Beirut SE: Shuaa (1 month) Current Year High: 2,654.42 Current Year Low: 1,761.53 Given the persistent absence of a president and no end to the political crisis in Lebanon, the Blom index for the Beirut Stock Exchange can be noted for its close at 1,514.90 points on Mar 25 as a veritable improvement from 1,436.02 points at the end of last month. Against a backdrop of $119 million total traded value in all of January and February, the BSE in early March treaded on the lane of chronic pain with average traded value somewhere below $2 million per day in the first two weeks of the month. Buzz came from a new edition in merger discussions between Bank Audi and its Cairo-based shareholder, investment bank EFG Hermes. In mid-March, commercial banks got a nod of trust from Standard & Poor’s on account of their resilience. Reports of 23.6% growth in
