War-weary Iraq sees economic rebound

Stock market, investment surge

Patrice Hill
The Washington Times
4/10/2011

Wracked in recent years by sectarian violence and economic collapse, Iraq has been enjoying a quiet resurgence this year even as its neighbors in the Middle East are striving to stave off economic meltdowns in the face of political unrest.

Iraq’s stock market surged nearly 25 percent in the first two months of the year, and a record $20 million of investment funds flooded into the country from the U.S., Europe and other Persian Gulf states, even as other Arab stock exchanges fell by a collective 15 percent.

Iraq’s economic renaissance began with little fanfare in December after the United Nations voted to recognize its newly formed government and lift long-standing sanctions against the country, said Kenneth Kuhn, president of Global Capital Investments, a Chicago investment firm that specializes in Iraqi stocks.

With some of the biggest untapped reserves of oil in the world, Iraq also is benefiting from the surge in oil prices to more than $100 a barrel on worries ignited by the Middle East unrest…

The article continues at The Washington Times.

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