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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| For those interested in a deep dive on Lebanon's shattered economy, on August 4th, 2020, the same day of the massive explosion, economist Jim Rickards released a detailed monograph about it, Lebanon in Crisis. |
| 2020-09-02 |
| It's quite long. [FDD.org] Lebanon is unraveling. Last year’s massive public protests over the government’s inability to collect trash or provide other key services now seem like a minor problem. The COVID-19 pandemic has all but wiped out already falling remittances from the Lebanese diaspora. With its economy in a tailspin, the government missed a payment on a $1.2 billion eurobond in March and effectively defaulted on all outstanding eurobond obligations, including an additional $2.7 billion of payments due in April and June. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and others are working to assess the problem and offer solutions. But with Lebanon, it will not be easy. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) commissioned renowned economist James Rickards to assess the challenges and damage. Mr. Rickards, who is an advisor to FDD’s Center on Economic and Financial Power and has advised governments and banks on past bailouts, spent more than four months studying Lebanon’s economic implosion. He makes it clear that this crisis will be an enduring one. |
| Posted by:Mr Obvious |