Entries for 'Middle East North Africa'
October 31, 2016
There is room for optimism in Lebanon. After 29 months of presidential vacuum, on October 31 the parliament elected Michel Aoun, 81 years old, as the
October 27, 2016
Government initiatives have been launched to promote financial inclusion, namely to support wage payments through the banking system and to require ba
October 5, 2016
In August, Egypt reached a staff-level agreement for a three-year $12 billion Extended Fund Facility from the IMF. This agreement is subject to approv
September 30, 2016
On our recent visit to Bahrain, we were impressed with the relative resilience of activity despite the crash in oil prices. The economy has put the ad
September 28, 2016
On our recent visit to Oman, we found the pace of economic activity decelerating as the authorities grapple with large twin deficits. Growth had been
September 23, 2016
The banking sector has remained a strong pillar of the economy, despite political paralysis and regional turmoil. Financial intermediation in Lebanon
September 14, 2016
Fiscal reforms have narrowed the deficit and reduced vulnerabilities in a difficult external environment. Nonetheless, continued fiscal adjustment is
August 24, 2016
NPLs have also improved, contrary to expectations last quarter, consiste
August 10, 2016
Egypt urgently needs to rectify serious macroeconomic imbalance as a prelude to tackling deeply embedded structural distortions in the economy. Underl
June 28, 2016
Growth for the region as a whole slowed last year and we expect it to weaken further in 2016, although the extent of the slowdown has been less pronou
June 28, 2016
Qatar has been weathering the sharp fall in energy prices. Economic activity has moderated relative to the rapid pace of growth in recent years due to
June 20, 2016
The Saudi government has unveiled a sweeping economic plan of structural and fiscal reforms. The plan aims to reduce the Kingdom's dependence on oil,
June 17, 2016
With the economy sliding into recession and inflation surging, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced plans to abandon its fixed exchange rate policy a
June 16, 2016
Annual core inflation accelerated to 12.2% in May, up from 9.5% in April. Food prices have also been rising at a rapid pace for several years (Chart 1
May 16, 2016
The recent government' overhaul signals the King's and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's determination to reform the Saudi economy. New leader
May 3, 2016
Our recent visit to Riyadh coincided with the unveiling by the Deputy Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman (the King's son), of a sweeping new economic p
April 22, 2016
Growth in the MENA oil exporters has weakened because of oil price declines and fiscal consolidation efforts. GCC growth is expected to slow further t
April 18, 2016
The UAE economy has been relatively resilient to the impact of the slump in oil prices as it has benefited from a relatively diversified economy, exce
April 11, 2016
In the absence of tighter fiscal policy or exchange rate flexibility, the fiscal deficit will remain large and public debt will rise further to about
March 31, 2016
Yellen cheers the markets-but for how long? March Madness - EM portfolio flows surge to 21-month high Brazil-abandoning a sinking ship GCC authorities