Good afternoon, friends, and happy hump day. We’ve got a light and brisk issue for you this afternoon, from our take on unusual marketing campaigns all the way to the story behind one of Egypt’s few heritage-inspired fashion brands.

But first, the news.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 The Ministry of Finance has begun drafting a state budget that marks a definitive end to the current era of economic emergency. The FY 2026-27 budget — set to be presented to the cabinet in preliminary form by late January — is being designed as a structural shift in fiscal policy, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM.

Why this matters: This will be Egypt’s first budget in years to operate largely independently of the IMF. With the current USD 8 bn program projected to conclude in the first quarter of the next fiscal year, the new budget is being engineered to prove that the discipline of the last two years was a policy choice, not just a conditionality.

The post-IMF budget attempts to lock in the austerity measures that gained the Fund’sapproval this week. The strict ceiling on public investment will remain, and may even be lowered further, to clear the lane for private sector participation, while ministries are again being required to submit three-year budget projections to end the cycle of surprise supplemental appropriations.

One of the most significant parts of the draft budget is a concrete timeline for the transition from in-kind to banknote-based subsidies, along with the return of possible fuel price hikes and a comprehensive social package that includes new wage increases and targeted incentives.

** Want the full rundown? Stay tuned for tomorrow morning’s issue of EnterpriseAM, where we will have the full story on what the country’s first post-IMF budget will look like.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 It’s another calm afternoon in the global press as we approach the annual Christmastime slowdown. Getting top billing is gold extending its rally earlier today after surpassing USD 4.4k per ounce for the first time ever yesterday. Gold rose just shy of USD 4.5k per ounce amid a weakening USD and rising demand for safe-haven investments. Silver remains at a record high, advancing 0.7% to USD 69.7 per ounce after peaking at USD 70 earlier. Read more on Reuters.

ALSO- Copper reached an all-time high, nearing USD 12k per ton, with prices rising by 0.9%. The record comes as mine outages and trade dislocations driven by US President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda paved the way for the industrial metal’s biggest annual gain since 2009 — seeing a 37% price lift this year. Read more on Bloomberg.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Don’t forget your jacket, we’re in for another cool, breezy day in Cairo tomorrow. The mercury is set to peak at just 22°C before cooling down to 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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