By Laith Hammoudi of IWPR. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Jinan Hussein decided to miss the United Nations conference rather than have her brand new iPhone confiscated by a sentry outside the Green Zone in central Baghdad. “I wanted to make a call […]
ONDD, the Belgian export credit agency, has warned in its monthly report that "insecurity, instability and sectarian tensions will continue to prevail in Iraq". The text of their statement is shown below: Iraq: Deteriorating security and political climate as US troops leave the country > Event: The last US troops left Iraq after President Obama‘s […]
Let's start with a little test: Can you rank the following economies in order of the expected risk of their defaulting on their sovereign debt – Ireland, Argentina, Dubai, Greece, Iraq? The correct order, based on the cost using credit default swaps (CDS) to insure their debt against default, is: Greece (riskiest), Ireland, Argentina, Dubai, […]
Four people, including three children, were kidnapped by criminals then freed by the authorities in Iraq last week. In recent months consular warnings have continued to remind foreign nationals of the risk of abduction still present in the country. With a rise in foreigners travelling to the country it may only be a matter of […]
Markets hate uncertainty, but history has shown us that times of uncertainty create the greatest opportunities. Warren Buffett's famous saying, “be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful”, is true whether referring to the stock market or to risk-taking in general. And Iraq is giving us plenty of risk and […]
The visit to Iraq last weekend by US Vice-President, Joseph Biden, may help to accelerate the process of forming the next government, but the frustrating delays in reaching an agreement highlight the risks of doing business in 'frontier' countries. Often, though, our perception of risk can be out of step with reality, and what appears […]
By Dr Mike Knights Is Iraq getting more secure or is it stuck in a violent rut or even slipping backwards? Getting a straight answer to this question is one of the biggest frustrations for those who are considering visiting Iraq or investing in the country. US and Iraqi leaders cite ongoing improvements in security […]
