Good morning and a very Merry Christmas. We have a brisk issue for you this morning led by debt and investment news.

THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME-

El Sisi, Madbouly, Maait talk budget: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, and Finance Minister Mohamed Maait to review the performance and targets of this year’s state budget amid ongoing economic and geopolitical headwinds, according to an Ittihadiya readout.El Sisi instructed the government to ramp up development and services projects that bear “a direct impact on the citizens.”

HAPPENING TODAY-

House committee discusses green hydrogen incentives: The House Energy and Environment Committee will start discussing a package of incentives aimed at stimulating Egypt’s green hydrogen industry, greenlit by the cabinet in May.

WAR WATCH-

Egypt submits 3-step proposal to end the war — and Israel may be ready to listen: Egypt has submitted a proposal for a truce in Israel’s war on Gaza that would see the release of hostages and the formation of a PA-Hamas government in Gaza, Israel media outlet The Times of Israel reports, citing Israeli officials.

  • Stage #1- A two-week ceasefire is implemented, wherein 40 Israeli captives are released for 120 Palestinian hostages. Israel will withdraw its tanks and allow aid to enter Gaza.
  • Stage #2-Egypt-mediated talks between Palestinian factions commence, with the eventual aim of forming a PA-Hamas led government in the West Bank and Gaza — one that would oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, paving the way for Palestinians to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
  • Stage #3- A comprehensive ceasefire and the release of all remaining Israeli hostages, in return for the release of a to-be-determined number of Palestinian captives, and the subsequent withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, enabling the return of displaced Gazans to their homes.

Israel shows openness: Israeli authorities are not entirely opposed to the proposal and may be open to negotiations, the Israeli publication reported.

That being said, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to fight deeper into Gaza yesterday. This came after he lost 10 of his troops in a single day and five the day before, marking the worst two-day losses for the Israeli army since early November, Reuters wrote.

PIJ is in town: A delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) — which has a hold over several Israeli hostages — landed in Cairo yesterday to hold discussions on a path to “end the Israeli aggression,” a PIJ official was quoted as saying by Reuters. The visit follows a similar one by Hamas leader IsmailHaniyeh last week, where he discussed a new ceasefire to let aid reach Gaza and release more hostages.

A LITTLE TO THE NORTH- Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq and Syria on Saturday. The Turkish Defense Minister said the attacks have destroyed 29 targets and come in response to the 12 Turkish soldiers killed by PKK fighters over the past few days.

RED SEA WATCH-

Crisis averted? AP Moller-Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping line, is gearingup to resume operations in the Red Sea after the US-led naval coalition promised to patrol the Red Sea. “With the initiative in operation, we are preparing to allow for vessels to resume transit through the Red Sea both eastbound and westbound,” the shipping giant said in a statement, adding that this will happen “as soon as operationally possible.” The resumption of Red Sea transit is huge news for our draining FX reserves, as it means the Suez Canal will resume operations like normal.

A turn of events: Just a day earlier, the firm pushed the arrival dates for over 150 of its tankers, with some delays extending until March, giving us the impression that the trade disruptions could last for months to come.

Could others soon follow? So far, Maersk has been the only company to announce that it will be resuming Red Sea transit, but seeing how quickly the decision to pause transit spread among shipping and oil giants and how much time and money the decision to go around the Cape of Good Hope is costing them, it shouldn’t be long before we hear similar announcements from the likes of Maersk.

Jordan is prepared regardless of what happens next: Egypt and Jordan have activated the Arab Line — a sea-land route that links Aqaba in south Jordan with Nuweiba in Sinai — in efforts to ensure smooth shipping movement after Houthi attacks on vessels crossing the Red Sea resulted in a number of shipping and oil companies pausing all Red Sea transit, Jordan’s state news agency Petra wrote. This came after Jordanian Transport Ministry fast-tracked the new line in response to Red Sea disruptions.

How will it work? The new route reduces transportation costs and facilitates the transport of Jordanian exports to the US and Europe.

REMEMBER- Hundreds of vessels have been rerouting away from the Red Sea and around the Cape of Good Hope in efforts to avoid the repeated attacks from Yemen’s armed Houthi group on vessels bound for Israeli ports, passing through the waterway.

Iran says it has nothing to do with it: Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has denied US claims that Yemen’s Houthis are reliant on Iranian-provided monitoring systems to launch attacks on ships in the Red Sea, describing such claims as “baseless,” Bloomberg wrote. The attacks “are a completely Yemeni decision in support and defense of Gaza,” Amirabdollahian said.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

We’re well into the Christmas news slowdown, which has left things fairly quiet in the western press with no single story standing out.

The latest on Gaza is back on the front pages, after the latest Israeli attacks on central Gaza left at least 70 dead. (AP | Reuters | Bloomberg | FT | Washington Post)

Jim Ratcliffe officially owns 25% of Man. United: British b’naire Jim Ratcliffe has acquired a non-controlling 25% stake in Manchester United for around USD 1.3 bn, in a transaction that values the sports club at around USD 6.3 bn. (The Guardian | Reuters | Financial Times | Bloomberg)

Tags: