Beirut SE (one month) Current Year High: 1,550.53 Current Year Low: 705.56 The Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) was highly correlated to global and regional trends in the month of July, in addition to uncertainty related to the formation of a new cabinet. The MSCI Lebanon had dropped 6% in line with the global equity sell-off and falling oil prices in the first two weeks of July. However, political stability and news showing the economy will post strong growth numbers in 2009 drove the market back to 1056.99 points, down only 0.34% as of July 22. Positive economic news contributed to the recovery, including strong tourist and capital inflow numbers despite several minor incidents in South Lebanon. Banque Bemo’s shares were the worst performers, down 4.26%, followed by the country’s giant real estate company Solidere, whose A shares managed to recover from an 11% drop to a milder 2.33% decline. BLOM
