Lebanon

The Lebanese pound is currently trading at the bottom of its LBP1501-1514 range. BMI View: While risks exist, most notably in relation to domestic political issues and the fiscal... 2004-11-30

Omar Karami has been sworn in as the new prime minister, following Rafik al-Hariri’s resignation a week earlier. BMI View: Karami has promised a ‘government... 2004-11-01

Anecdotal data for growth in the early months of this year suggest that our forecast was overly conservative and we have upwardly revised our expectation for real GDP growth this... 2004-09-10

It now appears that President Emile Lahoud will remain in office for another three years after his term expires in November. Where this will leave Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who... 2004-09-08

Parliament has agreed an amendment to the constitution which will allow President Emile Lahoud to extend his term for another three years starting in November. BMI View: While there... 2004-09-06

The government is keenly aware that one of the main fall-outs from political infighting could be a loss of confidence in the Lebanese economy, particular from international circles.... 2004-07-08

Despite the government deadlock in carrying out economic reforms and pushing ahead with privatisation, anecdotal data suggest that confidence remains fairly unaffected and output... 2004-07-05

Despite the serious public debt problem and the political stalemate between President Emile Lahoud and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, indicators suggest that domestic confidence in... 2004-07-05

Tensions with Israel erupted once again in early June, and Israeli air strikes in the south of the country were quickly responded to by Hizbollah attacks on the Shebaa Farms area.... 2004-06-10

The army killed six and injured dozens more when they opened fire on rioters protesting gasoline price increases. BMI View: The unworkable political structure, with president... 2004-06-08