Trump’s Iran-LA comments draw California backlash

Good afternoon, friends, and welcome back — one more day stands between us and the long weekend commemorating the 6 October war. Today we look at Egypt’s blue economy: the Suez Canal, fisheries, coastal tourism, desalination, and the rest — and why the government is trying to measure and manage them within a single framework. Elsewhere in today’s issue: we revisit Dark Solution, which has added pizza to its menu, and we have thoughts. It’s also a busy night on the pitch, and we have the full schedule below.

But first, the news…

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 US President Donald Trump is once again making headlines with comments that have sparked concern and outrage in the US. Trump suggested Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego while addressing a crowd in Nebraska yesterday, telling supporters: “They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego.” The US president then said he hoped to see a “tremendous victory” in the upcoming November midterm elections and described higher prices resulting from the war with Iran as a “small price to pay” for keeping the world and the US safe.

Trump’s comments were then condemned by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called Trump “deranged and dangerous.” Other California leaders also denounced the remarks.

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

MEANWHILE- France is facing an unprecedented wave of student protests, with demonstrations already reported in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and Strasbourg. Almost 2k schools have been blockaded across the country, with around 200k people, from high-school students to parents and trade unions, expected to take part in what they call their “day of mobilization,” as protests continue demanding more resources for the country’s struggling education system.

The movement, which began two weeks ago in Paris, has occasionally turned violent, with clashes between protesters and riot police leaving protesters, police officers, and school staff injured. More than 5k people have been taken into police custody, most of them minors with no previous criminal records.

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

The Gulf’s sovereign funds and largest companies are committing bns to AI infrastructure at home and to AI companies in the US and beyond. EnterpriseAM AI + Innovation reports on where that capital goes, who controls it, and what it is actually buying.

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

• MNT has its first IPO anchor in CIB: Commercial International Bank (CIB) signed on as a cornerstone investor for up to EGP 2 bn worth of shares in MNT-Halan’s ongoing IPO, roughly a fifth of the 20% stake on offer if the Egyptian arm prices near the USD 1 bn valuation bankers were pitching in June. The agreement is dated 24 September, about a week before MNT issued its intention to float;
• Our friends at EFG Holding have three more EGX-bound IPOs up their sleeve this year, one of which Group CEO Karim Awad called “a massive game changer” for the bourse. In USD terms, the offering would probably rank among Egypt’s largest listings in the last 15-20 years;
• Orange Egypt is weighing whether to buy a consumer finance company, partner with one, or build its own. CEO Hesham Mahran calls consumer finance one of his priorities for the coming years, saying the company has everything it needs to become “one of the big players in consumer finance.” The push runs alongside a parallel one into IT services, where revenue has climbed to “close to 50% or more.”;
• The Egyptian Refining Company is piloting an AI agent that predicts equipment failures before they happen. The agent could help solve a big problem — every day its refinery is offline costs USD 5 mn in lost income. A restart takes seven days, so a single outage costs USD 35 mn.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s warming up a tad in Cairo tomorrow, with temperatures peaking at 30°C under hazy sunshine before dropping to a breezy 21°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.