Koehler said in an interview with a German newspaper that he didn’t believe

Koehler said in an interview with a German newspaper released on Saturday that he didn’t believe the world economy will fall into recession as a result of a war in Iraq. Koehler believed that international financial markets have developed a higher degree of resistance in recent years to such shocks. Many countries have learned lessons from the financial crises of the late 1990s, with many now having flexible exchange rates and higher currency reserves. "A lot depends on how long a possible war will last. I think that it will not come to a world recession," Koehler said, "Financial markets may also gain if any war in Iraq came to a swift conclusion."