Economy

Finance Committee Meeting on Healthcare
Finance Committee Meeting on Healthcare

The parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, chaired by MP Ibrahim Kanaan, discussed on Wednesday the follow-up to health-related topics in the budget for fiscal year 2024, such as hospitals, hospitalization and drugs for chronic and incurable diseases. At the end of the meeting, Kanaan said that caretaker Health Minister Firas al-Abiad is ...

Traffic and Vehicle Management Authority: Schedule of Formalities
Traffic and Vehicle Management Authority: Schedule of Formalities

The Traffic and Vehicle Management Authority announced in a press release on Wednesday that it will open its doors at the Dekwaneh center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 for the registration or formalities of new cars and motorcycles with chassis numbers ending in 0, 1 and 2. Tuesday, April 2 is for those with chassis numbers ending in 3, 4 and 5. ...

Hezbollah-Israel Conflict: One Blow Too Many for the Economy
Hezbollah-Israel Conflict: One Blow Too Many for the Economy

Once again, the Lebanese economy is bearing the heavy brunt of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. Initial estimates indicate losses of around USD 2.5 billion in a country already struggling economically. The military conflict between Hezbollah and Israel is far from over, which makes it difficult to gauge its impact on Lebanon, a country ...

Ogero on Strike Again… One Year Later
Ogero on Strike Again… One Year Later

One year to the day after their open strike on March 24, 2023, the Ogero employees' union is staging a warning strike, today, Wednesday, which will be followed by two others on Wednesday, April 3, and Thursday, April 4. The union has given the government "a deadline until April 15 to respond to all demands without exception." These demands ...

Public Administration Employees Threaten Open-Ended Strike
Public Administration Employees Threaten Open-Ended Strike

The Public Administration Employees Association announced in a statement that "some ministries are taking arbitrary measures that have no legal basis, in a suspicious attempt to enslave employees, or an attempt to offer obedience and groveling at the expense of the employee's dignity." The statement said, "Of these behaviors, one ministry asked ...

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 ...