Here's a bit of holiday cheer for you. The riyal, Iran's main currency, has dropped about 10% in value due to US sanctions on Iran's central bank. The Guardian: Iran's currency value has fallen more than 10% in less than a week to record lows, after a US move to tighten financial sanctions against the Islamic republic. The riyal lurched to as low as 16,800 to the dollar, down from 15,200 at the end of last week. It was valued at 10,500 just a year ago. The slump was blamed on US sanctions which target the Iranian central bank. The White House move to blacklist any company or institution that trades with the Central Bank of Iran aims to make it harder for Iran to sell its oil. [...] Iranian officials on Monday downplayed the new US sanction, with the economy ministry's Shamseddin Hosseini quoted as saying that targeting the central bank was an "unsuccessful choice". President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said last week his administration will do everything it can to stave off further steep...(Read Full Post)