Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and happy Sunday. After this well-deserved break, we are back in gear for this businessweek.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY-

#1- Power cuts will be extended to three hours a day between 2pm and 8pm starting today and until further notice, unnamed Electricity Ministry sources told local media (here, here, here, and here) today. Sources cited the current heatwave as the reason behind the new extension.

#2- Organi Group partners with Qatari Diar on three local projects: Local contractor Organi Group has signed a strategic partnership with Qatari Diar to help deliver three of the Qatari real estate developer’s projects in Egypt, according to a Threads post from Organi’s chairman Ibrahim Al Organi. The projects are City Gate development in New Cairo, a residential tower at the recently launched USD 1 bn St Regis Residences project, and hotels in Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Agreements for other projects are set to be inked down the line, the statement read.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

This year has been the year of elections, and it’s not even close to over yet. The US election season has officially kicked into full gear as the current president and his polarizing predecessor campaign in advance of the earliest ever presidential debate, scheduled for this coming Thursday.

Both candidates have intensified their appeals to voters as well as the mudslinging that typifies American elections. In the critical swing state of Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump called on Christians to support him “one last time” while promising to give policy “immunity” in order to help fix a city “ravaged by bloodshed.” President Joe Biden’s campaign, for its part, has been attempting to peel suburban women voters off from the Republican nominee presumptive. Last week, the president’s campaign announced a USD 50 mn ad blitz set to air before Thursday’s debate that portrays Trump as an “unhinged” felon, according to the Financial Times.

All eyes on the debate: While Trump continues to hit the pavement on the campaign trail, Biden has retreated to Camp David to prepare for the upcoming debate, widely expected to be a referendum on the 81-year-old’s mental fitness. While recent poll numbers have shown Biden gaining a slight edge over the 78-year-old Trump, all will be watching to see whose jabs land and which candidate can keep up their focus, particularly given the ban on notes.

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

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*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: As we wait with bated breath for a new cabinet to be announced, industry has been thinking about the kinds of policies it would like to see a new government put in place. Enterprise spoke with several industry players, who shed light on what areas the government should prioritize amid ongoing global and regional challenges impacting Egyptian industry.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for a high of 40°C and a low of 26°C in Cairo tomorrow, according to our favorite weather app.

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