Swatch’s AP collab causes store shutdowns while WHO declares Ebola a public health emergency

Good afternoon, friends, and welcome to the start of a brand new workweek. We hope you enjoyed your weekend. It’s a quiet day at home, and we’re kicking off the week with a relatively brisk issue. Today, we’re taking a look at a homegrown accessories brand whose founding sisters went against the grain — and it paid off. Need a few tips on how you can do the same? We tune into a business podcast that tells it like it is. That and more.

But first, the news…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Things are relatively calm on the breaking news front this afternoon, though a few stories are still making the rounds. Swatch has temporarily closed stores worldwide, including across the UK, after huge crowds gathered for the Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop collection launch.

The closures were prompted by safety concerns due to huge, chaotic crowds and queues forming in front of multiple stores around the world amid extremely high demand for the new AP collaboration launch. So far, Swatch has shut down stores in Dubai, Singapore, and France, as well as a multitude of stores across the US and UK.

^^Read more on: BBC, The New York Times, and The Guardian.

MEANWHILE- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. The WHO stated that while the outbreak doesn’t meet pandemic criteria, it does pose a high risk of spread to countries sharing land borders with Congo. The current strain of Ebola is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved drugs or vaccines.

^^Read more on: CNN, BBC, The Guardian, and Reuters.

ALSO- At least four people were killed in Moscow following the largest Ukrainian drone attack on Russia in over a year. This attack — which saw more than 1k Ukrainian drones downed over the country in the past 24 hours — comes as retaliation for a deadly three-day Russian attack on Ukraine a few days ago. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the drone attack “entirely justified.”

^^Read more on: The Guardian, BBC, Reuters, and CNN.

In a market defined by geopolitical risk, inflation, currency volatility, and declining interest rates, knowing how to manage your money has never been more important, and yet few people are really good at it.

The default in Egypt has traditionally been to dollarize, buy real estate, or stash your extra cash in a high-yield certificate of deposit, but that playbook is dying.

With an illiquid real estate market, the era of ultra-high-yield deposits coming to an end, and a rapidly expanding ecosystem of digital investment options, investors are looking for new, smarter opportunities.

In this four-part series, EnterpriseAM Money Matters will walk you through smart personal finance decisions regardless of your age, income, or starting point.

Coming straight to your inbox. Stay tuned.

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

• Four state-owned companies secured provisional EGX listings across pharma, fertilizers, and tourism. The companies are: Chemical Industries Development, Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels, Misr Travel, and El Nasr for Fertilizers and Chemical Industries;
• The Central Bank of Egypt will likely keep interest rates on hold for the second consecutive time when its Monetary Policy Committee meets this Thursday. The CBE is taking a “wait-and-see” approach, stressing the need to keep inflation expectations anchored amid elevated global energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty;
• Financing platform Valu saw its net income climb 78% y-o-y in 1Q 2026 to EGP 221 mn. The bottom-line growth was supported by a 40% y-o-y rise in gross revenue to EGP 1.52 bn. Valu entered Jordan in 1Q with the soft launch of one operational branch and c.15 onboarded merchants.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Grab that iced latte, because Cairo’s turning up the heat again tomorrow with a sizzling 38°C high and a 23°C low, according to our favorite weather app.