BEIRUT (Reuters) by Samia Nakhoul, Tom Perry — The Lebanese government must swallow its misgivings and reach a rescue deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or risk economic implosion and further turmoil, economists, diplomats and politicians said. Privately, some government officials acknowledge that an IMF bailout is the most logical solution to Lebanon’s economic crisis, according to a source familiar with ongoing discussions. But to get such a rescue program in place, the new government would have to overcome the objections of Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed power broker in Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s cabinet and its Christian and Shi’ite allies, who are concerned about the austerity measures an IMF rescue would involve.

As Lebanon’s financial crisis drags on and government revenues dwindle, the bill to rescue the country is rising. Former economy minister and ex-vice central bank governor Nasser Saidi estimates the economy will need $30 billion, and an additional $25 billion to recapitalise a banking system in hock to the state. “Lebanon needs external liquidity both for the balance of payments but also for the government,” Saidi said. “That’s why the external package and the IMF reform program which comes with all the associated reforms which we need is so necessary”. A $1.2 billion payment on a Eurobond is falling due on March 9 and even though Lebanon is widely expected to restructure its foreign-currency-denominated debt that is unlikely to be enough to deal with the total debt burden, economists and analysts say.

Al Jazeera by Timour Azhari — Beirut, Lebanon – A judge in Lebanon has suspended a decision by a financial prosecutor to freeze the assets of 20 banks and their chairmen and boards of directors The judge, Ghassan Oueidat, said late on Thursday he has issued a stay of the prosecutor’s order so he could study its effects on the country’s monetary situation, bank transactions, depositors’ money, and economic security. The prosecutor, Judge Ali Ibrahim, earlier on Thursday ordered the assets of the banks, their executives and boards of directors to be frozen as part of an investigation into billions of dollars transferred out of the cash-strapped nation.

Ibrahim’s order came amid a worsening economic and financial spiral that has Lebanon staring down the barrel of defaulting on a Eurobond repayment due next week. An acute foreign currency shortage has seen the Lebanese pound devalue on parallel markets to lows unprecedented since it was pegged to the US dollar in 1993. Lebanon’s economy is dependent on inflows of foreign currency from its large diaspora, but they have dried up as the country descends deeper into a crisis rooted in corruption, government mismanagement, a dilapidated power sector that bleeds billions and the civil war next door in Syria. The dollar shortage has made the scenario of a default on the country’s enormous $87bn public debt – the third highest in the world compared with its gross domestic product (GDP) – increasingly likely.

The cabinet will meet on Saturday to decide whether to make good on a much-anticipated $1.2bn Eurobond repayment due on March 9. “Given the negotiations on the Eurobonds with the banks, [Ibrahim’s] decision can be seen as a pressure tool on them to accept government conditions,” Jad Chaaban, an associate professor of economics at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera. A senior banking source told Al Jazeera that they view the decision as a further attempt by politicians to shift blame for the country’s dire situation onto banks and away from a political class that has ruled Lebanon since its 1975-90 civil war. “There is political pressure on the judge to do this. It’s as if we are the ones who stole money and hired thousands of people, and wrecked the electricity sector and wasted money on deals. It’s a scapegoat,” the source said.

by reuters — A majority of Lebanese Parliament members oppose paying looming Eurobond maturities, even if that leads to default, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Wednesday. The announcement compounded doubts over whether the heavily indebted country will meet a March 9 repayment deadline. Lebanon is facing an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, which came to a head last year as capital inflows slowed and protests erupted against the ruling elite. Its next debt maturity is a $1.2bn Eurobond due on March 9.

Senior sources close to two of the main parties that back the government – the powerful Hezbollah, and Berri’s Amal Movement – told Reuters news agency that the government was expected to announce a decision not to pay on Friday or Saturday and enter negotiations with bondholders. A source close to the other main backer of the government – the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by President Michel Aoun – said such a declaration may happen unless foreign bondholders made a good offer in time. Berri, one of Lebanon’s most influential leaders, made his comments at a weekly meeting of members of Parliament. “We are with any measure the government takes apart from paying,” Ali Bazzi, a lawmaker from Berri’s parliamentary bloc, cited him as saying.

by naharnet.com — The Lebanese Embassy in Rome called in a statement on all Lebanese nationals in Italy to exercise caution and follow the general precaution guidelines facing the widespread of COVID-19 disease, the National News Agency reported on Tuesday. NNA said the embassy advised Lebanese residing in Italy to avoid travel to Lebanon at […]

by arabnews.com — Najia Houssari — BEIRUT: Lebanese University President Fouad Ayoub has apologized to Chinese students for “any abuse or bullying by any student at the university or by any Lebanese person against you following the coronavirus crisis.” Dr. Ayoub described any case of bullying as “individual and (this) should not be generalized because […]

by arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Campaigners in Lebanon will gather at Beirut’s Press Club on Wednesday morning to unveil a petition that calls on the UN to create an international commission to investigate and prevent political corruption. It has been signed by number of former ministers, former and current MPs, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and intellectuals. Toni Nissi, the president of the International Lebanese Committee for UN Security Council Resolution 1559, a pro-democracy NGO, said that there have been many attempts by campaigners to clean up politics in Lebanon over the years, including lobbying for international resolutions to be issued and implemented.

“The crisis is due to the high levels of corruption and the lack of leadership skills among Lebanese politicians,” said Nissi, “It is impossible to have a stable economy when the public sector supplies 65 percent of the jobs. How can the taxes paid by the 35 percent working in the private sector be able to pay the salaries of the 65 percent plus all the country’s expenses, with all the ongoing corruption?” Given that politicians from the governing parties continue to exert full control over the implementation of laws in Lebanon, and rarely commit to the implementation of UN resolutions and decisions, including UNSCR 1559, some might be skeptical about the chances of the petition having any significant effect. Nissi, however, remains hopeful that it will bring about change, because the commission would be set up directly through the UN without interference from the Lebanese administration. “Political reform is a must,” he said. “But to reach political reform we must stop the corruption first, get back the stolen money, eliminate any factors that protect the thieves, and achieve enforcement of the law. We believe that if the petition’s requests are implemented, we might reach that phase.”

by AFP — BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Monday admitted that the state had lost the people´s confidence after months of anti-government protests and an economic meltdown. In the coming days crisis-hit Lebanon must decide whether to repay $1.2 billion in Eurobonds due on March 9 or, as is widely expected, restructure its […]

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon has exclusive jurisdiction over Lebanese in the country, its president said on Monday, appearing to rebuff a visiting Japanese minister who said it was “obvious and natural” that ousted ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn should stand trial in Japan. Ghosn fled Japan to Lebanon, his childhood home, in December as he awaited trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies. “We believe it is obvious and natural for Ghosn to stand trial in Japan and this view has been communicated to the Lebanese government,” Japan’s deputy justice minister Hiroyuki Yoshiie said in Beirut after meetings with Lebanese leaders. “And we agreed to cooperate on that,” he told reporters, declining to give details of how Lebanon had agreed to cooperate.

A Lebanese presidency statement noted Yoshiie’s request for cooperation over Ghosn but did not say how Lebanon had responded. Lebanese President Michel Aoun noted “that the Lebanese judiciary is sovereign and has exclusive jurisdiction over Lebanese nationals residing on Lebanese soil, without that meaning the exclusive right to prosecution”, the statement said. Aoun told Yoshiie that Lebanon and Japan had no judicial cooperation or extradition treaty, and that Ghosn had entered Lebanon legally through Beirut airport.

By Chris Matyszczyk Owner, Howard Raucous LLC — inc — Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek. I’ve met quite a few Harvard graduates over the years. I’ve heard it said they can be a touch self-regarding. My own impression is that some, at least, can instinctively regard others with a casual disdain. No, of course I’m not specifically referring to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg here. He didn’t graduate. A recent conversation with a Harvard graduate, however, drew me to a story about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Bezos went to lowly Princeton. In 1997, however, he gave a little talk to some Harvard graduate business students about his online store known as Amazon. As Brad Stone’s book The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon relates, the large-brained students began to chat among themselves as if Bezos wasn’t there. Then, one of the fine Harvardians told Bezos: You seem like a really nice guy, so don’t take this the wrong way, but you really need to sell to Barnes and Noble and get out now. Naturally, many will chuckle at the realization that Amazon’s position is a touch more secure than Barnes and Noble’s these days. But there’s one profound lesson here and one that’s truly glorious. When you have a business based on a vision of the future, rather than the present, understand that the majority of your critics will likely be looking from the perspective of the present. They see now and they have a certain belief how now will influence the future.

by Naharnet Newsdesk — Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to adopt a “more serious approach” in its measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. “The biggest concern is the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which is threatening the safety of citizens be them young or old,” al-Rahi said in […]