Lebanese Pound’s crisis, an opportunity in disguise?
The glamorous rate of the Lebanese Pound, artificially indexed to the US dollar for so many years, is history now. In recent months, the pressure on Lebanon’s economy is seeing a pile-up. Not only...
Lebanon’s gas boom dead in the water?
Lebanon’s quest for gas and oil has so far yielded no meaningful results with the country’s first-ever offshore search for hydrocarbons throwing up commercially unviable results. “No matter where you turn, the Eastern Mediterranean...
Lebanon: The banking system needs reforms to stop the bleeding, not politics
Something has to change in the wonderful world of the Lebanese banking system. The manner in which Lebanon is addressing its financial crisis leaves a lot of room for improvement, with Lebanon’s banking association...
Libya: The economic potential of a failed state
The international community knows this: Libya is a model of a failed state. But a failed state with potential. Nine years since the start of the Arab Spring, which saw a wave of upheaval...
Foreign support needed: Why always the same solution?
We have already been there. Several times. Asking for foreign support. Lebanese authorities are pretty desperate for solutions outside to support the country's economy. As it was the only solution, THE solution out of...
The Swiss job: the greatest heist in Lebanon's History?
Swiss banks have been like Heaven on Earth for some Lebanon's “creme de la creme” for a long, long time. Will it be over soon? “Intensive investigations were launched Friday (December 27) by...
Jordan wants to get the ball rolling
The sun seems to still shine over Amman. Last Sunday, Jordanian government said it expects its economy to grow by 2.2 percent in 2020 in spite of local and regional challenges. Iraq and Syria,...
Restoring confidence: the impossible Lebanese jigsaw
Confidence is not something you can buy. Or summon. In Lebanon nowadays, confidence won't be restored without the right men in the right position at the right time. This looks like one of the...
Iraq’s missed economic opportunities fueling strife
Years of economic mismanagement, corruption and runaway spending has fueled an uprising in civilian protests in Iraq that has killed scores of people and without deft handling risks spiraling into full-fledged civil war. There...
What future for Egypt’s new capital city?
Egypt's new capital is not a mirage in the desert anymore. But still. It's far from being completed. Forging new capitals from scratch ain't a new phenomenon: countries are used to build new cities....