THIS EVENING: Moody’s downgrades five of our banks’ long-term deposit ratings

Good afternoon folks. What started out as a not-so-good news day is looking more and more like a full not-so-good week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Five of our banks just got another Moody’s downgrade: Moody’s has downgraded the long-term deposit ratings of five Egyptian banks, following its downgrade of the country’s sovereign credit rating. The National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and CIB, are now rated Caa1, down one notch from B3, while Bank of Alexandria has been downgraded one notch to B3 from B2. The agency’s outlook on the banks’ deposit ratings was changed from negative to stable. The five banks’ long-term deposit ratings were also downgraded in February of this year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The Israeli-Palestinian war continues to dominate the news waves:

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to arrive in Tel Aviv tomorrow to discuss, among other things,providing a humanitarian corridor in Egypt for Palestinian civilians escaping the conflict. (CNBC)
• Israel shot rockets into Southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched its own rockets from Lebanon earlier today in response to an Israeli-led raid on Monday that killed three Hezbollah militants. (Bloomberg | Washington Post | Reuters)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• The economy will slow more than expected next year: The IMF has downgraded its 2024 Egypt growth outlook to 3.6% from its previous 4.1% forecast in July.
• Inflation hit a fresh all-time high in September as the impact of the foreign-currency shortage and a series of devaluations continued to stoke price pressures. Consumer prices in urban areas accelerated to 38% y-o-y from 37.4% in August, making September the fourth consecutive month of record highs.
• On day five of the conflict in Gaza: Israel is continuing to flatten neighborhoods in Gaza and appears to be prepping a ground invasion ; regional diplomatic initiatives aren’t yet bearing any fruit; and Chevron cut gas flows through the EMG pipeline (though there is an alternative).

?️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will rise to a peak of 30°C in the day and drop to a cooler 23°C in the night, according to our favorite weather app.