Bulls of Baghdad

Baghdad's re-established stock exchange is off to a promising start. It's very early in the process: The Iraq Stock Exchange is currently open only two days a week, for only two hours a day, and for now there are only 27 firms trading. On the other hand, business is booming. On the first trading day, June 24, a total of 51 shares changed hands. Sunday (the first session open to the press), some 10 million shares were traded.

Talib Al-Tabatabaie, who heads the exchange's board of governors, took an optimistic line in interviews. "If I am permitted to dream, Iraq will develop like Japan or Korea," he told a reporter. "It needs only the effort to redevelop it again, and this will be one of the richest countries in the Middle East."

Comments

[chipper]

But, but, this is good news…from Iraq. Can’t you put a bad spin on this? Or at least throw in a little bit of snark, like, “I’m going to invest in RPG’s, you know, buy low aim high. Har har um har.”

[tom]

The Central Bank of Iraq also had a very successful new bond issue, over $100 million at between 5 and 8 percent. http://business.scotsman.com/economy.cfm?id=825522004

[Fred Gillette]

“How many shares do you want? Five hundred?” he asked, standing outside the door. “Come over to my place tonight and give me the money.”

Someone is supposed to want to buy stock from a guy who talks like that?

BTW, how’s XOM trading on that Exchange, because it sure as hell is doing good on the NYSE.