DECEMBER 2012

Hope, despite ourselves

High stakes on the border
Despite domestic risk, Hezbollah at play in Syria

The Islamic divide
Fault lines between Lebanon’s largest sects deepening

The dollar’s the boss
Lebanese banks still beholden to the US Treasury

Entering subsistence
Syria’s formal economy nearly spent

No longer quiet
Piecemeal reforms and police state keep lid on growing unrest

No end to injustice
Israel’s systematic dehumanization of a people continues

One pharaoh for another
Morsi seems more Mubarak by the day

Adapting to democracy
Tunisian government struggling with competing interests and public unrest

Yemen: A country of halves
In the balance between breakthrough or breakdown

A bitter pill to swallow
Medical shortages lead to first Iranian sanctions death

A cold, harsh year
State indecision left Lebanese to fend for themselves in 2012

Offshore ineptitude
Lebanon slips further behind rivals in oil and gas exploration

Q&A: Nicolas Nahas
Minister of Economy and Trade defends his record

Powering the grid
Lebanon’s electricity sector between regulation and decentralization

Remarks from the top
Memorable quips from Lebanon’s economic elite

Banks vie for the deposit pie
Competition growing as inflows slow

The uncomfortable gaze of Uncle Sam
US pressure compounds a tough year for Lebanese banks

Private versus public exposure
Finding a new balance in a battered economy

Interest rates on the rise
Declining deposit growth could make for borrowers’ blues

MENA stock tips 2013
Regional investment aficionados put the chaos into context

Words from the vault
Top banks executives talk over the counter

Building regardless
Lebanese property developers ignore worrying signs

Q&A: Makram Zard
General manager of Zardman

The creme of 'concretization'
Hear what developers have to say about forecasts and fundamentals

Off the flight path
Industry flops as tourists reroute summer vacations

Singing the blues
Voices from the heartbreak hotel

Year of the bargain
All but the richest shoppers head down-market

Nicholas Chammas assesses 2012
Lebanese Traders Association

Shop talk
What Lebanon's retailer's predict for 2013

Emerging talents
Slowly but surely Lebanon’s start-up scene matures

Q&A – Saad Andary
Vice-governor of Banque du Liban talks entrepreneurship

Finding a fair price
Conflicts in valuation hinder investment in entrepreneurs

Fall of the factories
Standstill of 2011 became full-scale retreat in 2012

Made in Lebanon
Words from the country’s top industrialists

Downsizing on the dollar
Lighter wallets steer Lebanese toward little cars in 2012

Motor Mouths
Drivers of the auto industry weigh in

So many options, so little growth
MENA insurance industry still struggling

Walid Genadry
HEAD OF INSURANCE CONTROL COMMISSION

Premium insight
Lebanon's top insurers share their thoughts

Endangered prospects
Formation of new Petroleum Administration bodes ill for the future