Lebanon

The uptick in political risk in a number of MENA markets since the start of H2 has filtered through to higher spreads in select CDS markets, which we believe could widen even further... 2011-07-27

BMI View: The macroeconomic recovery taking place throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fails to inspire us, highlighted in the region's average sovereign risk rating remaining... 2010-09-02

The recent downside in Lebanese stocks, alongside the spike in its 5-year CDS, suggests to us that there could be a sell-off in bonds as well. Even if there weren't a threat of conflict... 2010-04-27

BMI View: In the UAE, consumer confidence has improved considerably since December 2009, experiencing progress on three of the four indices surveyed by recruitment agency bayt.com... 2010-04-20

Lebanon continues to look very stable financially, and the recent upgrades from Fitch (both the sovereign and the major banks) and Moody's (just the sovereign) reflect our own positive... 2010-04-14

We maintained our bullish position towards MENA stocks throughout the recent correction in global markets, and, although GCC bourses have undoubtedly suffered, we think they can regain... 2009-08-20

Lebanon's BLOM Stock index has not been immune to the return of global risk appetite, although at 16.9%, its rally since late March does not compare to some others in the region.... 2009-06-04

BMI View: Lebanese markets continue to look very weak, and we do not see any improvement in the short term, amid tumultuous global conditions, ongoing political and economic stagnation... 2008-11-18

On August 4, we examined the key implications of a US dollar bounce (which has been our core view since early July) on Middle Eastern currencies. With the greenback having rallied... 2008-10-06

BMI View: We remain bearish towards Lebanese stocks, which have now lost 15.6% since we first expressed our negative view.