Fallout of the Global Financial Turmoil in the Middle East

From Nouriel Roubini's website, (RGE) Here

"......Some suggest though, that the credit crunch could a blessing in disguise. Indeed, tighter credit could assist in placing the UAE, and the rest of the Gulf economies, on a better growth path, reducing recent overheating. While money supply growth is cooling, Credit tightening could alleviate inflationary pressures, potentially decreasing the cost of raw materials - though it could be a painful way to do so....

Lebanon: Limited investments in the US market, ample liquidity and prudent regulations placed by the Central Bank left Lebanese banks and financial institutions unaffected by the global financial crisis. Furthermore, political uncertainty has led many non-regional investors to avoid Lebanon in recent years – aside from the Lebanese diaspora who provide consistent and stabilizing inflows....

Egypt: A summer of free-fall in its equity markets may have bottomed out with a week of intense selling by foreign investors especially hedge funds, causing Egypt's benchmark index to lose almost 10% in two days, plunging to its lowest since March 2007 on Sept. 16. The market had a short-lived recovery on Sept. 17^th only to take a further plunge as the market closed at the end of the week on Sept. 18^th.

Adding to the current woes, the Egyptian pound, which tends to be heavily influenced by shifts in foreign equity interest in Egypt, has been taking a plunge since mid-August to reach its lowest levels in five months. Furthermore, with inflation well over 20% the pound is depreciating rapidly in real terms...."