Economy

US Stocks Fall as Market Awaits Fed's Rate Decision

This is Beirut 2024-12-17 17:55 - Reading : less than a minute

Federal Reserve United States Financial Markets

Wall Street stocks pulled back early Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, as markets digested stronger than expected US retail sales. US retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November from a month earlier, up from a revised 0.5 percent in October and above analysts forecasts. The data came ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve ...

Tehran Malls Close Early to Save Energy: Media

This is Beirut 2024-12-17 11:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Tehran

Malls and shopping centres in Iran's capital will limit opening hours starting Tuesday, closing two hours earlier to tackle severe energy shortages, local media said. The fuel crisis has already led to frequent power cuts in Tehran in recent weeks and nationwide closures of schools and businesses. The Tehran Chamber of Trade Unions and Guilds ...

New Bus Line in Beirut to Be Launched on Wednesday

This is Beirut 2024-12-17 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Hamiye Bus Transport Lebanon

Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh announced on his X account that a new public transport bus line will be launched on Wednesday as part of an ongoing plan to expand the public bus network. The route will start from Nahr al-Mott and pass through key locations, including Sassine Square, AUST University, Hôtel-Dieu and ...

Choucair Calls for Reconsideration of the 1991 Treaty with Syria

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 22:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Economy Lebanon Syria

The President of the Economic Organizations and former minister, Mohammad Choucair, has called for a reconsideration of the 1991 Treaty of Fraternity, Cooperation and Coordination signed between Lebanon and Syria. This appeal was made in two letters he addressed to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. ...

Fayad Launches Initiative for Fuel Importation and Storage for Industrial Use

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 21:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Economy Lebanon Fuel

Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad announced on Monday the signing of an agreement between his ministry, the oil facilities in Tripoli and Zahrani, and the Association of Lebanese Industrialists, which permits industrialists to store the diesel fuel they import in the storage tanks of the Tripoli oil facilities. According to the agreement, ...

Iran Shuts Down Power Plants Due to Fuel Shortages

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 18:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Tehran Iran Electricity

Several power plants in Iran have been shut down due to a fuel shortage exacerbated by a cold wave straining energy supply, local media reported on Monday. Iran, a major energy producer, holds the world's second-largest natural gas reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and ranked as the seventh-largest crude ...

Salloum: The Fall of the Syrian Regime Will End Drug Smuggling

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 18:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Economy Drugs Pharmacists Syria Lebanon

The President of the Pharmacists’ Syndicate, Joe Salloum, stated that the fall of the Syrian regime would put an end to the smuggling of medications, noting that subsidized medicines have been smuggled across border points. "With the regime's fall, the borders will be controlled, and the process of drug smuggling in both directions will come ...

EU kickstarts satellite network to rival Musk's Starlink

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 14:05 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Europe European Union USA Elon Musk

The EU's flagship satellite constellation project officially took off Monday, as the bloc signed a concession contract with a European consortium to develop a secure space-based communication system. Envisaging a multi-orbital network of almost 300 satellites, Iris² aims to rival US satellite internet service providers such as Elon Musk's ...

Lagarde says ECB will continue to cut interest rates

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 14:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Banks Donald Trump ECB Christine Lagarde

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde said Monday eurozone policymakers would keep cutting interest rates and warned that higher US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump could hit growth in the bloc. "Even though we are not there yet, we are close to achieving our target" of two-percent inflation, Lagarde said in a speech at the Bank ...

Eurozone business activity contracts again in December

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 13:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

France

Business activity in the eurozone declined further in December, though less sharply than the previous month thanks to an upturn in the services sector, a closely-watched survey showed Monday. The HCOB Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) published by S&P Global stood at 49.5 compared to 48.3 in November, as companies in the ...

With Assad gone, Syrian pound starts to recover

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 13:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus USA dollar Syrian Pound

The Syrian pound has begun to recover against the dollar after president Bashar al-Assad's ouster, moneychangers and traders said Monday as foreign currencies again became available on the local market. On December 7 -- the day before Damascus fell to a rebel coalition led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group – the rate had plunged to ...

MEA Crosses Syrian Airspace Again

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 11:30 - Reading : less than a minute

MEA Syrian Airspace

Aircraft of the national carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) will once again be crossing Syrian airspace on their way to airports in Iraq and other Arab countries, as revealed by the caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamiye, on his X (ex-Twitter) account. This is the result of coordination with the International Civil Aviation ...