The euro area is under pressure once again as the coronavirus outbreak shakes up countries in the bloc and brings historic differences to the fore. The euro zone, in which 19 countries share the same currency, has struggled to grow since the sovereign debt crisis of 2011. At the time, ... Read More »
Lebanon’s finance minister urged prosecutors to take action against the country’s banks after they defied a government order to maintain “necessary functions” by announcing that they would close until March 29, citing coronavirus. Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni called on prosecutors to “act quickly in light of the Association of ... Read More »
The Federal Reserve committed hundreds of billions of dollars to steadying the financial markets. The S&P 500 plummeted nearly 12 percent anyway. Financial markets imploded again on Monday, as increasingly alarmed investors feared that the global economy could experience a downturn rivaling the cataclysmic recession after the financial crisis a ... Read More »
Financial markets around the world crashed Monday and a swathe of northern Italy was sealed off as authorities struggled to contain the spread and impact of the deadly coronavirus. An area home to a quarter of Italy’s population was effectively shuttered — including Milan and Venice — mimicking a lockdown ... Read More »
Equity markets collapsed Monday as the rapidly spreading coronavirus fans fears over the global economy, while a crash in oil prices added to the panic with energy firms taking a hammering and wiping hundreds of billions off valuations. As the deadly disease claims more lives around the world, dealers are ... Read More »
Lebanon said Saturday it would default on its Eurobond debt for the first time and seek out restructuring agreements due to a spiralling financial crisis that has hit foreign currency reserves. The country, hit by a severe liquidity crunch and months of anti-establishment protests, was due on Monday to repay ... Read More »
United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis said on Sunday that “the honest statement of Prime Minister Hassan Diab about the failure of the previous economic model opens the way out of the crisis.” “I encourage creditors to work with the government to avoid disorderly default following the suspension ... Read More »
The Cabinet on Thursday approved a draft law on lifting bank secrecy, Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad said, describing it as “an important achievement for the government, which will not hesitate to hold accountable any corrupt person.” Speaking after a Cabinet session at the Baabda Palace, Abdul Samad added that ... Read More »
State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat suspended Thursday an order to freeze the assets of 21 Lebanese banks, warning it would plunge the country and its financial sector into chaos. Oueidat said international financial authorities had intended to halt dealings with Lebanese banks, without giving further details. Earlier Thursday, a judge stunned ... Read More »
Paris believes that the situation in Lebanon “cannot wait any longer.” Since Lebanon’s independence from the French Mandate in 1943, Lebanon and France have enjoyed mutually “friendly” relations, with France having had an evident “influence” in Lebanon’s political-administrative system that was initially modeled after the French’s Third Republic. France has ... Read More »
Lebanese Ministry of Information