Economy

Alfa and Touch Employees Near Agreement With Management
Alfa and Touch Employees Near Agreement With Management

The management teams of mobile operators Alfa and Touch, along with the employee union, have developed a clear vision to address issues that have remained unresolved for nearly a year, including the signing of the collective labor agreement and salary adjustments. During a Thursday meeting between the management of Alfa and Touch and members of ...

Syria's Economy Reborn After Being Freed from Assad
Syria's Economy Reborn After Being Freed from Assad

When Bashar al-Assad ruled Syria, merchants like Youssef Rajab kept much of their imported stock hidden for fear of arrest for breaking the law. But after an Islamist-led coalition toppled Assad in a lightning offensive last month, Rajab put previously banned foreign goods such as chocolate, biscuits and shampoo back on the shelf. Such products ...

Turkey Cuts benchmark Interest Rate to 45%
Turkey Cuts benchmark Interest Rate to 45%

Turkey's central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate to 45 percent after inflation weakened further last month, though it said prices could have started rising again in January. The move came after the central bank cut its rate for the first time in two years in December, saying its efforts to tame sky-high inflation were starting to ...

Billionaire Bloomberg Pledges to Cover U.S. Climate Contributions After Trump’s Withdrawal
Billionaire Bloomberg Pledges to Cover U.S. Climate Contributions After Trump’s Withdrawal

After Donald Trump’s announcement of a new U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, American billionaire Michael Bloomberg committed on Thursday to cover, on behalf of the federal government, any unpaid U.S. contributions to the UN Climate body. Just like during Trump's first term, the businessman, who is opposed to the Republican and ...

BDL’s Foreign Reserve Assets Stand at $10.35B After a $210.47M Rise in the First Two Weeks of January 2025
BDL’s Foreign Reserve Assets Stand at $10.35B After a $210.47M Rise in the First Two Weeks of January 2025

According to the balance sheet of Lebanon’s Central Bank (BDL), the Bank’s total assets declined by 13.44% annually, to reach $93.22 billion by mid-January 2025, under the 89,500 LBP/USD official rate maintained by BDL since February 1, 2024. The fall was mainly due to the 80.60% and 24.49% year-on-year (YOY) drop in deferred open market ...

Appointment of Lebanese Commercial Attachés: A Recurring Theme
Appointment of Lebanese Commercial Attachés: A Recurring Theme

While this request appears valid and justified at first glance, it seems these organizations have forgotten what transpired just six years ago. Back then, the government responded to a similar request by appointing commercial attachés in about 20 countries deemed "strategic" for Lebanese exports. This initiative, however, was short-lived, likely ...

Invalid 2025 Draft Budget to Be Returned to Cabinet Urgently
Invalid 2025 Draft Budget to Be Returned to Cabinet Urgently

On October 4, 2024, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government issued Decree No. 14076, submitting the 2025 draft budget to Parliament. Signed by Mikati and Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, it has since been left untouched, pending review by key committees, notably the Finance and Budget Committee and the Administration and Justice ...

Trump Launches His Own Cryptocurrency!
Trump Launches His Own Cryptocurrency!

It was only a matter of time before Donald Trump had his own cryptocurrency, and now it’s finally here. Just two days before being inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump launched his personal crypto. Trump has entered the cryptocurrency world with a "meme coin" bearing his likeness. The coin features Trump with a ...

Netflix Reports Surge in Subscribers, new Price Hikes
Netflix Reports Surge in Subscribers, new Price Hikes

Netflix on Tuesday said it added nearly 19 million subscribers during the holiday season to finish out last year with more than 300 million subscribers. Company executives credited steady investments in shows and films with helping power growth at the streaming behemoth, while announcing it is increasing prices in Argentina, Canada, Portugal and ...

Trump Touts $500 bn AI Project , Faces Criticism from Cathedral Pulpit
Trump Touts $500 bn AI Project , Faces Criticism from Cathedral Pulpit

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a major investment to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence led by Japanese giant Softbank, cloud giant Oracle and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The venture, called Stargate, "will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States," Trump said in remarks at the White House. ...

Is It Possible to Return Syrian Bank Deposits?
Is It Possible to Return Syrian Bank Deposits?

During a visit to Syria in early January, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati was met with a striking demand from the country’s new ruler, Ahmad al-Sharaa: the restitution of Syrian deposits held in Lebanese banks. While the request might appear justified on the surface, it lacks clarity and a solid legal foundation, according to a legal ...

Stocks enjoy 'Trump bump', but oil slumps
Stocks enjoy 'Trump bump', but oil slumps

Global stock markets climbed on Tuesday as Donald Trump wasted no time in starting his second term as US president with a raft of announcements affecting the global economy. Oil prices slumped however on the prospect of more drilling in the United States, while the dollar lost much of its initial gains. Wall Street's major indices rose at the ...