Peter, Murphy and Overton by the Country’s Side
Nicolas Sbeih 18/07 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Laurence Peter was not really a cynical man at heart. He was a simple, competent Canadian educator, mainly serving at the University of Southern California, and passed away in 1990. However, in the meantime, he upset the administrative and business world with The Peter Principle, a book published in 1960 that was translated into 38 ...
BDL’s Bare Minimum Tasks
Nicolas Sbeih 11/07 09:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
After delving into the topic of banks, let's assess the current state of their regulatory body, Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL). Overall, the outcome is somewhat meager. However, we will refrain from preempting conclusions before outlining the pros and cons of this interim governorship, now in its one-year tenure. We will partially rely on ...
Bankers’ Talks
Nicolas Sbeih 04/07 11:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Few bankers get the chance to speak freely in the media, as this is frowned upon. They're seldom invited to debates, and if they are, it's only to be bombarded with a well-prepared barrage of acidic slurs. In fact, we have been hearing the same tirades for the past five years, with each critic thinking they've made a groundbreaking ...
An Eco-Confessional Labyrinth
Nicolas Sbeih 27/06 21:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
"They are everywhere, they buy everything, they show up with wads of cash in Ashrafieh and Metn, in Batroun, where they acquire luxury items, apartments, land and stores." An invasion so extensive that some mayors have established administrative barriers. "They" are the Shia, and the above statements reflect popular convictions, lacking verified ...
What Remains of Our Commercial Agreements?
Nicolas Sbeih 05/06 20:19 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Without anyone noticing and without any announcement, we missed our opportunity to anchor ourselves to Europe, failing to become a part of it. Yet, it was a beautiful prospect for many reasons: Europe is our primary commercial and cultural source, the main donor for our dilapidated administrations and NGOs, a model of modernism, democracy and ...
Builders, Destroyers, and the Collateral Damage Affair
Nicolas Sbeih 23/05 12:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In societies, it is customary to find two categories of people or entities: builders and destroyers. Generally, this distinction tends to be nuanced and subject to debate. But not in our case. Here, everything is clear. There is a category that we take pride in when we see them inaugurate a hotel, a factory, or a business — essentially creating ...
The “Made in Lebanon” Conundrum
Nicolas Sbeih 15/05 19:07 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
If you are accustomed to supermarket visits, you've likely observed a shift in the variety of products available in recent years. Shelves are now brimming with numerous brands that were nonexistent until recently. This is because importers and retailers have frequently had to turn to new supply sources to adapt to our new situation of ...
Exports Are Lagging Way Behind
Nicolas Sbeih 08/05 20:37 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
In terms of exports, the situation is not exactly at its best and sarcastic remarks are already flying around: “Why would one even expect things to go well? Why should this economic sector fair any different when all sectors, and the entire country, are struggling to thrive and overcome the economic crisis?” The answer lies in the fact that, ...
Lebanon Under Mandate(s)
Nicolas Sbeih 01/05 20:18 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Some countries require caretaking. They need someone else to manage not only an exceptional situation, but also their day-to-day life. This pattern recalls the period of mandates, all born after the First or Second World War – initiatives meant to build a state that wasn't there, or to organize a country that was barely so. Our French ...
A Concrete Investment
Nicolas Sbeih 24/04 20:46 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
It's the deal of the moment: acquiring an apartment in Lebanon. An idea that seems bizarre given the advice raining down on you from all sides, without solicitation, urging you "not to invest a penny in this Lebanon that is drifting away." The justification for our counter-advice is that current prices on the market are historically at ...
The Distinguished, and the Others
Nicolas Sbeih 20/04 16:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
"We're a bit fed up, you know, my dear, with all this bad news every day; we can't wait to get back to our lives; in fact, I need to do some shopping, it'll cheer me up." And so, the "completely outdated" items are renewed, a few pieces to ornament the new Art Deco secretary, the coveted shawls, the sparkling jewelry sets, dinner at the latest ...
What Is the Price of War?
Nicolas Sbeih 11/04 17:52 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Houses continue to crumble, people are succumbing beneath the rubble, and the olive fields, a lifelong toil, are turning to ash. No one cares, except the Minister of Economy who reduced it all to abstract figures: damages, he claims, are estimated between 7 and 10 billion dollars. But the minister who aims to be the Great Vizier, did not dare see ...
Investors Risking Extinction?
Nicolas Sbeih 03/04 11:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Lebanon has unfortunately become one of the worst countries for investment. It's as if we intentionally sought this. There's no other way to explain it. Our "country risk" was often already problematic. But now, as the crisis engulfs us, even the slightest attempt to start any business has become an uphill battle. The obstacles are surely known to ...
Recipe for a Prosperous State
Nicolas Sbeih 28/03 12:25 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
For the 2024 budget, as with any controversy over public finances, one notices that the debate is limited to more or less taxes to reward more or less civil servants: the active, the inactive, the moderate present, the absent, the invisible, the non-existent, without distinction. No idea about other possible revenues or less wasteful ...
Downtown Beirut: A Deserted Land
Nicolas Sbeih 21/03 08:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Poor Downtown Beirut, it does not deserve the fate it has endured for years. And, by a play of mirrors, poor Solidere, which does not deserve it either. The fates of the two are linked. And the current fleeting Ramadan revival will not change this torpor, which is not the result of chance, but rather the culmination of a long macabre ...
The Sacred Cows of Our Economy
Nicolas Sbeih 13/03 20:36 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Yes, indeed, we also have our sacred cows, those perpetual taboos that must never be tampered with, those economic incests of the sphere of power. To illustrate this sacred herd, here is a small sample that is far from exhaustive. 1- The Gold. Every so often, we proudly boast that the Central Bank (BDL) holds 288 tons of it (currently worth $17 ...
The Enigma of Public Employees’ Wages
Nicolas Sbeih 07/03 07:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
If you haven't fully grasped the new public sector employees’ salary scale, don’t sweat it. No one has, not even the main beneficiaries or those tasked with the responsibility of crushing the numbers every single month. The saga of the public sector employees’ salary scale is spiraling into unprecedented levels of absurdity that deserve a ...
NSSF: The Failing Engine
Nicolas Sbeih 29/02 12:28 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Under normal circumstances, one should call it ‘the social engine.' However, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) apparatus is no longer functioning the way it should. In fact, it was poised to become the first public victim of the financial crisis. But how did we even get there? The history of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has ...
The Fabulous Destiny of Recovery Plans
Nicolas Sbeih 22/02 08:49 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The suspenseful series of "crisis exit plans" is continuing with great success on the government's encrypted channel, maintaining the same theme but varying in style and appellation. Over the past four years, we've had about 10 plans labeled "recovery," "rescue," "restructuring"... But in reality, these plans more closely resembled, in the ...
The Concept of Financial Chaos
Nicolas Sbeih 15/02 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
The chaos that has prevailed over the Lebanese financial sector for four years has recently jumped to a new level. It has become an economic concept, just like capitalism or socialism. And it is governing the country. The newly-coined concept of “financial chaos” involves this sticky mess surrounding the value of the lollar, the dollar, ...
A Country of Glaring Inequalities
Nicolas Sbeih 08/02 07:30 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
It is customary at the beginning of the year to take stock of fortunes and misfortunes in the international economic press. We won't drown you in numbers or provoke gloomy desolation so as not to add to your worries. But in essence, over the past few years, there have been many more billionaires who have become much richer than before. The ...
Lebanese Stock Exchange: Still of Use?
Nicolas Sbeih 31/01 11:45 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
It seems that the Beirut Stock Exchange is the next victim of the creeping state genocide. In reality, it's not the stock exchange itself that's directly targeted; it should continue to operate, but rather the Capital Markets Authority, which oversees its management. Persistent information and rumors indicate a forced and collective resignation of ...
A Brief History of State Finances
Nicolas Sbeih 24/01 10:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
The state finances are taking center stage these days. They are in the spotlight, dominating media headlines and the intros of television news with their Ibn Battouta-style prose. All of this is because we are on the eve of a new era: the state budget has been presented and is at risk of being adopted on time, for the first time in almost 20 ...
The Conundrum of Syrians in Lebanon
Nicolas Sbeih 18/01 18:06 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
The Syrian issue is one of those recurring topics filled with bold statements, speeches at international podiums and "repatriation plans" on paper. However, the actual implementation of measures by various security services, municipalities or ministers tends to unravel along the way. All of the above unfolds against a backdrop of societal ...
Refine Your Wishes Regarding Investment
Nicolas Sbeih 11/01 14:31 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
If one wished to enumerate, for amusement, the hindrances to investment and economic development in the country, they would have a plethora of options. I'm not certain that the allocated megabytes for this section would be sufficient. In a hodgepodge fashion, one can mention: closed, semi-closed or ajar administrations, turning formalities into a ...
What to Expect in 2024
Nicolas Sbeih 04/01 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
To attempt to guess the possible prospects for the year 2024, one must proceed with excessive modesty. Already, the data available from last year is scarce. Even international organizations, which invest millions of dollars annually in surveys and studies, seem engulfed in hazy conjectures. They hesitate to predict anything for the following ...
The Tale of the Foreign Bank Transfers
Nicolas Sbeih 2023-12-27 19:40 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
For the past four years, this somewhat recurrent idle tune has echoed in nearly every opinion, critique and analysis regarding the performance of banks at the outset of the economic crisis. According to these endless rantings, the banks allegedly transferred massive sums of money abroad for a select few privileged individuals, while denying the ...
The Likelihood of a Viable Palestinian State
Nicolas Sbeih 2023-12-21 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)
It has been relegated to oblivion, this story of two states existing side by side. It took a long time, a show of force from Hamas and tens of thousands killed in Gaza for world leaders to wake up, probably under the pressure of their outraged populations. Yet, it is still only in the form of scattered statements lacking unanimity. Some are still ...
Where Do We Go Now?
Nicolas Sbeih 2023-12-13 19:44 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Nadine Labaki, in her eponymous film, found the answer while we are still struggling. Suppose, which is possible, that the situation does not improve for a while, with a gradual disappearance of the state and its services, a government handicapped without a president, and a Hezbollah that is malfunctioning and proliferating. What should be done ...
It’s the Politics, Stupid!
Nicolas Sbeih 2023-12-05 18:49 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
economy harvard Lebanese crisis
This column is known for its scathing critiques but is not accustomed to delivering insults. Nevertheless, the expression in the title has a history: During Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, his campaign strategist created three slogans, including "It’s the Economy, Stupid" (addressing his rivals), meaning that everything revolves ...