[A-List] Iraqi bond market - it's "longterm fundamentals" that count

[Jurriaan Bendien]

Interesting clip from FT on the new Iraq bond market ("Iraq bonds start 
their official trading", by Joanna Chung in London, Published: January 23 
2006):

"Mehmet Simsek, strategist at Merrill Lynch, said that current holders of 
debt might sell [Iraqi] bonds soon after the exchange, which might cause 
initial price weakness but that investor interest in the longer term is 
likely to be strong. "The only other bond that yields higher is Ecuador," he 
said. "The bonds are very attractive if you look at the country's long-term 
fundamentals. "If the story in Iraq pans out and the security situation 
becomes better, the country could experience very fast improvement in 
creditworthiness." 
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b5afb3ac-8c3b-11da-9efb-0000779e2340.html

Whew!

J.