Economy

The 0 in Telephone Area Codes Replaced by a 2
The 0 in Telephone Area Codes Replaced by a 2

Landline area codes no longer start with a 0, but with a 2 for fiber-optic subscribers. In other words, if you use internet via fiber optic in Beirut, your area code is no longer 01 but 21. Therefore, 01, 04, 05, 06, 07 and 08 are replaced by 21, 24,25, 26, 27 and 28. Many callers discovered this accidentally when trying to reach other ...

Rental Law Contracts: LBP 1515 Challenges the Good Faith Principle
Rental Law Contracts: LBP 1515 Challenges the Good Faith Principle

  Recently, Antoine el-Hajj, the sole civil judge presiding over rental disputes in Jounieh, issued a ruling directly addressing the deadlines outlined in the Rental Law. This decision explained the legal validity of the law since 2014, thereby confirming the enforceability of the nine-year grace period from that point onwards, which expired ...

Real Estate Sector’s Endless Ordeal
Real Estate Sector’s Endless Ordeal

The real estate sector is going from bad to worse. Hindered by a scarcity of bank loans and a grim outlook for the country's future, both supply and demand have been severely crippled. Agents are leaving for more promising markets abroad. This represents an endless ordeal. “Speaking real estate investments in Lebanon at this juncture is a bad ...

Deadline Extension for Payment of Certain Taxes
Deadline Extension for Payment of Certain Taxes

The Caretaker Minister of Finance, Youssef el-Khalil, issued three decisions on Friday regarding the extension of payment deadlines for certain taxes to give taxpayers more time and avoid late payment fines. The deadline for filing a personal declaration for property tax on built real estate or on a portion of real estate with income exceeding ...

The Scarecrow of Consumer Society
The Scarecrow of Consumer Society

Reading the media, whether left-wing or right-wing, it is common to come across the term "consumer society" (or "consumerism"). The expression may seem confusing because, ultimately, everyone, in all countries, consumes to satisfy their needs. Criticism From All Sides A consumer society is characterized by a culture centered around the ...

Gold Sets a New Record
Gold Sets a New Record

The price of gold set a new all-time record on Thursday at over $2,200 an ounce, boosted by Wednesday's announcement by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) of several rate cuts in 2024. Gold surpassed $2,220 an ounce, breaking all previous records. In the space of a month (since mid-February), the price of the precious metal has risen by around ...

Mount Lebanon Land Registry: New Payment Orders Issued
Mount Lebanon Land Registry: New Payment Orders Issued

The General Directorate of the Land Registry announced on Thursday that "the cadastral secretariats in Mount Lebanon will deliver the second batch of payment orders and the third batch of ready title deeds to the parties concerned or their proxies tomorrow, Friday, March 22, 2024, according to a reception mechanism that has already been ...

Consumer Prices Recorded 1.06% Increase in February
Consumer Prices Recorded 1.06% Increase in February

The Central Administration of Statistics (CAS) reported on Thursday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Lebanon for February 2024 recorded an increase of 1.06% compared to January 2024. This increase remains moderate compared to the rebounds recorded in other months of 2023 (33.27% in March and 5.35% in May). Additionally, the index rose by ...

Downtown Beirut: A Deserted Land
Downtown Beirut: A Deserted Land

  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 ...

USAID: $1.1 Million to Help 11,000 Farmers
USAID: $1.1 Million to Help 11,000 Farmers

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Wednesday that it had distributed “seeds, seedlings and fertilizers to more than 11,000 small-scale Lebanese farmers across the country.” The donation, totaling $1.1 million, is part of the Lebanon Agriculture and Rural Empowerment (ARE) Activity. It aims to ...

Public Sector Salary Increase Disbursed
Public Sector Salary Increase Disbursed

Sources close to the Ministry of Finance told This Is Beirut on Wednesday that the funds allocated for retroactive pay raises for December and January, which were approved by the Council of Ministers on February 28, have been transferred to civil servants, military personnel and pensioners. These individuals will be able to withdraw the funds ...

Minimum Wage Increase: A Bottomless Pit
Minimum Wage Increase: A Bottomless Pit

As long as minimum wage growth lags behind the inflation rate, salary adjustment measures remain an aberration and a futile economic absurdity. Much like a bottomless pit. Which pertinent indicator did the Price Index Committee use to support the increase in the minimum wage to LBP 18 million, while simultaneously allowing employers to decide the ...