It's official, PM Hassan Diab has announced today that Lebanon is unable to pay its foreign currency loans and will default on its sovereign debt for the first time ever. He also added that there are ongoing negotiations with bondholders and lenders to restructure the loans. Diab also stated that a rescue plan will be announced that will include a restructuring of the banking & electricity sectors, reducing expenses and fighting corruption but he did…

Lebanon's revolution against corruption continues and the long awaited judicial appointments "might" be a step in the right direction if no political interference takes place. An independent judiciary committee and a capable judiciary system have been the revolution's demands since day1 and are key to making a real change. The real problem, as highlighted on several occasions before, is that most judges and prosecutors are appointed by politicians, which results in selective justice. One flagrant…

Update: State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat has suspended a ruling by Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim on freezing the assets of 20 banks, TV networks said. Financial Prosecutor Ali Ibrahim has put a “prevention of disposal” signal today on the assets of twenty Lebanese banks and imposed a freeze on the assets of these banks' heads. According to LBCI, the list contains all the major banks like: Bank Audi, BLOM, Fransbank, Byblos, Societe Generale, Bank of Beirut,…