Good morning, all. It appears the Ramadan news slowdown is finally upon us, but we expect things to pick up later today following the anticipated emergency Arab League summit on Gaza.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 5:56pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:50am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another sunny morning in Cairo, with a high of 22°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little colder in Alexandria, with a high of 20°C and a low of 12°C.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Regional diplomatic heavyweights are in Cairo for an emergency Gaza-focused ArabLeague summit that is taking place as Israel blocks desperately needed aid from entering the enclave in a bid to pressure Hamas into accepting changes to the already agreed on ceasefire agreement. We dive into what can be expected from the summit in the news well, below.

#2- Non-oil private sector activity to stay in the green for the second consecutive month? Economists, policymakers, and private sector players will be eagerly awaiting the country’s PMI figures for February, set to be released shortly by S&P Global.

There’s reason to be hopeful, with Egypt’s non-oil private activity seeing its strongest expansion in over four years in January driven by solid growth in output and sales volumes. The headline PMI reading rose to 50.7 in January, up from 48.1 in December, marking the second expansion since November 2020.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Leaving no room for talks, Trump officially slapped 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting today. The levies — initially postponed after negotiations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — are now officially moving forward as part of Trump’s push to pressure both countries on border security and fentanyl trafficking. Trump is also using the move to pressure Canada and Mexico to shift their manufacturing to the US, saying they’re “going to have a tariff” unless they “build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly warned that Ottawa is “ready” to hit back with retaliatory measures.

That’s not all —Trump also signed off on doubling tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%. The White House justified the move by accusing Beijing of failing to curb illicit fentanyl shipments to the US. The directive goes into force today.

And the US will introduce tariffs on external agricultural products, Trump said. The tariffs will come into effect on 2 April. “To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States,” Trump wrote on a social media post yesterday. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

Needless to say, markets recoiled —The S&P 500 slid around 1.8%, marking its worst day since December and wiping out its year to date gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.5% and the Nasdaq fell 2.6%, as fears over US economic fallout materialized. Tech stocks also slid, with Nvidia tumbling over 8%. We have more in Planet Finance, below. (Financial Times | AP | BBC | Bloomberg | CNBC | Reuters)

ALSO- Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine as part of his efforts to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take part in peace talks with Russia. Trump’s decision comes days after a heated discussion between him and Zelenskyy. (Bloomberg | AP)

IN OTHER BUSINESS NEWS- A Citigroup staffer nearly sent USD 6 bn to a customer’s account after dropping the account number into the USD field by mistake — a typo with serious extra zeros. The error, caught the next business day, was reported to regulators. (Bloomberg)

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We look at how energy storage can help us meet our ambitious renewable energy targets.

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