Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to the home stretch. It’s still a slow one in the press, but we see the makings of a busy coming week brewing.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 Non-oil private sector activity jumped back into the green in November, breaking a nine month stretch in contraction territory, according to S&P Global’s latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report (pdf). Pushing the headline figure up into the green for only the third time since November 2020 was an uptick in new orders and output amid easing cost pressures.

Growth is now at its quickest pace for five years, increasing 1.9 points from the monthbefore to 51.1 and comfortably above the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction.

The uptick in activity was seen across every sector economy, bar one. While the manufacturing, construction, and services sectors all reported an increase in activity, wholesale and retail stood out as the only sectors to see activity decrease over the month.

This bodes well for a “strong end to 2025,” said S&P Global Senior Economist David Owen. Based on historical correlations, this should translate into GDP growth of 5% y-o-y in the last quarter of the year, he added.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Five hours of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US negotiators failed to produce a breakthrough on a Ukraine peace agreement, a Kremlin aide announced earlier today. US special envoy Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, met with Putin in Moscow on Tuesday as part of intensified efforts by the US administration to end the war. Russian foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov described the talks as “very useful, constructive, and highly substantive,” but said a compromise was not reached. Key sticking points include Kremlin demands for Ukraine to formally renounce Nato membership aspirations and surrender territory in the Donbas region that Russia has annexed but not conquered.

Just before the meeting, Putin warned Europe that while Russia is not planning war with the continent, it was “ready” to respond if Europe initiated one. Putin accused European leaders of blocking the peace deal by making “unacceptable” demands. A senior Nato official told reporters they see no indication Moscow is willing to make meaningful concessions. Geopolitical analysts suggest Russia has little incentive to rush negotiations, believing that Putin wants to prolong diplomatic engagement while continuing to bomb Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and make incremental battlefield gains. (CNBC | CNN | NYT)

CLOSER TO HOME- A new investigation by CNN found evidence of Israeli military bulldozers mishandling bodies of Palestinians killed near the Zikim crossing. Satellite imagery now confirms what Palestinians have been reporting for years — Israel is dumping the bodies of civilians killed while seeking aid into shallow unmarked graves, which could violate international law, according to legal experts.

International law requires warring parties to cooperate in burying the dead in ways that allow identification, preventing the dead from becoming missing and allowing families to memorialize them. Instead, the investigation found evidence of mishandled corpses, either using heavy equipment to dispose of them, or leaving them unburied in the open. A former IDF soldier described witnessing similar practices elsewhere in Gaza. Another recalled nine bodies decomposing near his base for two days, before a commander ordered bulldozers to cover them with sand with no identification photos taken or location marked. (CNN)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for hazy sunshine and a warmer day in Cairo tomorrow, with temperatures set to peak at 27°C before cooling down to 17°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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