Arab Unrest to Cost $800 Billion as U.A.E. Benefits, HSBC Says - Bloomberg

Arab Unrest to Cost $800 Billion as U.A.E. Benefits, HSBC Says - Bloomberg:

"Political turmoil that started in Tunisia in 2011 and swept across the Arab world will cost the seven most-affected countries about $800 billion by the end of next year, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
The unrest that toppled two leaders in Egypt, removed Muammar Qaddafi from power in Libya, unsettled Bahrain’s monarchy and plunged Syria into civil war will lower cumulative economic output in the nations to just above $2 trillion from $2.9 trillion over the four years, Dubai-based economists with HSBC estimated in a report released today. The other two countries included in the study are Jordan and Lebanon.
“Such a long period of sub-trend growth offers scope for a period of more rapid expansion as troubled economies bounce back,” Simon Williams and Liz Martins said in the report. “But the capacity of policy makers to deliver a meaningful turnaround in fortunes remains constrained” as public finances deteriorate, they said."

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