http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/iraqieconomy/ en-us Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:12:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102832/posts Now it's stock and awe in Baghdad! As the Dow plummeted nearly 700 points yesterday to fall well below the 9,000 mark, the Iraqi stock exchange - where this broker was merrily keeping up with her booming business - was flourishing, buoyed by four-year lows in violence and hopes of a reconstruction windfall. Last month, Iraq's general index went up nearly 40 percent, about the same percentage the Dow dropped over the past year. The jovial trading-floor mood is reminiscent of Wall Street's bygone "greed is good" era of the 1980s. Wall Street Routing World Markets The Middle Eastern "masters... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2102832/posts#comment Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:12:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2092407/posts DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq has signed preliminary deals worth billions of dollars with General Electric Co and Siemens for equipment to almost double electricity generation capacity, an energy official said on Saturday. The deals with GE, Siemens and a third company would be worth a total of $7 billion to $8 billion, Iraq's Electricity Minister Karim Waheed told Reuters. Years of war, sanctions and neglect have battered Iraq's power grid and the country suffers chronic power shortages. The capital Baghdad receives only a few hours of electricity a day. The deals would mark a big step in the country's reconstruction,... yahoo news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2092407/posts#comment Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:01:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076964/posts China has secured Baghdad's first post-Saddam Hussein oil deal by reviving a 1997 concession to exploit reserves on the al-Ahdab field south of the capital. The two countries are expected to formally sign an agreement later this month that will earn the state-controlled China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) a fixed price for every barrel it produces in Iraq. While China opposed the Iraq war and stood back from post-war rebuilding, Beijing has quietly outflanked its global rivals to grab a large slice of Iraq's oil industry. The pioneers of its overseas quest for fuel are already exploring vast tracts in... telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2076964/posts#comment Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:25:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074994/posts FORWARD OPERATING BASE RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq, Sept. 4, 2008 – In another indication of a return to normalcy in eastern Baghdad, more than 90 organizations gathered Aug. 29 and 30 at the Palestine Hotel in the Iraqi capital’s Rusafa district for the 9 Nissan District Business Trade Show. An Iraqi businessman shows Turkish artificial grass, which is one of his company’s products, during the 9 Nissan District Business Trade Show at the Palestine Hotel in Karadah, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2008. More than 90 organizations, including more than 80 businesses, gathered for the event Aug. 29 and 30. U.S. Army photo... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2074994/posts#comment Fri, 5 Sep 2008 00:31:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073241/posts Iraq and China have agreed on the terms of a $3 billion oil service contract, the Iraqi oil minister said Wednesday, announcing his country's first major oil contract with a foreign company since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The oil minister, Hussain al- Shahristani, warned that time was running out for big Western oil companies, which have pressed for years for Iraqi contracts, to seal even short-term deals that had been expected to mark their return to Iraq, which has the world's third-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Iran. Iraq and the Chinese state-run oil company, CNPC, have agreed... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2073241/posts#comment Tue, 2 Sep 2008 20:12:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050262/posts Link only - Pack your bags for Baghdad? Iraq looks to tourism http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050262/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:48:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045088/posts The normalization of Iraq, which would generate 250 billion dollars in oil revenues, would boost Turkey's trade volume with this country to 30 billion dollars, Turkey's Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Sunday. The establishment of stability in Iraq would earn Turkey a neighbor with the ability to generate $250 billion in oil revenues, Tuzmen told the Anatolian Agency. Tuzmen said exports and the construction services Turkey provided to Iraq would be boosted and the transportation sector would also benefit as the revenue of the country increased. "Had Iraq normalized the business volume between Turkey and Iraq would rise to... Hurriyet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045088/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:49:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044857/posts Naseb Saad Hasan Altememy, holds up a can of future profits for his companyÂ’s recycling center site at a refuse collection site at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The recycling center, which will provide jobs to local Iraqis, will assist current efforts to sort through daily garbage collection on post for recyclables. Photo by Sgt. Robert G. Cooper III. BALAD — A war can be messy, literally. From the daily trash collections conducted by roving garbage trucks to amassing scrap metals born from the aftermath of battle, waste management is a serious business for Coalition forces in Iraq.And that business is... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044857/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:26:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044696/posts BAGHDAD (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Michael Glos held talks with Iraqi officials in Baghdad on Saturday, becoming the first German cabinet minister to visit since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Germany opposed the invasion but his visit is the latest sign many foreign capitals are ready to upgrade ties with Iraq, where violence has fallen to a four-year low. "The German minister confirmed his country's keenness to improve political and economic ties with Iraq and that German companies are absolutely ready to rebuild Iraq," a statement from Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih's office said. The statement urged German and... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044696/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:31:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034124/posts BASRA, Iraq, June 20, 2008 – The provincial reconstruction team for Iraq’s Basra province, along with the Gulf Region South district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the United Nations Development Program concluded a two-day budget execution support workshop June 18 at the international airport here. The event provided a clear understanding of how the international community can support the provincial governor’s office and technical directorates for the design and implementation of projects for the rest of the year, said Army Maj. Daniel George, a PRT engineer assigned from Gulf Region South’s... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034124/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:49:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032476/posts (Newser) – European and Asian investors are taking advantage of the recently stabilized Iraqi business climate, USA Today reports. US firms still regard Iraq as too dangerous to invest in, but that attitude may cost them the best opportunities. The firms “who are getting in on the ground floor are not American," says a Pentagon official. "It's ironic." Iraq has attracted $500 million in foreign investment just this year. Many of the countries with the largest business presence—such as France, Russia and Turkey—did not take part in the initial invasion. Americans' cold feet perplex some. Says a Washington-based Iraqi official:... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032476/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:03:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032348/posts We Won!The rest of the world apparently doesn't read the U.S. Mainstream Media. Or listen to Congressional Democrats, Harry Reid or Code Pink, either. Companies from around the world are rushing into Iraq to do business, due to the improved security climate in that country. Over a half-billion dollars worth of investments from countries that, in many cases, didn't support the U.S. in its efforts to improve Iraq's security. European and Asian companies are beating their American rivals into Iraq now that security has improved the investment climate, Iraq and U.S. officials say. "It's starting to turn … and the... DBKP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032348/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:26:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027358/posts BAGHDAD, June 6, 2008 – When Army Capt. Shawn Carbone first took a good look at the economy in Iraq’s southern Baghdad province, he found it similar to his studies of America during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Hussen Jowd, a butcher in Arab Jabour, Iraq, serves a sandwich at his newly renovated butcher shop and food stand. Jowd received micro-grants that enabled him to increase his stock and expand his business. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kevin Stabinsky  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "Most of the historically strong businesses were gone," said Carbone, economics team leader... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2027358/posts#comment Fri, 6 Jun 2008 22:57:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022814/posts BAGHDAD, May 28, 2008 – More than 70 Iraqi business owners gathered in the Babylon Hotel on the Karadah Peninsula in southeastern Baghdad for the inaugural Rebuilding Karadah Expo and Conference, May 23-24. Karadah district business owners display their products to Iraqi patrons during the Rebuilding Karadah Expo and Conference in Baghdad’s Babylon Hotel, May 23, 2008. More than 70 businesses took part in the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce and Industry event, and officials estimate more than 2,000 visitors attended the expo. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jeremy Todd, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Entrepreneurs... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022814/posts#comment Thu, 29 May 2008 05:23:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001497/posts Iraq's financial free ride may be over. After five years, Republicans and Democrats seem to have found common ground on at least one aspect of the war. From the fiercest war foes to the most steadfast Bush supporters, they are looking at Iraq's surging oil income and saying Baghdad should start picking up the tab, particularly for rebuilding hospitals, roads, power lines and the rest of the shattered country. "I think the American people are growing weary not only of the war, but they are looking at why Baghdad can't pay more of these costs. And the answer is they... Primetime Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001497/posts#comment Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:50:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992345/posts The continuing military operations in the oil hub Basra have slowed down Iraq's crude-oil production and exports from southern oil fields, an Iraqi official with the South Oil Company and a shipping agent said Thursday. Meanwhile, a bomb Thursday struck the key Zubair-1 crude pipeline -- the largest pipeline to the Basra export terminal -- and will likely affect exports "heavily," the South Oil Company official said. WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992345/posts#comment Thu, 27 Mar 2008 10:35:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976382/posts BAGHDAD - Iraq's crude oil exports in January inched up to 59.6 million barrels, a six per cent increase from the previous month, the Oil Ministry said Tuesday. Iraq's average production was 2.4 million barrels per day in January while exports stood at an average of 1.92 million barrels per day, the ministry's figures showed. December's exports averaged 1.81 million barrels per day. But there was still an enormous difference in output between the southern port of Basra, which exported an average of 1.54 million barrels daily, and the northern city of Kirkuk, which exported nearly 380,000 barrels per day.... Associated Press via Sun Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976382/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:22:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956603/posts Iraqis received a rare piece of good news this week, when the International Monetary Fund predicted that the country would see an overall growth rate of 7 percent in the coming year. The country will benefit from oil prices reaching record highs and the forecast that Iraq's own oil production would go up by 200,000 barrels a day, to a daily output of 2.2 million barrels, the IMF predicted. The optimism is visible everywhere on the streets of Baghdad. The shops are full of produce and electronics and clothes and dry goods. People are out with their families, and they... ABC News - International (can you believe it?) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956603/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:38:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956397/posts IMF Predicts Good News for Iraq's Economy, but Growth Depends on Security Iraqis received a rare piece of good news this week, when the International Monetary Fund predicted that the country would see an overall growth rate of 7 percent in the coming year. The country will benefit from oil prices reaching record highs and the forecast that Iraq's own oil production would go up by 200,000 barrels a day, to a daily output of 2.2 million barrels, the IMF predicted. The optimism is visible everywhere on the streets of Baghdad. The shops are full of produce and electronics and... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1956397/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jan 2008 20:48:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952915/posts House prices on the up and increased banking business are not readily associated with Iraq. Yet as Humphrey Hawksley reports, there are entrepreneurs who see good times in the horizon. "This is the entrance hall," said Naimah Abdul Jabbah, throwing open a huge pair of wooden double doors. "How much?", I asked. "$1m. Maybe some negotiation. But $1m, I reckon." He turned to my interpreter to confirm the dollar exchange rate to the dinar, because in recent months Iraq's currency has been creeping up in value. Business playground Naimah, in his early 40s, is a leading Iraqi estate agent. He... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1952915/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jan 2008 11:51:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1936389/posts BAGHDAD, Dec. 7, 2007 – Troops from Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, and a civil affairs team from 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion handed out $10,000 in micro-grant funds to an Iraqi small business and a home for mentally handicapped children. A baker whisks hot bread out of an oven while troops from the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, get ready to hand $5,000 to the bakery's owner as part of a micro-grant program in Baghdad’s Qadisiyah neighborhood, Dec. 1, 2007. Photo by Spc. Alexis Harrison, USA  (Click photo for... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1936389/posts#comment Fri, 7 Dec 2007 23:26:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1927466/posts Navy Capt. John Dillender (right), economics and industrial advisor for Baghdad 5 Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team, which operates north of the Iraqi capital with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, mimics the sanding technique used by a furniture factory worker near Taji, Iraq Nov. 11. The Henning, Tenn. native helped facilitate (200) pieces of furniture purchased from the State Company for Furniture Industry-Baghdad to be delivered to area schools. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Shejal Pulivarti, 1st BCT, 1st Cav. Div. PAO. CAMP TAJI — The State Company for Furniture Industry-Baghdad, located near Taji, recently filled its first... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1927466/posts#comment Sun, 18 Nov 2007 14:28:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903891/posts New Berth Increases Umm Qasr Port Capacity Army engineers oversee berth project that was designed and built by Iraqis. By Mohammed AliwiU.S. Army Corps of EngineersGulf Region South District BASRAH, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2007 — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has turned control over the newly completed “roll-on/roll-off” berth at Umm Qasr Port to the Iraqi Port Authority. "The Iraqi people can be proud of this project because it is theirs alone."Rebecca Wingfield, project engineer Known as a RoRo because it serves “roll-on/roll-off” ships that share the acronym, the $2.7 million berth project doubles the number of the... Defend America News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903891/posts#comment Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:35:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903260/posts WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2007 – New buildings constructed under the guidance of coalition forces are sparking prosperity for Iraqi citizens, a senior U.S. military engineer in Iraq said today. “It’s a concept of ownership,” Navy Capt. Joe Hedges told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from Baghdad. “We’re using Iraqi funds to build Iraqi facilities.” Hedges is assistant chief of staff for the engineering directorate of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq. His team is currently working to build military bases, barracks, airfields, schools and a hospital on 12 different sites in Iraq. “I’m excited,” Hedges said. “I think... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903260/posts#comment Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:03:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891678/posts Article can not be posted due to publishers copyright complainClick here to read the article USA Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1891678/posts#comment Wed, 5 Sep 2007 22:34:01 GMT