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Analysts: Economic Troubles, Coronavirus Fears Make Lebanese Nervous

Dale Gavlak

   AMMAN - Lebanon's government has officially defaulted on its payment of
   a $1.2 billion Eurobond debt due Monday. This marks the first default
   in Lebanon's financial history, as it copes with dwindling foreign
   currency reserves and inflation running into double digits.

   In the past, the country once known as the Switzerland of the Middle
   East managed to repay debt, despite civil war and political unrest. But
   now it faces the challenge of securing loans amid global economic
   issues and the coronavirus outbreak.

   The situation has left many Lebanese concerned, said Habib Malik of the
   Lebanese American University. The national news agency says 41
   coronavirus cases have been reported in Lebanon, one of several Middle
   Eastern countries grappling with the infection and its economic
   implications.

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