Source: Reuters/AP
Security & Justice
State Action Signals Change in Tackling Longstanding Illegal Land Grabs in Jbeil District
For years, the serene villages of Jbeil's highlands have been far from peaceful. Ghabat, a Maronite village nestled between the predominantly Shiite towns of Afqa and Lassa, has become a focal point of growing tensions due to territorial disputes.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Mawlawi Ensures Strict Monitoring for Wanted Syrian Regime Figures at Beirut Airport
Caretaker Minister of Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, conducted an inspection tour of Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to review the security arrangements and measures implemented by the Airport Security Apparatus ahead of the holiday season.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Wednesday 12 October 2022 15:56:54
IMF Downgrades Global Economy Forecast amid ‘Storm Clouds’ Warning
The International Monetary Fund is downgrading its outlook for the world economy for 2023, citing a long list of threats that include Russia’s war against Ukraine, chronic inflation pressures, punishing interest rates and the lingering consequences of the global pandemic.
The lending agency forecast on Tuesday that the global economy would eke out growth of just 2.7 percent next year, down from the 2.9 percent it had estimated in July.
The IMF left unchanged its forecast for international growth this year — a modest 3.2 percent, a sharp deceleration from last year’s 6 percent expansion.
“The global environment is fragile with storm clouds on the horizon,” the report stated.
Lingering market vulnerabilities, tightening liquidity, stubborn inflation and ongoing efforts by central banks worldwide to raise rates to combat it have combined to create a volatile and risky environment, the report stated.
“With investors aggressively pulling back from risk-taking recently as they reassess their economic and policy outlook, there is a danger of a disorderly repricing of risk,” the report stated. “In particular, volatility and a sudden tightening in financial conditions could interact with, and be amplified by, preexisting financial vulnerabilities.”
The IMF warned that any sharp downturn would be acutely felt by emerging market economies, where they are grappling with a “multitude of risks” like high borrowing costs, high inflation, and volatile commodity markets.
The IMF also cautioned that credit spreads have widened substantially in the corporate sector, and higher rates could adversely impact housing markets.
In China, the property sector downturn has already deepened, and failures of property developers could spill over into the banking sector, the IMF cautioned. However, the fund foresees China’s economy growing just 3.2 percent this year, down drastically from 8.1 percent last year.
While banks in advanced economies seem to have sufficient capital and liquidity, the IMF noted that in its global bank stress test, up to 29 percent of emerging market banks would breach their capital requirements in a severe global recession, leading to a capital shortfall of over $200 billion. US banks will report third-quarter earnings starting this week and are expected to show weaker profits.
The IMF slashed its outlook for growth in the US to 1.6 percent this year, down from a July forecast of 2.3 percent. It expects meager 1 percent US growth next year.
In the IMF’s view, the collective economy of the 19 European countries that share the euro currency, reeling from crushingly high energy prices caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow, will grow just 0.5 percent in 2023.
Saudi Arabia
According to the IMF report, Saudi Arabia’s annual world output projections dropped by 2.4 percent in October from July’s forecasts to reach 4.5 percent – when comparing the fourth quarter of 2022 to the same period of the previous year.
The Kingdom’s 2023 predictions remained unchanged at 3.7 percent growth year-on-year.
As for the IMF’s growth predictions, Saudi Arabia remained at a 7.6 percent output increase in 2022, with a 3.7 percent output increase the following year.
Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product is forecast to rise 3.4 percent annually by the end of this year to reach 7.6 percent, showed the IMF data.
The Kingdom’s GDP is expected to increase by a modest 2.4 percent in 2023 year on year, and recover to 3.8 percent growth the following year.
