of the woods yet
Kaliburg, Ananto
May 3, 4440


President of the Republic expresses confidence in the Ruble

The President of the Republic has ordered the Finance Minister to reopen the Banks, on a limited Basis.  Starting May 20th, all branches of the Republican National Bank will open for 4 hours a day.  Withdrawals will be limited to 5% of available balances per day, and checks may be cashed and deposited without limit.  The reopening of the banks is coupled with a large devaluation of the Kalistani currency:  In April, the Finance Minister released more than 300 Billion new Kalistani Rubles, to be exchanged for old ones at a 7.3:1 new to old basis.  District Scrip was not accepted in exchange, but will be accepted at all Republican Banks in the form of deposit, where they will automatically be converted to new Rubles.

The Finance Ministry's plan is to flood the economy with cheaper Rubles to begin to stimulate imports, including capital imports, and will aim at encouraging local investors to get back into the game.  Devaluation is also aimed at kickstarting Kalistani industries.  As large investments from Telamon and New Endralon flood into the country, and old stocks are being snatched up at bargain basement prices, the devaluation of the currency will boost inflation and increase domestic demand, which should boost hiring.

The immediate inflationary shock to the system caused by the devaluation of the Ruble and the sudden liquidity in the monetary markets caused a small spike in Kalistani indices, but gains were wiped out in the sell-off which followed.  Lower prices will mean in the near term more buying, and now that Kalistanis will have more access to cash, Kalistanis will begin investing.  The temporary inflation caused by the flood of hard money in the economy will be offset later this year as increased taxes pull a lot of that currency back, but within a couple months, the Finance Minister expected to see an increase of hiring and investing.

The President stressed that Kalistan is still not out of the woods.  "Its touch and go, and unfortunately, we are now expecting that it will be several years before Kalistan is fully recovered, but there are some promising signs to the increase in liquidity.  As we flood the economy with cash, we expect to see easier spending.  It will take a lot of time for these effects to trickle into the economy, and meanwhile, we will have to keep close watch on the economy.  We are not out of the woods yet.  But we have a heart beat."

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Limited Bank openings produce runs on local branchesKalistani President orders them shuttered again
Eshar, Odufaray
June 1, 4440


Two days after it reopened, the Eshar Branch was closed again

The plan to open the banks to limited withdrawals was apparently popular.  In fact, it was too popular.  Within days of being reopened, most banks across Kalistan were shuttered once more as hard currency hungry Kalistanis rushed banks to withdraw as much currency as they possibly could.  Riots broke out in most major cities around the banks, and one branch in Luxon Ananto was actually burned to the ground, and two people were killed.  The violence led the President of the Republic to immediately close the banks again for one week.

"This is ridiculous," said Ashley Jade of Kaliburg.  "The Government needs to keep these banks open and let us have our damn money.  I need that money, probably more than most of the people here.  I have bills to pay and I haven't had a job in seven months."

The President addressed the runs on the Bank over the weekend.  "Here's how this is going to go:  Under no circumstances will this Government allow the people to pull all that money out of the bank and horde it in their pillows.  If your goal is to pull your money entirely out of the bank, it is going to take you a little while.  Meanwhile, to prevent runs on the Bank, I have activated the Militia and they will be standing guard at the banks when they re-open on Wednesday of Next week, and only 5 customers at a time will be allowed in.  We will make sure that everyone is served, but we are not going to have scenes like we saw last week."

The President was quick to add:  "You money is safe inside the bank, as long as the criminally minded do not burn them down.  You shall receive access to your entire deposit, denominated in the new Rubles.  Your money isn't going anywhere.  But for the love of Pete, only take out what you need to last for the week, so that we can ensure that others can do the same too.  Relief is only a few months away.  Have faith and hold tight."

The President's words did little to dissuade investors, who continues shorting Kalistani stocks in major International Markets.  "This is not doing us any good:  These foreign Markets are allowing short sales, and these speculators are driving our economy into the ground," said Economist Alice Bennots, who works for the Kaliburg thinktank The Donaldson Foundation.  "More and more, we are hearing calls for the President to open up a Kalistani exchange that can be regulated.  This would at least give the Government a little control over the free fall that our economy has been in for more than a year."

The one positive note for the Kalistani economy this month:  Job losses seem to have hit bottom and appear to have turned a corner.  In the first 12 months of the depression, the monthly average job loss in the public and private sectors was more than 2.7 million per month.  But in April and May, job losses totaled 420,000, showing that FDI and the Government's monetary policies were beginning to pay off in terms of job creation and investment.  More jobs mean there is more money in the hands of Kalistanis and less pressure on the Banks.  When the Banks reopen in a week, runs are expected to be fewer and farther between, and if the hiring trend continues, we could see positive job growth in a few months.

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The Great Kalistani Recession:  A retrospectiveA Year later
Kaliburg, Ananto
September 17, 4441


President of the Republic Reina-Rodriguez discusses the State of the Kalistani Economy following the Great Kalistani Recession

The dust has settled, and all economists in Kalistan agree that Kalistan has put years of recession following the assassination of President Al-Khali in its rearview mirror.  The Republic sat down with Al-Khali's replacement, President Reina-Rodriguez, who is beginning the last year of her first term as President.

[The Kalistani Republic's] D[amon] F[ierro]:  Comrade President, welcome.  We're happy to have you provide this interview.

M[aria] R[eina-Rodriguez]:  Thank you.  I don't get down here enough.  I'm happy to finally get a chance to speak with you.

DF:  The recession has been over, by economic definitions, for more than a year now.  Can you give us a brief history of the downturn?

MR:  Sure.  Al-Khali's assassination was only tangentially related to the recession. It happened, we discovered, to coincide with certain currents in the Kalistani economy, which themselves coincided with political currents swirling around at the same time, to create a perfect storm.  This is something that we haven't seen in Kalistan for quite sometime.  The assassination, while we were attempting to negotiate trade deals in both Lourenne and Vanuku touched off a powderkeg of investor insecurity that led us first to the rabbit hole.  And then the reaction of the Government, some missteps at important junctures, and the slowness of recovery all added up to a complete disaster.

DF:  Why did investors get nervous following the death of the President?

MR:  Internal crises, coupled with some decisions we had made to counter the influence of ephemeral Parties in Kalistan made them jittery.  My appointment as Interim President made a lot of the liberals in our society quite spooked.  And then the dissolution of the main opposition Party at about the same time, which was unapologetically a Party of the Right, caused a crisis of confidence on the hard Right, and well, most of those bastards held most of the investments.  Our Ruble was rock solid, and decades of anti-growth policies of the Socialist Party left the Ruble critically strong and the economy teetering on zero percent growth.  As we slipped into a period of deflationary prices, investment from foreign countries could have potentially kept the inflation rate on the positive side, but delays in those negotiations tipped the scales and people started selling.

DF:  And when people started selling overseas how did this turn into a monetary crisis?

MR:  Well, when the sell off began, people started getting laid off.  And when people started getting laid off, they started drawing on their savings to buy things which were becoming fewer and fewer in the market.  The Money was worth more, but there was less to buy.  And meanwhile, more people were drawing on the social safety net, because they were out of work, and requiring more help from the government.  The surplusses we built up for years and years were depleted in months, because tax revenues dropped sharply, and nothing was coming into to replace what we were putting out the door.  To protect the reserve, we had to close the banks.  I finally got the government to finally raise taxes and lay out more money for social services and for job creation, but because the tax bill was not passed at the same time as the spending bill, people saw this as incompetence, and continued to sell off.  And we have to keep the banks closed.

DF:  Eventually, foreign investors rushed in and began investing.  What effect did this have?

MR:  Of course: they waited until they could snatch up a bunch of Kalistani stock super cheap.  So you will forgive me if I don't count foreign investors as saviors of the nation.  We were lucky and found local investors to partner with the foreigners.  And we started putting putting people back to work.  Soon, money began trickling back into the treasury, and we were able to open the bank again., and we haven't closed it since August of last year. By the beginning of this year, we got the currency problems back under control, and purchased back the first batch of District scrip.  The increased confidence in the Ruble, and soon, the New Ruble had fully replaced the old one.  We opened new businesses across the Republic, divested the KALNAMOCO, and put a lot of people back to work. The last two quarters were positive for job creation.  Though things are pretty anemic, economists predict that we will spend the next decade rebuilding from the economic storm that swept the country.  Which means that there will be bad months, there will be a lot of months where we don't hit our targets and so forth.  But I want to stress, the Republic is back in business.

DF:  Any final words?

MR.  Yes, we'll be opening a stock exchange and all Kalistani owned companies which are publicly traded will be listed there, rather than in foreign exchanges which the Government has no control over.  I don't want to cast aspersions, but, it is better to keep commodities and securities trading at home.

DF:  Very well.  From The Republic, thank you.

MR:  You're totally welcomed.

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Kalistani Microdivisions Opens in SulariSuccess could open door to hightech revolution
Sulari, Suldanor
December 18, 4441


Plant 1 of Kalistani Microdivisions opened for business in August

A growing demand for consumer electronics from other nations has led Kalistan to begin to take the initial steps toward producing its own.  Utilizing cpu architecture researched and developed at Kaliburg Polytechnic University, the first Kalistani variants of popular microprocessors that find their way into cellphones, laptops, and other high tech consumer devices were developed during the recession by a joint venture with New Endralon.  That company has since been liquidated, but investors there worked with another high tech firm in Sulari to begin mass producing chips.  This new company, which opened its doors in August and is preparing to go public, as soon as the new Kalistani Stock Exchange opens next June, is known as Kalistani Microdivisions.

CEO of the operation Vivian Tashunke-Washte said:  "We've been lucky in a lot of ways, that the infrastructure here was so heavily based in heavy industry.  The recession basically wiped a lot of these factories out, but left the skeletons here.  And so we have an intelligent workforce here, as well as a lot of buildings that we can purchase for expansion if we need it, plus the transportation and distribution infrastructure is already here for rail, sea and air."

Kalistani Microdivisions has recently paired with a small local battery producer and is working on cellular phone technology.  "Right now, Kalistanis buy a lot of their cell phones from after market foreign distributors" Tashunke-Washte said.  "It's way cheaper than buying them directly from the factories, especially those which come from countries who refuse for whatever reason to sell us things.  So we are literally a nation of last gen, second hand cell phones.  Our aim at KalMD is to replace that stuff with our own designs.  We have the chips, and we certainly can acquire the capacity to make chips for the entire world's market here in the skeleton of the heavy factories.  We can bring this town back to life.  So why not also make our own electronics?  Kalistani electronics for Kalistani Consumers.  Now's the time.  We can put this together."

Kalistani MD's Sulari factory is capable of producing multi-core chips and aims at acquiring a significant footprint in the Kalistani Market.  "The early bird gets the worm," Tashunke-Washte said.  "We are in an excellent place to grow and do well."

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New Developments allow Kalistan to Extract Lithium from Brine"Wastewater" pools from Oil and Steel industry become gold mines for Kalistani Tech firms
High Bong, Neveras
May 7, 4442


What was deemed "waste" now is reclaimed as source of Lithium Salts

Kalistani chemical engineers have developed new techniques which will allow brine which was a wastewater product of pig iron production to be refined into a reliable source of lithium.

"Briney salars at the National Iron Refinery in High Bong has been tested to contain on average 2700 parts Lithium per million.  This makes the lithium commercially recoverable."  Dr. Frederick Gaston noted in a recent survey paper for the Geology department at Doceus Rex University in High Bong.  "Centuries of reuse of the same water in the production process combined with natural evaporation has concentrated the various metals and other basic elements in the water, making it a highly toxic soup, but now, with new technological developments, also a potentially lucrative source of lithium.  We can drain massive salt lakes that have formed in the immediate vicinity of the Iron Refinery operations into evaporators, and pull lithium out of the waters.  We anticipate that at current demands, we can supply more than 65 years worth of lithium.  The process will also allow us to extract magnesium, calcium, and potassium, as well as small amounts of precious and semi-precious metals like gold and zinc."

Extraction of the lithium from Brine solves one of the major bottlenecks in the growing high tech sector which is developing in Suldanor.  "We were asked to search for lithium in Kalistan," Dr. Gaston stated.  "My research team and I worked on the question, looking at mining surveys to see if there were any sources of spodumene in Kalistan.  We have no surveys which suggest the existence of the lithium rich mineral, so my graduate assistant, Jessica Vanderson, suggested that Lithium might be located in brine.  We tried sea water first, and while we can find tiny amounts of lithium in it, this led us to the salars in the Bong Valley.  And Eureka, as the saying goes." 

Brine evaporation and the use of modern membrane technology can also help engineers reuse the water from Oil extraction.  Dr. Gaston further reported: "The unfortunate biproduct of oil drilling on land is this heavy, salty water which comes up with the oil.  These are remnants of ancient seas.  Luckily, we haven't extracted hardly any of the oil we have on land, since oil extraction in the Strait is much more profitable, so, the oilfield brine could also provide a long term source of lithium."  Other potential sources, according to Gaston, are hectorite Clay deposits in Suldanor, though extraction will be significantly difficult and expensive than evaporation of the wastewater lakes in High Bong.

Several firms are currently launching pilot programs in High Bong to see how profitable lithium evaporation is.  One company in particular, Yoshimi Salts, seems particularly well positioned to make the most out of the waste water lakes.  This project, a joint venture between the Suldanor District Government and Sulari investors, was founded to sell sea salt to the Kalistani-Telemonese joint-venture natural grocer Greene's Grocers.  Their success has allowed them to diversify and build a salar-evaporation plant, which has received favorable comments recently and an infusion of capital from KALNAFERCO.  On the heels of the Gaston report, Yoshimi Salts rushed to the Bong Valley and set up their first commercial evaporators in February.  Yoshimi Salts has yet to turn a profit on the Lithium operation, but they do have the infrastructure in place for take off, should they deem the operation a money maker.  Three other companies are also planning on opening evaporation facilities in the region within the next six months.