Lebanon expects 2011 GDP growth of 5%

Lebanon’s real GDP will grow 5 percent in 2011 while inflation is expected to drop to 2.8 percent by the end of that year, according to draft budget figures released by the finance ministry on Wednesday.

Finance Minister Raya al-Hassan ( pictured) said the 2011 budget projects GDP at around $40 billion, of which $3.8 billion will go to service the country’s debt which is expected to reach $55 billion in 2011. (more…)

IMF: Lebanon GDP Could Grow By 8% In 2010

Lebanon could see its gross domestic product grow by 8% or more this year, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday. (more…)

What Did We Have the Civil War for?

By Ghassan Karam
Civil conflicts are not exactly uncommon in this world. There is hardly a nation state that has not had to overcome a major civil conflict as it was becoming established. In a sense, it appears that civil strife is a right of passage of some sort.

Money Illusion

By Ghassan Karam
The level of welfare of societies and even individuals should not be measured in purely monetary terms. This is not a proposition to be questioned since there are many other aspects that play a major role in determining the level of welfare.

S&P upgrades Lebanon credit rating

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services raised Lebanon’s sovereign-credit ratings and gave them a positive outlook because of banking resilience and the expectation of political stability in the medium term.
Over three years of political flux, Lebanon’s public finances and especially its banking system remained resilient, according to S&P. In addition, the new party consensus improves the likelihood of achieving reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund and the Paris III conference on rebuilding the country. These reforms could lower fiscal deficits, cut government debt-to- gross-domestic-product levels and reduce Lebanon’s liabilities.
The agency Tuesday said it expects, conservatively, that the central government fiscal deficit could fall to 6.3% of GDP in 2012 from 9.9% in 2008.
S&P raised its long- and short-term sovereign-credit ratings on the Republic of Lebanon one notch to B. Further ratings action will depend on how much success the new government has in increasing fiscal stability. The rating would face downward pressure should civil unrest break out or the government falters in its pursuit of the Paris III reforms. WSJ