Trump Announces National Emergency; Pelosi Touts Aid Deal but Late Issues Hold Up Passage

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by newsmax.com -- President Donald Trump on Friday declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency in order to free up more money and resources. But he denied any responsibility for delays in making testing available for the new virus, whose spread has roiled markets and disrupted the lives of everyday Americans. Speaking from the Rose Garden, Trump said, “I am officially declaring a national emergency," unleashing as much as $50 billion for state and local governments to respond to the outbreak. Trump also announced a range of executive actions, including a new public-private partnership to expand coronavirus testing capabilities with drive-through locations, as his administration has come under fire for being too slow in making the test available. Trump said, “I don't take responsibility at all" for the slow rollout of testing.

Late Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a deal with the Trump administration for an aid package from Congress that would provide free tests, sick pay for workers and bolster food programs. “We are proud to have reached an agreement with the Administration to resolve outstanding challenges, and now will soon pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” Pelosi announced in a letter to colleagues. The House was poised to vote. However, as of 8:30 p.m. ET the vote had not yet occurred. According to a Reuters news alert, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said there were unresolved issues between the administration and lawmakers on the response bill, though Pelosi had thought there was a deal at hand. A few minutes later, though, another alert from Reuters said Trump had indicated he was fully supportive of H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, "which will be voted on in the House this evening." No further details were available at the time of publication.

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Salameh: Priority for Transfers to Buy Equipment to Combat Virus

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by Naharnet -- Central bank governor Riad Salameh instructed Lebanese banks on Friday to prioritize transfers for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment to combat coronavirus, the National News Agency reported on Friday. The disease has infected 77 individuals in Lebanon so far according to the health ministry. On Friday, an employee at the ministry was diagnosed with the virus which the ministry said was "contracted from a relative." In light of a liquidity crisis, Lebanese banks have imposed a strap on transfers abroad. But Salameh said it was a priority to transfer money for the purchase of protective equipment against the virus.

Will Lebanon’s Eurobond default spur much-needed reform?

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by middle-east-online.com -- TUNIS - Lebanon has defaulted on its international debts for the first time. Through civil war and social and political turmoil, Lebanon had always met its economic obligations. However, convulsed by a long-foreshadowed currency crisis and battered by the spread of coronavirus, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a televised address March 7 that he was placing the needs of Lebanon’s citizens ahead of its fiscal responsibilities. Announcing the country would not be paying the $1.2 billion Eurobond due March 9 he said: “How can we pay the creditors while there are people in the streets without the money to buy a loaf of bread?” Few were surprised by Diab’s decision. Lebanon’s economy has been in decline for several years. Reports by the Financial Times in 2011 suggested Lebanon’s reliance on domestic consumption and hard currency remittances from the diaspora placed its economy at risk. Over the following years, corruption and mismanagement along with Lebanon’s confessional system of government produced an economic crisis with no immediate solution.

Lebanon is one of the most indebted countries in the world, owing more than $90 billion, approximately 170% of GDP. Official estimates in January stated that inflation was running at a year-on-year rate of 10%. However, a leading consumer association told Bloomberg News that prices have risen 45% since October, affecting purchasing power at an “unprecedented rate” as companies slash both jobs and pay. “Since around August of 2019 and the dollar shortage at the banks, we’ve seen price hikes, a decline in consumer confidence and difficulties in importing and pricing basic goods such as wheat and fuel,” said Kareem Chehayeb an investigative journalist at the Public Source, an independent Lebanese media organisation. Banks that remained open throughout Lebanon’s 15-year civil war are now closing early, cutting credit card limits and dramatically curtailing the public’s access to the country’s diminishing dollar supply. “As the conditions worsened, we saw mass layoffs and salary cuts,” Chehayeb said. “Couple that with an inflated black market exchange rate dominating the markets and people’s lives have clearly worsened significantly.”

Mona Yacoubian, a senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace, said: “Estimates already indicate that as much as 50% of the population live below the poverty line. Many people have faced layoffs and inflation is rising as the Lebanese pound continues to lose value. Many people are taking a de facto ‘haircut’ as their dollar-denominated accounts are translated into lira at a devalued rate. “Unfortunately, more pain lies ahead in the short to medium term as austerity measures eventually are put in place following the default.” “The medium- and long-term implications of the Eurobond default will very much depend on what measures and reforms Lebanon undertakes following the default. Obviously, a default is never good and Lebanon will necessarily pay a price in the markets for having failed to repay its debt,” she added. Yacoubian said there remained the possibility that the default may spur much-needed reform, which, while including austerity, should “include a shift towards greater transparency and accountability and measures to combat widespread corruption, then the long-term prognosis for Lebanon is far better as the economy will be on a far more solid footing.” Under typical circumstances, a country experiencing similar conditions would look to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support. An IMF delegation made a technical visit to Lebanon in February that it described as “very informative and productive.” However, in the absence of a credible economic plan, the IMF is unlikely to offer Lebanon the level of support required to see it either through its present difficulties or to fund the fiscal stabilisation fund — estimated by former Economy Minister Nasser Saidi to be around $20 billion — to underpin any reform programme. Lebanon’s unique political circumstances may impede any IMF bailout. The Iran-backed Hezbollah, which wields strong influence in the country’s government, is unlikely to welcome what it would see as a surrender of sovereignty over any IMF bailout. An analysis by the global risk consultancy HIS Markit after Lebanon’s default noted that Hezbollah “has repeatedly expressed its opposition to an International Monetary Fund bailout and the measures it would require.” These are said to include cutting bread subsidies, taxing fuel and raising the value added tax. It is possible that the government may undertake reforms without IMF support, looking to cut spending and commence a longer-term plan of tax hikes without an internationally funded stabilisation programme. Credit ratings agency Fitch has suggested that Beirut might raid deposits and savings held by the country’s banks, a possibility the government has yet to rule out. Simon Speakman Cordall is a freelance writer.

79-year-old man becomes third victim in Lebanon; 15 nurses quarantined

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by NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews -- BEIRUT: Lebanon has reported its third death from the coronavirus. A 79-year-old man with cancer died on Wednesday while being treated in a hospital in Jbeil. He was sharing the room with a man, whose infection was not yet been confirmed. Doctors’ syndicate chief Sharaf Abu Sharaf said: “There are 15 nurses and two doctors being quarantined at home who have not showed any symptoms.” The streets have been almost empty as all entertainment and recreational facilities in the country have shut. The Lebanese Cabinet has doubled internet speed and capacity for Ogero users until the end of April, to encourage them to work and study at home. Mohammed, a taxi driver in Beirut, told Arab News: “People have stopped going to malls and Beirut souks are empty. They are even refusing to take a cab and are walking instead.” Salam, a saleswoman in Sodeco, said: “Buying clothes is no longer a priority as people are afraid of the coronavirus. We are making sure to disinfect and sterilize the shop everyday but it seems like we will be closing soon.”

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Exclusive: Lebanese crisis plan ready in weeks, will meet IMF recommendations - minister

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By Tom Perry and Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's plan to tackle a financial and economic crisis will meet IMF recommendations and will be ready in weeks, the finance minister said on Thursday, adding that any recourse to an IMF program must be politically agreed and its terms should not cause suffering. Speaking days after the heavily indebted state declared it could not meet coming debt payments, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni also told Reuters the official exchange rate of the Lebanese pound would be maintained for the "foreseeable future", saying this helped control inflation among other factors. The plan being drawn up by Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government will form the cornerstone of efforts to pull Lebanon out of the worst financial crisis since independence in 1943. It will cover banking, financial and other economic reforms.

Lebanon has so far requested technical assistance from the IMF but not financial aid that would typically come as part of a program of reforms. A team of IMF experts visited Lebanon last month. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice, speaking before Wazni's remarks, underscored the need for Lebanon to draft a comprehensive plan. "Given the severity of economic conditions in Lebanon, it's important that the government designs and implements properly a comprehensive package of reforms to effectively address the economic challenges and improve Lebanon's economic prospects," he said. Wazni said the IMF was ready to send experts back to Lebanon once the plan was ready. The government's plan would meet "the recommendations of the IMF" and include a plan that Beirut is drawing up with the World Bank. Wazni said Lebanon was in need of $25 billion to $30 billion of assistance over the next five years to get out of the crisis. "Lebanon welcomes all international financial assistance without exceptions. But when it comes to the IMF, this depends on several matters: that the understanding with the IMF - if Lebanon resorts to it - ... does not negatively affect the political situation in Lebanon," Wazni said.

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Lebanon to ban flights from 11 coronavirus-hit countries

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by thenational.ae --Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Wednesday announced that Lebanon would be halting flights to and from several countries to try to curb the spread of coronavirus, moments before the World Health Organisation officially declared it a pandemic. “All air, sea and land travel will be stopped to and from the following countries: Italy, South Korea, Iran, and China,” Mr Diab said, without specifying when flights would be suspended. Lebanon will also suspend flights "from countries that have witnessed an important spread of the virus: France, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Germany, Spain and Britain, by air, land or sea,” he said.

By Timour Azhari Al jazeera-- Beirut - Lebanon will ban all travel to and from 11 countries that have witnessed significant outbreaks of the coronavirus, including an immediate ban on Italy, Iran, China and South Korea. Authorities will give a four-day grace period to Lebanese citizens, and their families who are seeking to return to Lebanon from France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Iraq, Egypt and Syria before also banning all travel to and from those countries, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced on Wednesday.

The ban includes travel by land, sea and air. Diab's announcement at a news conference came as Lebanon registered its second death from the coronavirus on Sunday, - a man in his 50s who reportedly had pre-existing conditions - while the total number of infections rose to 61. Conversely, Lebanon's first registered coronavirus patient, a woman who returned from Iran in late February, was announced to be entirely free of the virus. The global pandemic has seen more than 122,000 people infected, with deaths nearing 4,500. Many countries in the Middle East have taken similar steps of banning travel, including Saudi Arabia, which has banned flights to and from Lebanon. While Diab stopped short of announcing a state of emergency, he asked local authorities to prevent all large gatherings of people. Bars, nightclubs and exhibition centres were already ordered to close over the weekend until March 15, while schools and universities have been shuttered since the beginning of March. Diab also called on businesses and public institutions to work with the minimum required number of employees needed to maintain productivity.

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