Lebanon

BMI View: If Lebanon can find a unity government that agrees on reform, persuade the opposition to stop its economic blockade of the downtown area, convince the population to accept... 2007-03-21

BMI View: Concerns that increasing VAT will hurt economic growth, increase inflationary pressures and worsen political risk are justified. But with a debt pile of 189% of GDP and... 2007-02-20

BMI View: We stand by our cautiously optimistic muddle-through scenario for Lebanon, in spite of this morning's tragic events.

BMI View: With well over a million Iraqis having taken refuge in neighbouring countries since the outbreak of the war, and more to come in all likelihood, there are real risks to... 2007-02-08

For once we (tentatively) highlight an upside risk to Lebanon's political outlook: reports of a dialogue mediated by Iran and Saudi Arabia have inspired hope that the current impasse... 2007-02-02

We continue to forecast economic growth of 3.5% for 2007. True, there is the potential for strong expansion given the low base (following the July war between Israel and Hizbullah),... 2007-02-02

BMI View: We have revisited our fiscal forecasts in the wake of the Paris III financing deal, and now expect the deficit to narrow sharply in 2007, but widen gradually thereafter,... 2007-01-29

BMI View: Lebanon has already lost a lot of investors' confidence in political and economic stability. Now it seems its prized reputation for a strong business environment is also... 2007-01-22

Based on a core scenario in which Lebanon receives a generous package of aid and loans at the donor conference scheduled for January 2007, we expect the total debt burden to fall... 2007-01-09

Although we are not suggesting that everyone in Lebanon agrees, we are encouraged by Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri's comments that 'the Lebanese are one family and that no enmity... 2007-01-08