No surprise here

After months of warnings, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Lebanon’s sovereign credit rating saying that the government had failed to take measures to stem the ballooning public debt, expected y to reach 140% of GDP by year-end. The credit rating was pushed down one notch, from BB- to B+, making it more expensive to borrow on international markets. S&P said it was also unlikely that the government would reach its deficit target of 15.5% of GDP. Also listed was the government’s failure to capitalize on the $2.7 billion offer made by the two cellular companies to buy GSM licenses. As well parliament’s failure to approve a draft value added tax (VAT) law before the elections would likely lead to a delay in the implementation of VAT, originally scheduled for next year. S&P also expressed doubts that the new government, expected to take office in November, would be able to make much