Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Friday Morning 7-03-26

Advisor To Prime Minister Saleh Mahoud: Iraq Succeeds In Securing The First International Funding With A Sovereign Guarantee To Support The Private Sector

Money and business    Economy News – Baghdad   Dr. Saleh Mahoud Salman, Advisor to the Prime Minister, announced the completion of the first international funding process for a project belonging to the Iraqi private sector with an Iraqi sovereign guarantee, in cooperation with the German Foundation AKA Ausfuhrkredit-Gesellschaft mbH, and in partnership with the German Commerzbank, in an important step within the government's efforts to support economic reform and enhance the confidence of international financial institutions in the Iraqi economy.

He explained that this process represents the beginning of a new stage in the use of sovereign guarantees to attract international finance, technology and investments, which contributes to enabling the private sector to implement development and production projects with direct economic impact, and reflects the success of building partnerships with leading international banking institutions, foremost of which is Commerz bank, one of the most prominent European banks.

He added that this achievement is the first of a series of development finance projects that are expected to be implemented during the next phase, in order to support the diversification of the national economy, promote local industry, provide job opportunities, and establish partnerships with international financial institutions.

Dr. Saleh Mahoud Salman stressed that the success of this process is the result of coordination and cooperation between the Iraqi government agencies (the Ministry of Finance and the Iraqi Bank for Trade) and international partners, expressing his appreciation to all Iraqi and international parties that contributed to this achievement, which represents a practical step towards expanding financing and investment opportunities in Iraq, and enhancing the presence of banks and international financial institutions in financing Iraqi private sector projects https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70931

Dollar Heads For Biggest Weekly Decline In Nearly 3 Months

Money and business    Economy News - Follow-up    The dollar is heading for its biggest weekly decline in nearly three months on Friday after a weak job report for June narrowed market expectations for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike, which in turn provided an outlet for the yen, which is under pressure.

The dollar continued to fall at the start of Asian trading, and the euro remained hovering near a two-week high of $1.1442. The pound held steady at $1.3361 and is heading for a 1.2 percent weekly gain in its best performance in nearly three months.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar stood at $0.6935 and is heading to end a four-week losing streak. The New Zealand dollar traded at $0.5702 and rose 1.2 percent during the week.

The dollar index, which measures the performance of the U.S. currency against a basket of currencies, including the yen and the euro, fell 0.2 percent to 100.77 after falling 0.5 percent on Thursday. Since the beginning of the week, it has fallen 0.58 percent, the biggest weekly decline since early April.

U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June if the number of non-farm payrolls rose 57,000 in June, well below expectations of a rise of 110,000. The labor force participation rate fell to 61.5 percent, its lowest level in more than five years.

The data prompted traders to lower their expectations for the central bank’s rate hikes in the near term. According to C.I.'s FedWatch tool. M. E.C., markets expect ‘52 percent to raise interest rates at the September meeting, up from 64 percent in the previous session.

* Breathable for Lin

The Japanese yen in the latest trading reached ⁠161.01 against the dollar after rising about 1 percent in the previous session, which kept the currency from its lowest level in several decades as the dollar fluctuated.

Investors remained on the verge of possible intervention by the authorities to support the yen

https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70929

Every Day A New Billionaire Is Born. $20 Trillion In The Hands Of Only 3302 People

Reconstruction and construction    Economy News - Follow-up   The number of billionaires around the world has reached a new record high, rising to 3302 billionaires, the highest ever recorded, driven by strong rises in asset and business markets, according to the latest report issued by UBS.

According to Bloomberg, the number of billionaires rose by about 13 percent in one year, at a time when their combined wealth jumped by 25%, a rate that far exceeds the pace of global wealth growth during the same period.

America and Asia are driving the boom.

Both the United States and Asia have led the recent growth in the wealth of the wealthy, capitalizing on the strong performance of equity markets and the continued prosperity in the technology and artificial intelligence sectors.

The report showed that the number of large wealth holders continues to rise, as there are currently 19 billionaires, each with more than $100 billion, and another 18 billionaires with wealth ranging from $50 billion to $100 billion.

A million new millionaires

The boom was not limited to billionaires, as the world also saw the addition of about 1 million new millionaires in 2025, in a sign of continued growth of private wealth in many economies.

Widening wealth gap

Despite this jump in the number of wealthy people, the report points to another less positive aspect, as the wealth levels of the average citizen have declined in many countries, reflecting the widening gap between the large wealth and the rest of the population.

The report argues that the world is not only seeing an increase in the number of billionaires, but also an increment in wealth distribution, as financial asset-holders continue to benefit from the faster-than-growing market incomes in many economies.

Artificial intelligence and markets are paying wealth

Analysts link this historic leap to the continued gains of global stock markets, especially in technology and artificial intelligence companies, along with the rise in the values of private companies and investment assets, which strengthened the wealth of major investors and entrepreneurs during the past year.

As the number of billionaires continues to record unprecedented levels, the report highlights a growing economic challenge of widening the wealth gap, which has become one of the most prominent issues for policymakers and major economies

https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70936  

Artificial Intelligence Widens The Gap Between America And Europe In The List Of The Top 100 Global Companies

Arab and International Economy News - Follow-up    The artificial intelligence boom has boosted the dominance of U.S. companies among the world’s largest listed companies by market capitalization, while Europe continues to lose its standing as investors’ investment flows into tech stocks, according to a study by consulting firm Ernst & Young.

The study showed that US companies accounted for 56 of the top 100 listed companies in the world by market capitalization by the end of the first half of the year, ahead of China, which came with 12 companies, and then the United Kingdom and Japan with five companies each.

Germany had only one company in the list of the top 100 companies, after it had three companies at the beginning of the year, with Siemens in 72nd place, while SAP and Allianz fell to 114th and 115th place.

Nvidia, which specializes in the manufacture of electronic chips, topped the ranking with a market value of about $4.8 trillion as of June 30, followed by Alphabet, Apple and Microsoft.

Eight of the world’s top 10 companies by market capitalization were U.S., while Taiwan’s TSMC and Saudi Aramco were the only two companies from outside the United States in the top 10.

“We are currently witnessing a historic shift in the balance of power in the global equity markets,” said Henrik Alrs, managing partner at Ernst & Young in Germany, adding that companies that investors see as playing a leading role in the AI value chain, including chipmakers, cloud service providers, platform operators and data center companies, are gaining sharp rises in their market assessments.

Allers pointed out that Europe faces the risk of structural underdevelopment in one of the most important technologies in the world, due to the fragmentation of capital markets and the weakness of the venture capital system.

Ernst & Young said Germany’s representation among the world’s top 100 companies by market capitalization fell from seven in 2007 to just one now, in reference to the challenges facing Europe’s largest economy.

Allers said Europe still had strength in industrial engineering, but that equity markets were now rewarding technological leadership above all else.

However, some companies have improved their rankings, with Siemens Energy and Infinion making significant progress in their rankings https://www.economy-news.net/content.php?id=70935