A leading Lebanese economics expert has warned that the country could slip into recession in 2013 as the Syria crisis continues to undermine confidence in the economy.
Simon Neaime, head of the economics department at the American University of Beirut, said that the lack of consumer spending was hurting the economy.
He also warned the government that attempts to spend their way out of the crisis would be undermined by the already high public debt.
Commodities trader Trafigura has taken a $400m loan from a group of Middle Eastern banks, as the group looks to diversify its lending pool at a time of stress in traditional banking spheres.
The one-year revolving credit facility was arranged by BNP Paribas and involved 11 Gulf Arab banks joining the deal, which was signed at the end of August, Reuters reported.
The company has been hit by a number of crises in recent years, including allegations that it knowingly dumped toxic waste in Ivory Coast.
Egyptian protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy on Tuesday, tore down the American flag and burned it during a protest over what they said was a film being produced in the United States that insulted Prophet Mohammad.
In place of the U.S. flag, the protesters tried to raise a black flag with the words "There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger", a Reuters witness said.
Once the U.S. flag was hauled down, some protesters tore it up and showed off pieces to television cameras. Others burned the remains outside the fortress-like embassy building in central Cairo. But some protesters objected to the flag burning.
