US and Iran exchange strikes amid ceasefire negotiations

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a slightly shorter work week ahead. We hope you’ve enjoyed your Eid break as we bring you the latest from around the capital. In today’s issue, we interview our newest founder of the month, Muncai’s Mostafa Sedky, review Netflix’s satirical Ladies First, and check in on what’s happening at the pitches.

Without further ado, the news…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Amid stalled ceasefire negotiations, the US and Iran are making headlines this afternoon after exchanging military strikes. The US Central Command stated they had launched “self-defense strikes” over the weekend in response to “aggressive Iranian actions,” which included targeting a US drone over international waters. Iran then retaliated by striking an air base hosting US forces. Meanwhile, Kuwait’s air defense intercepted missiles and drone attacks and condemned Iran’s “heinous” attacks that undermine efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, specifically the Strait of Hormuz.

^^Read more on: BBC, CNBC, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal.

CLOSER TO HOME- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered attacks on the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut as tensions with “terrorist targets” in the Hezbollah-controlled Dahiyeh continue. Netanyahu’s orders came on the heels of Hezbollah’s “repeated violations” of a ceasefire that was announced in April and attacks on “Israeli cities and civilians.” Iran remains steadfast that any diplomatic agreement to end the US-Iran war involves a Lebanon ceasefire.

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

IN TECH NEWS- Nvidia unveiled a new chip designed to run AI agents on personal laptops and desktop computers. CEO Jensen Huang said the RTX Spark PC chip is part of a broader effort with Microsoft to “reinvent the PC” for the AI computing era. Thirty laptop models and 10 desktop models using the new chips are currently in the works.

^^Read more on: Reuters and The Wall Street Journal.

Earning well is not the same as investing well — and for most mid-level executives and entrepreneurs, the gap between the two is wider than they’d like to admit. The financial landscape has shifted. Regional markets are opening up, AI is rewriting how portfolios get managed, and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are entering the conversation.

And the questions that used to feel straightforward — buy or rent, fund the startup or play it safe, finance the car now or wait it out — are harder to answer than ever.

In Issue 2 of EnterpriseAM Money Matters, we get into the decisions that don’t have easy answers, because at this stage, playing it safe is the riskiest move you can make.

Coming straight to your inbox — Wednesday, June 3.

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

• The retail tranche of Korra Energi’s IPO closed 31.35x oversubscribed before the Eid El Adha break, according to EGX data. Retail buyers placed initial orders for 3.1 bn shares, targeting just 99 mn shares earmarked for the public. Korra’s IPO is the EGX’s second private-sector main-market listing this year, following Gourmet’s blockbuster offering;
• Egyptian firms reported a real annual sales contraction of 11.4% in the World Bank’s latest Enterprise Survey, lagging behind the 5.2% growth of the wider MENA region. Behind this headline slump is a set of operating-environment findings suggesting that Egypt’s three-year macro stabilization push has not yet filtered down to the day-to-day constraints firms identify as their biggest obstacles to growth;
• Egypt’s energy challenge is characterized by a widening gap between declining production and rising demand, but the government is working to stabilize the sector. The Oil Ministry is making good on its debts to international oil companies, announcing last week that it will fully settle these arrears by 10 June, ahead of its original end-of-June target.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Following a cool, breezy Eid week, temperatures are heating up in Cairo tomorrow with highs reaching 37°C and lows of 25°C. Up North, it’s a sunny day tomorrow with highs of 29°C and cool lows of 21°C.