Farah Stockman wrote a terrific article about Turan, Iraqi bonds, and the way bond prices track political and social stability in conflicted nations like Iraq:
WASHINGTON — Some count the kidnappings. Others count the suicide bombs. Still others count the deaths of US soldiers. But, in the saga of Iraq’s slow struggle toward normalcy, Robert Smith keeps track of something far more obscure: the price of Iraqi governmentissued bonds.
Smith, one of Boston’s most intrepid investors, has made his fortune betting on the world’s most dangerous places. Dubbed the “Indiana Jones of International Finance,’’ Smith buys IOUs from governments so unstable that few others will touch them.
From an office that overlooks Boston Harbor, Smith can recall when Iraq looked like a terrible gamble, as sectarian violence raged and the country slid toward a civil war. But now, a week after Iraq’s historic election, his bets are paying off: The price of Iraqi bonds has doubled in the last year, recently hitting their highest value ever.
“Iraq has the potential to vault past other countries’’ to become a top oil producer, said Smith, a 70-year-old debt merchant whose recent book, “Riches Among the Ruins,’’ details his investment adventures.
Check it out online or in the Sunday Boston Globe.
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