Business

Lebanon’s talks with the IMF are on hold pending the start of economic reforms and agreement on the Lebanese side on a common approach for calculating losses, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said. Wazni will remain in contact with the IMF until the talks resume, he said in comments to al-Joumhuria …

Every day, energy merchants collect and scrutinize whatever information they can find on fuel demand to get a trading edge: from satellite data tracking oil tankers worldwide to thermal images from cameras on pipelines and storage tanks. Real-time data on fuel demand would be the ultimate prize. On-the-spot gasoline consumption …

As accelerating poverty fuels anger, despair and fear of a social explosion, efforts by Lebanon’s ruling elite to salvage the country from a financial meltdown with IMF help seem to be going in reverse. A country known across the Middle East for its glamorous lifestyle and commercial savoir faire now …

By : Siba El-Samra   The shortage of public spaces, as well as walking and biking infrastructure in Lebanon, is not a new problem. During a pandemic, this shortage becomes time-critical and even more life-threatening, especially in dense Beirut. As cities around the world look to find ways to live with …

By James M. Dorsey   China was quick to aid coronavirus-stricken Sri Lanka. Chinese magnanimity and speed in responding to the Indian Ocean island’s request contrasted starkly with Beijing’s more measured response to Africa’s needs, widely expected to be the pandemic’s next hotspot. Geography was but one reason why China …

Iran on Thursday condemned as inhumane a fresh round of U.S. sanctions against its regional ally Syria and said it would expand its trade ties with Damascus. The United States on Wednesday imposed its toughest sanctions targeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to choke off revenue for his government and force …

Israel cannot expect to normalise relations with the Arab world if it annexes land in the occupied West Bank, a United Arab Emirates envoy wrote in Israel’s top newspaper on Friday. Some Israeli officials have dismissed the notion that applying sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the …

A U.S. State Department inspector general fired by President Donald Trump told lawmakers the department discouraged him from investigating arms sales to Saudi Arabia before he was dismissed last month, according to a transcript released Wednesday. The inspector general, Steve Linick, was fired on May 15, the latest in a …

The coronavirus is putting Egypt’s private cement industry under even more pressure. Already scrambling to respond to competition from a vast new factory owned by the military, the pandemic has stymied a nascent rebound in sales, raising the possibility of plant closures, industry executives and analysts say. Demand for cement …

The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it had reached a staff-level agreement with Egypt for a one-year, $5.2 billion standby loan to help the North African country grapple with the novel coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. The agreement, which must be finalized by the Fund’s executive board, would …

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations are facing their worst economic crisis in history amid the double shock of plunging oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) said. Overall real gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 4.4% this year, despite some indications that the …

A group of Republican lawmakers plans to unveil legislation this week to keep Americans from investing in foreign defense companies with ties to China’s military, according to a document seen by Reuters, the latest in a string of measures aimed at curbing U.S. funding for China-based firms. Representatives Mike Gallagher, …

The corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu opens on Sunday in a Jerusalem court, where he will become the first serving Israeli prime minister to face criminal prosecution, in a case he calls a political witch-hunt. Netanyahu is required to appear for the session in Jerusalem District Court, a week after …

Lebanon is at risk of a major food crisis and many Lebanese may soon find it hard to afford bread because of an acute financial crunch and the fall-out of COVID-19, the prime minister warned. Writing in the Washington Post, Hassan Diab also warned of a global food security emergency …

An Israeli court rejected on Wednesday a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be absent from the opening of his corruption trial next week, saying he must abide by the practice of hearing the charges in person. Netanyahu had asked Jerusalem District Court to be excused from his May …

Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf issued a video statement on Sunday saying officials had told him to quit as head of mobile operator Syriatel, in the latest twist in a tussle over assets and taxes that has uncovered a rift at the heart of the ruling elite. Makhlouf, a cousin of …

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought minority stakes in major American companies including Boeing (BA.N), Facebook (FB.O) and Citigroup (C.N), according to a U.S. regulatory filing. The $300 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been buying minority stakes in companies across the world, taking advantage of market weakness in …

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply even as workers got sick and died. Yet the plants have increasingly been exporting to China while U.S. consumers face shortages, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Trump, who is in an …

The Trump administration is drafting a legal blueprint for mining on the moon under a new U.S.-sponsored international agreement called the Artemis Accords, people familiar with the proposed pact told Reuters. The agreement would be the latest effort to cultivate allies around NASA’s plan to put humans and space stations …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened a “crushing response” on Wednesday if the United States goes ahead with plans to extend an embargo on Iranian trade of conventional arms, which the United Nations is set to lift later this year. Under Iran’s deal with world powers to accept limits to its …

Iran dismissed as “illegitimate” efforts by the United States to extend the U.N. Security Council arms embargo on Tehran, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday. “Iran is not seeking to exit the 2015 nuclear deal with six powers … America’s move is illegitimate and our reaction will be …

Sanctions-hit Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf on Sunday said that security forces were arresting employees at his diversified companies in what he said was “mounting pressure” on him days after Syrian authorities asked him to pay hefty taxes. Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of President Bashar al-Assad and widely considered part of …

Syria’s leading tycoon, Rami Makhlouf, said he will appeal to President Bashar al-Assad to allow his mobile communications company, Syriatel, to reschedule payment of taxes owed to the government in order to avoid a possible collapse of the firm. Makhlouf, who is chairman of Syriatel, is a maternal cousin of …

Oil and gas exporter Algeria plans to develop other natural resources including uranium, gold and phosphate with the help of foreign investors after the end of the health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Friday. The North African country’s economy still relies heavily on energy …

Managing Stakeholders has become a major challenge in a ‘Remote Working Environment’ (working from home). It increases the complexity factor to a project, it removes the physical interactions and the ability to manage emotions and behavioral aspects. By Emile Fakhoury Adding to this challenge, if you have kids at home, …

Saudi Arabia’s central bank foreign reserves fell in March at their fastest rate in at least 20 years and to their lowest since 2011, while the kingdom slipped into a $9 billion budget deficit in the first quarter as oil revenues collapsed. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is …

The coronavirus pandemic and its devastating economic impact on developing countries could fuel fresh interest in so-called diaspora bonds that allow migrants to support their countries of origin, experts from the World Bank and other groups say. Dilip Ratha, the World Bank’s lead economist on migration and remittances, told Reuters …

[I wrote this blog piece  in October 2016, on the eve of the US presidential election. Given all the discussion today of what kind of a system we are trying to protect and restore under Corona Virus, I thought it would be relevant to revisit it on the eve of …

Achieving excellence in project management adds tremendous advantages to the individuals and the organisation as well as to the clients and stakeholders. By Emile Fakhoury The Golden Thread: Regional Picture, reveals the huge economic contribution of the project profession both within the UK as a whole and various regions. Mastering …

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and an alliance of faith groups have urged President Donald Trump to champion a moratorium on debt payments for poor countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic that has triggered a global recession. In a letter sent to the U.S. president on Wednesday, the groups …

European Union finance ministers failed to agree in all-night talks on more support for their coronavirus-hit economies and their chairman said on Wednesday morning he was suspending the discussions until Thursday. Diplomatic sources and officials said a feud between Italy and the Netherlands over what conditions should be attached to …

President Hassan Rouhani pressed harder on Wednesday for a $5 billion emergency IMF loan Iran has sought to fight the Middle East’s worst coronavirus outbreak, saying the Fund would be guilty of discrimination if it withholds the money. Rouhani also said some businesses will remain closed until further notice, after …

Discussions are under way on enabling wider access to some patented drugs and medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the U.N.’s intellectual property agency said on Tuesday. Francis Gurry, director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said that during an emergency, health and safety “trumps everything”. …

More than 6.6 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, setting a grim record for the second straight week. The latest claims brought the two-week total to nearly 10 million. The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until …

The Group of 20 major economies said on Tuesday that they would present a coronavirus action plan in two weeks to address the debt vulnerabilities of the poorest countries and deliver financial aid to emerging economies. G20 finance ministers and central bank governors discussed in a videoconference how the International …

Trade ministers from the Group of 20 major economies on Monday agreed to step up cooperation and coordination to ensure the continued flow of vital medical supplies and equipment and other essentials in the face of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. In a joint statement, the ministers said they would take …

The Heritage Foundation sees the US as the winner in the current situation in Syria, with conflict between Turkey, Russia and Syria.  They conclude, “That leaves the U.S. sitting in not-the-worst position of all the players. We still have some small teams in Syria conducting anti-ISIS operations, but no one …

The heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on Friday underscored the need to provide debt relief to poorer countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and said official bilateral creditors would have to play a major role. The IMF and the World Bank have both launched emergency programs …

By Damir Nazarov   Ibragimov, Sc.D., Director of the “Research Information Centre”, a non-governmental and non-profit organization The construction of a railway through Kyrgyzstan has been considered for a long time – more than two decades. During this time, the PRC railway ministries have repeatedly stated about their great interest …

By Damir Nazarov   U.Ibragimov, Director of the “Research Information Centre”, a non­governmental and non-profit organization On December 19-20, 2019, Tashkent held the first meeting of members of Working Group on Formation of a Multimodal Transport Corridor for “Asian- Pacific Region – China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – …

A dozen countries in the Middle East and Central Asia have asked the International Monetary Fund for financial support in dealing with the coronavirus, and the Kyrgyz Republic is likely to receive the first emergency disbursement, the fund said. Governments should spare no expense to help their health systems and …

The United States on Wednesday identified seven companies that it has blacklisted for trade in Iranian petrochemicals – three based in mainland China, three in Hong Kong and one in South Africa – the State Department said in a statement. Separately, the department also named five Iranian nuclear scientists who …

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the creation of a 10 billion dirham ($1 billion) fund to upgrade health infrastructure and help vulnerable economic sectors in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the royal cabinet said on Sunday. The fund will help acquire the necessary health equipment and assist sectors such …

Hezbollah does not oppose foreign aid to Lebanon, even from the International Monetary Fund, as long as the help does not impose conditions that harm the national interest, its leader said on Friday. In a televised speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his Shi’ite movement, which backs the government, refused conditions …