Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh on Tuesday issued a statement saying commercial banks can now purchase Lebanese banknotes in return for cash dollars based on the exchange rate of the Sayrafa platform.

Media reports said banks have in recent days been short on Lebanese pounds and were rationing the amounts given to clients.

Wall Street premarket trading pointed to a modestly lower open Tuesday on the heels of the market's worst trading month since early in the pandemic.

As traders prepare for another busy day of corporate earnings releases, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each fell about 0.1% less than two hours before the opening bell. ExxonMobil, Alphabet, General Motors and Starbucks are among those reporting quarterly financial results on Tuesday.

Natural gas will remain an important energy source through 2050 and quantities of the hydrocarbon found off the east Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus could reach markets through a pipeline or by liquefying it for transport by ship, the head of ExxonMobil's Cyprus arm said Tuesday.

ExxonMobil Cyprus lead country manager Varnavas Theodossiou said "all energy sources remain important" for the next three decades "across a range" of scenarios set out under the Paris Agreement on climate change as the globe shifts to cleaner fuels toward achieving a zero-emissions goal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government included hefty spending on roads, airports and other infrastructure in an annual budget presented to Parliament on Tuesday, looking to spur growth and improve its popularity just ahead of key state elections.

The budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts on April 1, calls for $533 billion in spending, up from $477 billion in the current year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in presenting it to lawmakers.

German beer sales dropped another 2.2% last year, with the coronavirus pandemic again weighing on brewers after sales tumbled 5.5% in 2020, official figures showed Tuesday.

Lockdowns that shut restaurants and bars for parts of the past two years have added to a long-term downward trend fueled by health concerns and other factors.

Uganda and a group of investors on Tuesday announced their decision to finally proceed with oil production following years of setbacks that threatened the East African country's efforts to become an oil exporter.

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the French energy conglomerate TotalEnergies said Tuesday that the investment in Uganda would be more than $10 billion.

The music is often hushed and the atmosphere studious -- for the patrons filling Beirut's cafes these days, the most important things are good lighting and stable wi-fi.

That's because they now serve as substitute workplaces for people grappling with drastic electricity shortages and internet cuts stemming from Lebanon's unrelenting economic crisis.

Wall Street pointed toward a lower open Monday on the heels of last week's furious rally that gave the major stock indexes their biggest gains of the year.

On Wall Street, futures for the benchmark S&P 500 index slipped 0.5% while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7%.

The eurozone economy posted robust growth last year, official data showed Monday, but fallout from the Omicron variant and an energy crunch have raised doubts about the bloc's ability to sustain the pace.

Global stocks rose Monday following a big Wall Street gain at the start of a week when China, South Korea and Southeast Asian markets will close for the Lunar New Year holiday.

London and Frankfurt opened higher. Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced while Sydney declined. Markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan were closed. Hong Kong and Southeast Asia were due to close later in the week.