Will financial markets benefit from war with Iraq ?
a genius | 07.08.2002 13:26
a genius
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07.08.2002 14:33
tkal
e-mail: tkallimani@yahoo
found the article...
07.08.2002 18:36
a3m
POST NEWS NOT LINKS
07.08.2002 23:08
Taking a few quotes or summerising what they had to say would be an option, would it not.
The newswire is for NEWS and not a lauch pad to
mainstream media (or other) websites.
Please respect Indymedia
Ben
The article
08.08.2002 05:22
August 04, 2002
Iraq war ‘would be good for markets’
David Smith, Economics Editor
AN American-led war against Iraq could be “strongly positive” for financial markets, a new analysis says. It challenges the view that an attack on Iraq, in an attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein, would hit the markets and the economy by pushing up oil prices.
The report, by economists at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), suggests the oil market is already discounting a war. The subdued world economy means that demand is weak, so the effect on prices of a conflict would be temporary and minor.
The bank also believes that a successful operation against Iraq, or even what it describes as a “non-disastrous operation”, would provide a boost for the markets.
It would, it says, “significantly alter the profile of risks from the Middle East, including terrorist risks, potentially a strong positive for investor and business confidence, global growth, the dollar and equity markets”.
While concerns over accounting irregularities and the pace of the global economic recovery have been at the forefront of market worries in recent weeks, the prospect of a war has added to investor nerves.
Jonathan Wilmot, an economist with CSFB in London, said: “Everybody is aware of what the negative consequences could be but if you think about the political endgame, you should not rule out more optimistic scenarios.”
The big risk, the report says, would be a protracted conflict or an inconclusive outcome. “The last thing the world needs right now is a US military that looks beatable,” it says.
Equity markets were unsettled last week by figures suggesting the American economy was slowing and highlighting the danger of a “double-dip” recession. Figures showed not only weak growth in the second quarter, but a smaller-than- expected rise in non-farm jobs, of just 6,000, last month.
While shares in London closed modestly higher on Friday, rising by 31 points to 4,076, shares on Wall Street dropped by 193 points to 8,313.
London stocks could be unsettled tomorrow by gloomy industrial-production figures. Glenn Davies of Credit Lyonnais Securities predicts that manufacturing output will have dropped by more than 2% on the month, on the back of a 20% drop in vehicle production. The fall could lead to a downward revision of second-quarter gross domestic product.
The Bank of England, in its quarterly inflation report on Wednesday, will give an insight into its views on the impact of falling share prices. Analysts expect the Bank to keep rates on hold until next year, although a cut is possible if there is further weakness in the stock market and the economy.
According to a survey of analysts by Ideaglobal.com, the financial-research company, there is a 15% chance that the next move in British interest rates will be down, a 25% chance in Europe and a 30% probability in America
Zetetic
Stop grumbling BEN !
09.08.2002 13:25
(Another example, from 1999, is an astonishing article by Edward Luttwak in the Sunday Telegraph "Nato Started Bombing to Help Milosevic", which although written from a Pentagon viewpoint, laid bare many of the unanswered questions about the Kosovo war. Never dismiss these writings from the other side; use them to discern what you can)
As it happens, the saga of the general resurgence in demonstrations over the last few years has fallen into a pattern;
1; Mayday. Firmly re-established. Achievement!
2; a desultory action in midsummer for those who havent gone on holiday
3; a larger action in the Autumn, usually SWP sponsored
4; a round of book fairs and jumble sales
5; Christmas -New Year shutdown until Spring
Repeat
Space-Trotskyist