Equities on the Beirut Stock Exchange (BSE) rode a mid-week wave of optimism regarding the prospects of a new cabinet, ending the week up 2 percent. Despite a pick-up in trading activity, analysts and traders said the market remained in

Lebanon's fiscal performance report through the end of May showed a decline in the deficit as a percentage of revenue to 29.14 percent compared to 33.56 percent during the same period in 2008. The decrease in the deficit comes on

France's prime minister on Thursday agreed to boost business ties with Iraq and signed a number of agreements to promote investments. Prime Minister Francois Fillon led a group of 30 high-level French business executives, including the president of the Total

Swelling gasoline stocks and a bigger-than-ex?pec?ted rise in US unemployment drove oil markets down over $2 Thursday to below $67 a barrel. In the latest signal the economy of the world's biggest energy consumer was still struggling, data Thursday showed

US job losses surged to 467,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a new 26-year high of 9.5 percent, according to data Thursday that dampened hopes for an early recovery from recession. The Labor Department report, seen as one

Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro spiked to a 10-year high in May, reinforcing concerns that any recovery will take time now with more than 15 million people are out of work. Eurostat, the statistics office of

Warning that the demise of General Motors Corp. would have a disastrous ripple effect over the US economy, an attorney for the automaker urged speedy approval of GM's plan to sell the bulk of its assets and emerge from court

Gad Elmaleh, "the funniest man in France," will not be tickling audiences this month at the Beiteddine Festival. Last Saturday, the French stand-up comedian and actor, of Jewish-Moroccan descent, announced he had cancelled his performances in Lebanon because of security

Iraqis are now officially in charge of security, with US assuming increasingly advisory role

Top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, says reasons for apparent change of policy are not entirely clear

Meanwhile, Tuesday's bombing in Kirkuk killed and wounded dozens of people

US president expects more violence in Iraq, but says nation will emerge stable and sovereign

At least 27 people killed, 45 wounded when car bomb explodes in market

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh says the offers were rejected because the firms did not agree with the fees Iraq is willing to pay them for extracting oil and gas

Beirut- Hezbollah's Shura Council held a meeting recently and decided not to participate in the new government according to informed sources of Lebanese news Agency al Markaziyah.

Beirut - Speculation continues in Lebanon over the formation of the new national unity government and many are predicting that it will see the light within 2 weeks. Prime minister designate MP Saad Hariri left yesterday for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,

Beirut - Prime minister designate Saad Hariri met yesterday with president Michel Suleiman to go over the portfolio demands of the various political factions in the new government. According to reports circulating in Beirut the two leaders did not try

Beirut - For some mysterious reasons the March 14 majority alliance which won the parliamentary elections with a comfortable margin Last June 7 is allowing itself to be pressured by the opposition( which was defeated in the elections) and by

A 12-year-old girl thought to be the only survivor of the Yemenia air crash has told how she was thrown into the ocean and watched her aircraft sink. Baya Bakari told her father at a hospital in Yemen that she