Good morning, friends. The news flow is showing no sign of slowing down even as we inch closer to the weekend. We lead today’s issue with news that the government is after fresh LNG imports to fill the supply gap and an interview with Valu CEO Walid Hassouna on the firm’s latest earnings and what we can expect next.

The fourth and final weekly special issue about the GEM will land in your inbox later this morning, charting the museum’s journey from the launch of a record-breaking international design competition to the final stages of completion and capturing the challenges, milestones, and unwavering ambition that brought it to life.

Missed the first three issues of the series? Catch up here: (The backstory | Openingnight | The immediate impact).

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a sunny day in Cairo today, with a high of 28°C and a low of 17°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s just as sunny in Alexandria, with a high of 28°C and a low of 17°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Nineteen districts to hold parliamentary elections re-runs in December: Voters in 19 districts across Giza, Fayoum, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Alexandria, and Beheira will head back to the polls next month for a re-run of the House of Representatives elections, the National Elections Authority (NEA) announced in a statement yesterday. This comes after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called on the authority to review appeals filed by several candidates over alleged fraud in the first round of the parliamentary vote.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Will the CBE resume its easing cycle tomorrow? The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet tomorrow to decide whether to cut interest rates again. The committee decided to cut interest rates 100 bps in its sixth meeting of the year in October, extending the easing cycle it resumed in April after a brief pause in July.

Analysts and economists polled by EnterpriseAM are divided about what the CBE will do, with four out of the 11 analysts we surveyed penciling a 50-100 bps rate cut, while five see policymakers leaving rates unchanged, and the remaining two undecided.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Egypt Business Solutions Summit will take place on 1 December at the InterContinental City Stars in Cairo. The event will bring together SME leaders, investors, and policymakers to explore innovation, finance, growth, and sustainability in Egypt’s business ecosystem.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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If you’re investing, trading, or scouting for your next big move in MENA or India, subscribe to EnterpriseAM MENA <> India by tapping here to get the strategic intelligence you need.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

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CORRECTION- In yesterday’s issue of EnterpriseAM, we mistakenly said that CIRA Education’s net income increased fourfold y-o-y last fiscal year. In fact, the education services provider actually saw its income increase nearly fivefold — 385% to be precise. We have amended the story on our website.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

A US tech market slump and the Epstein files are dominating headlines in the international press this morning. Claude-maker Anthropic received a push from Microsoft and Nvidia, but US tech stocks still took quite a hit.

Anthropic will receive up to USD 15 bn in new funding from Microsoft and Nvidia, the latest wager on the fast-growing Claude developer. Microsoft will invest up to USD 5 bn while Nvidia will invest up to USD 10 bn, part of a broader funding round expected to value Anthropic at more than USD 300–350 bn. The AI startup has agreed in return to purchase USD 30 bn in Azure computing capacity, which will run on Nvidia’s newest AI chips. (Reuters | The Financial Times | Semafor | CNBC)

Markets are not buying it: US tech stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as mounting concerns over “frothy” AI valuations triggered a broad sell-off across global markets. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 1.2% lower, with major AI-linked names leading the declines as Nvidia slid 2.8%, while Microsoft shed 2.7% and Amazon declined 4.4%. The pullback comes ahead of Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday, a report investors see as a critical gauge of whether the AI boom can justify the sector’s soaring valuations. (The Financial Times | Semafor | CNBC | Reuters)

^^ We have more on that in this morning’s Planet Finance, below.

ALSO- President Donald Trump received Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in the White House, where they signed agreements on defense, nuclear negotiations, AI and more. The President cleared future F-35 deliveries to Saudi and designated the Kingdom as a major non-Nato ally, while the Crown Prince pledged to increase Saudi’s investment package in the US to a whopping USD 1 tn.

AND- The US Congress voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to release the Justice Department’s files on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a move enabled by Trump’s abrupt reversal after months of resisting the measure. The legislation is now awaiting Trump’s signature. (Reuters | CNN | The Financial Times | New York Times | Bloomberg)

ALSO WORTH READING-

  • Cloudflare restored internet services on Tuesday after an oversized security configuration file crashed parts of its network and clocked access to platforms like X and ChatGPT. (Reuters | Semafor | CNBC)

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: EnterpriseAM’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We dive into the under-construction 2.6k land route between Egypt and Chad.

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