Economy

The Electricity File Takes Center Stage in Parliament
The Electricity File Takes Center Stage in Parliament

The Parliamentary Committee for Public Works, Energy, Transport and Water launched a workshop on Thursday to discuss the electricity issue. However, the final outcome remains unknown, as the Lebanese State does not seem to have resolved to seriously reform this sector. In parallel, Lebanese Forces MPs submitted to the Chamber's bureau a bill that ...

Correspondent Banks: Transfers Safe Despite Potential Grey Listing
Correspondent Banks: Transfers Safe Despite Potential Grey Listing

Wassim Mansouri, Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL), is meeting in London with officials from correspondent banks that interact with Lebanese banks. The goal is to address potential impacts of any negative decisions taken by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) ahead of its crucial meeting to assess countries' compliance with ...

Public Sector Employees: More Strikes... Again
Public Sector Employees: More Strikes... Again

Public sector employees have renewed their push for a salary review and announced a two-day warning strike on September 5 and 6. This Is Beirut looks back at the sporadic strikes that the public sector has been organizing since 2019. The League of Civil Employees has announced a two-day warning strike on September 5 and 6, accusing the government ...

Bank Loans Are Back…
Bank Loans Are Back…

Bank loans are back, but the criteria for accessing them are stricter in terms of candidate eligibility, loan purpose, amount, and repayment period. Contrary to popular belief, these loans are not available due to fresh deposits in foreign currencies. Such deposits are tightly protected and regulated by a series of circulars issued by the ...

Summer 2024: A Season That Fell Short of Expectations
Summer 2024: A Season That Fell Short of Expectations

The summer wraps up with Lebanon at the center of attention. As the new school year looms, tourism professionals are reflecting on the summer of 2024. The season has been notably catastrophic, falling far below expectations. Catastrophic, terrible, mediocre, or not too bad, tourism professionals are delivering an initial assessment of the unusual ...

EDL: Unloading of Diesel Cargoes
EDL: Unloading of Diesel Cargoes

Électricité du Liban (EDL) has announced that they have started unloading the tanker's cargo off the Zahrani power station. As a result, electricity supplies will gradually increase starting this Friday evening. In a press release, the state-owned supplier states that laboratory tests proved to be in line with the required specifications, which ...

Association of Banks in Lebanon Condemns Attacks on Banks
Association of Banks in Lebanon Condemns Attacks on Banks

The Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) strongly condemned the attacks on banks that occurred on Thursday, expressing its concern for depositors’ rights. In a statement, ABL said that banks were once again exposed to malicious attacks by those with vested interests, seeking to exploit the situation at the depositors' expense. The statement ...

Nvidia Reports Excellent Results Despite Drop in Shares
Nvidia Reports Excellent Results Despite Drop in Shares

Nvidia, the company with the world’s second-largest market capitalization, announced stellar results on August 29. Despite the strong performance, the company’s share price fell by around 7% in pre-market trading in New York. Nvidia posted sales of $30 billion for the quarter from late April to the end of July, representing a 122% ...

Fransabank and Chamber of Commerce Report Indicates Decline in Performance
Fransabank and Chamber of Commerce Report Indicates Decline in Performance

The quarterly index, published by Fransabank in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Beirut to demonstrate the retail sector activity, indicated a decline in performance in the second quarter of 2024. The index registered 39.69 points, down from 42.84 in the previous quarter. However, this decline was paradoxically ...

Israel-Hezbollah War: A Heavy Toll on Lebanon
Israel-Hezbollah War: A Heavy Toll on Lebanon

Over ten months of violence between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have, as anticipated, resulted in hundreds of casualties in Lebanon, along with significant material and, most importantly, economic losses. The cost to Lebanon is staggering and unbearable for a country already on the brink. The damage caused by Israeli bombings in southern ...

General Confederation of Lebanese Workers Calls for Salary Increase
General Confederation of Lebanese Workers Calls for Salary Increase

On March 19, 2024, the Index Committee at the Ministry of Labor approved increasing the minimum wage from LBP 9 million to LBP 18 million per month, with the consent of economic bodies and the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers. Following this, the Ministry drafted a decree to implement the wage increase and submitted it to the State ...

Finance Ministry: Deadlines of Certain Taxes Will Be Extended
Finance Ministry: Deadlines of Certain Taxes Will Be Extended

Caretaker Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil extended the deadlines for tax and income tax declarations by issuing three decisions on Wednesday. This aims to give taxpayers more time while avoiding late payment fines. The deadline for filing the annual income tax return for salaries and wages (R5), individual annual statements (R6) and the ...