Generals Who Abandoned Mosul may be Executed
By John Lee. Defense minister Khalid al-Obeidi [al-Obaidi] (pictured) has warned that army generals who abandoned Mosul to the Islamic State in June are currently under investigation, and if found guilty will be sentenced to death. According to a report from BasNews, the Minister said most of the army generals and commanders in Mosul before […]
Iraq Ranks 156th in World Bank Report
By John Lee. Iraq has been ranked 156th out of 189 countries in the World Bank's recent Doing Business 2015 report. Top of the list were Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong, with last place going to Eritrea, just behind Libya and the Central African Republic. Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the […]
Weekly Security Update, 18 – 24 November 2014
Following Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s decision to reshuffle senior security commanders, Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Asadi, an ally of former PM Nouri al-Maliki, was removed from his position. Since assuming office, Abadi has been seeking to clear key government positions from Maliki’s influence, which is effectively strengthening the Iranian-backed Badr Organisation and one of its […]
Sulzer, Unaoil in JV Agreement
By John Lee. Swiss-based Sulzer has signed an agreement to form a joint venture with the Unaoil Group to service of rotating equipment for oil and gas, and power customers in Southern Iraq. The joint venture (JV) will operate under the name of Sulzer Rotating Equipment FZCO and will have offices in Dubai, with local operations […]
US Considers Arming Peshmerga
A resolution was introduced to the US Congress that would authorise the US government to supply military equipment, weapons, and training directly to Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga Forces. House Resolution 5747, a bi-partisan resolution, was introduced into the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Chairmen Ed Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel. The bill authorises the […]
Who Represents Iraqi Sunnis?
By Mushreq Abbas for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Who represents Iraq’s Sunnis? Iraqis have not answered this incredibly sensitive question. The danger of being unable to clearly answer this question is directly related to the war on the Islamic State (IS), as well […]
Yezidi Kurds in Flood into Kurdistan Region
More than 300 thousand displaced Yezidi Kurds in Kurdistan Region The Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister’s envoy for people who fled ISIS terrorist organization from Sinjar, Dr. Nouri Osman Sinjari, said that since the capture of the town by ISIS, 263,000 have fled to Duhok, 20,000 to Erbil, 20,000 to Slemani, and a few to […]
Currency Auction Results, 25th Nov
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported that 16 banks took part in its currency auction on Tuesday. A total of $193,754,000 was sold at a price of 1166 Iraqi Dinars (IQD) per dollar. (Source: Central Bank of Iraq)
Italy's Eni to Buy Kirkuk Crude
By John Lee. Platts reports that Italy's Eni has provisionally booked a tanker to load an 80,000 mt cargo of Iraqi crude from the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Market sources said that the cargo is Kirkuk crude, and would be the first such cargo from the port since Baghdad and Erbil agreed to sell 150,000 […]
US Wins Iraq Rice Order
By John Lee. The USA Rice Federation has announced that that "after being passed over" in the previous Iraqi rice tender, U.S. rice has been awarded 120,000 MT of long grain in the current tender. USA Rice Federation President and CEO Betsy Ward said: "This is really great news for the entire U.S. rice industry […]
Iraq Stock Market Report
Advertising Feature Rabee Securities Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) market report (week ending: 20th November 2014). Please click here to download a table of listed companies and their associated ticker codes. The RSISX index ended the week at ID1,382 (-0.1%)/ $1,493 (-0.1%) (weekly change) (-25.9% and -24.8% YTD change, respectively). The number of week traded shares […]
PM Abadi Accuses Maliki of Meddling
By John Lee. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has reportedly accused his predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki (pictured), of intervening in the daily duties of the PM’s office. Sources close to the Iraqi PM told BasNews: “Abadi told US officials that in recent weeks Maliki has involved himself in a few cases, causing political tension. This has […]