Hollande, Sarkozy set to advance to French runoff

Socialist Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy are heading for a runoff in the race for France’s presidency, according to partial official results after a first round of voting Sunday.
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French elections: Economy may sink Sarkozy

French voters headed to the polls on Sunday in round one of a presidential ballot, with economic despair on course to make Nicolas Sarkozy the first president to lose a fight for re-election in more than 30 years.

In a contest driven as much by a dislike of Sarkozy’s showy style and his failure to bring down unemployment as (more…)

Saudi owns 40% of total Arab investments in Lebanon

The volume of Saudi investments in Lebanon amounted to $6 billion (SR22.50 billion), which accounts for nearly 40 percent of total Arab investments in that country, Saudi Ambassador to Beirut Ali Asiri said. He said some 111,701 Saudi tourists visited Lebanon in 2011, who accounted for 19 percent and 6.7 percent of Arab and overall tourists respectively. (more…)

Gap to open shop in Lebanon in 2012

What to do when your domestic market is saturated and slow? Go overseas, of course. The question is when and how difficult a market to pick. For clothes retailer Gap, the answers seem to be: ‘now’ and ‘any’.

Gap is opening two stores in South Africa on Tuesday and Wednesday with wholesale partner Stuttafords in Johannesburg and Cape Town. And perhaps more adventurously, it plans to open in Lebanon, Georgia and Azerbaijan this year. (more…)

Lebanese-American serving as top economic advisor to British PM Cameron

On Monday, the BBC broadcast the news that British Prime Minister David Cameron now relies on Nassim Nicholas Taleb as his closest advisor on economic affairs and much else. This Lebanese-American author and former Wall Street trader has captivated Downing Street, the BBC reports; he and the Prime Minister are mutual admirers. (more…)

Lebanon banks put expansion plans on hold

Lebanon’s well-capitalised banks have postponed plans for regional growth, after the Arab awakening closed off the window for expansion opened by the global financial crisis.

The country’s banking sector is flush with cash but short of tempting opportunities now that formerly attractive markets such as Syria and Egypt are in political turmoil. (more…)

Syria Economic Destruction as Deadly as Bullets And Bombs

When we are shown horrific images of war, such as the dying child filmed by the late Marie Colvin in Syria last week, it is hard to imagine any other product of conflict than the tragic loss of human life. (more…)

Billions in bank funds take flight from Syria

Close to 100 billion Syrian pounds (Dh6.41bn), almost a third of all funds on deposit, has left the Syrian banking system since the conflict began last year, The National can reveal.

“We are in the danger zone, but it could get much worse,” said an official at the country’s stock-market in Damascus. “The crisis in Syria is (more…)

Turkish Lira Falls as Central Bank Cuts Overnight Lending Rate

The Turkish lira fell on Tuesday as Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly cut its overnight lending rates and issued a more dovish assessment of global monetary conditions.
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Mikati urges the French to invest in Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday that Lebanon cannot be used as a “base to conspire or to be in a state of enmity with any Arab country and will therefore continue to hold onto its policy of dissociating itself from the developments in Syria, urging the business community in Paris to increase its investments in Lebanon, National News Agency reported. (more…)