A gloomy barometer: Iraq's stock exchange

From today's New York Times: "If stock markets are any measure of a nation's confidence, then the numbers at the nascent Iraq Stock Exchange show that faith in the country may be at its lowest ebb. The bear has dug its claws in deep: the market index has lost almost two-thirds of its value in the past year, closing these days below 30, from a high of 74 in March 2005. The exchange, which opened in June 2004, lists 94 companies, from hotels to date merchants to a maker of animal vaccines. It is perhaps Iraq's keenest expression of American-style capitalism: scores of investors and traders, some in pinstriped suits, others in ankle-length robes and head scarves, gather every Monday and Wednesday." Read the New York Times' article through the International Herald Tribune site HERE or through LexisNexis.