Economy

Recently released data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has once again highlighted the ongoing deterioration to the economy's external position, with the total stock of foreign... 2012-01-25

Lebanon's trade deficit continued to expand at an alarming rate through September 2011, having increased to US$16.4bn compared to US$10.2bn in the same time period in 2010. Growth in... 2011-12-28

The risks of a full-blown balance of payments crisis in Egypt are steadily building. Indeed, the economy's external position is becoming increasingly precarious amidst the ongoing trend... 2011-12-22

Turkey's macroeconomic imbalances haTurkey's macroeconomic imbalances have spiralled towards highly precarious levels and we are now convinced by our long-held suspicions that monetary... 2011-12-13

Egypt's stock of foreign reserves continue to decline, with latest data showing the central bank's financial arsenal dwindling to only US$22.1mn by end-November, down 43.3% y-o-y. This... 2011-12-09

The Bank of Israel (BoI)'s November 28 decision to cut its headline interest rate by 25bps to 2.75% shows that the central bank has made a rapid shift towards a dovish stance in recent... 2011-11-29

The outlook for Jordan's Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) continues to look bleak. Stubbornly high energy prices, political instability - both domestic and regional - and a soaring fiscal... 2011-09-22

We see little reason to change our long-held bearish outlook on the Egyptian pound at present. Trading at EGP5.9630/US$ on September 20, fundamental pressures on the unit remain firmly... 2011-09-21

Recent statements from Egyptian officials surrounding the government's intention of relying on local markets to meet its financing requirements underpin our view that the country's... 2011-09-13

We are maintaining our long-held view that the Lebanese economy will slow precipitously heading into 2012. A host of consumption, trade and investment indicators through H111 have... 2011-08-23