Good morning, friends, and welcome to the final weekend in October, which also happens to be Halloween. Fitting, as this week the EGX and the EGP both gave us a scare. We break down the week’s happenings below.
Halloween is also the season when color gives way to blacks, greys, and stones, a fitting palette for the weekend. But it left us with a question: where has the color gone the rest of the year? Over the past few years, beiges, greys, and “greige” have taken over. In this month’s Long View, we look at why, the economics behind color, and what losing access to vibrancy does to us.
Elsewhere in today’s issue: We slow down over a cup of “Tchaï” in Downtown Cairo, tune into a podcast dissecting Stephen King and The Shining (’tis the season, after all), relisten to a “thriller” album that just makes us “wanna be startin’ somethin’,” and more.
Let’s dive in…
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The weather’s properly embracing the Autumn breeze this weekend, and there’s plenty to do outside the house — be that Halloween-themed or otherwise.
☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-
This weekend brings cool, cloudy, and Halloween-appropriate weather. Both today and tomorrow will see highs of 27°C, with Saturday bringing a mix of clouds and breaks of sun. Overnight lows will dip to a cool 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-
Ready to get your Halloween groove on?Disco Misr is taking over CJC 610 for Hala3 Fel Disco tonight, bringing an Egyptian twist to the spooky season. Expect the trio’s signature reworks of Egyptian classics, infused with funk and electronic sounds. Doors open at 8pm, and tickets are available on TicketsMarché.
A Friday night, four pop icons, and a setlist of nostalgic hits?Count us in. The Fustat Festival is bringing together 90s pop favorites Hisham Abbas, Hamid El Shaeri, Mohamed Fouad, and Ehab Tawfik tonight at 9:30pm. The concert promises throwback hits, live vocals, and plenty of sing-along moments. You can grab your tickets on TicketsMarché.
LATER IN THE WEEK-
Superstar Angham is heading to the New Capital Opera House at the City of Arts and Culture on Wednesday, 4 November and Friday, 6 November, becoming the first Arab artist to perform at the venue. In celebration of Egyptian Valentine’s Day, the singer will take the stage at 8pm alongside maestro Hany Farahat for an elegant evening of music. Tickets are selling fast; secure yours before they’re gone through Tazkarti.
Internationally renowned festival Gala de Danza is landing at the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) on Thursday, 5 November for an evening celebrating dance, music, and art. The event brings together world-renowned performers, including the Royal Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, and MAGICLAB, among other musical and artistic experiences. The program also features a special performance by 100 students from local schools across Egypt. Doors open at 7pm, with the event starting at 9pm. Dress to impress, and book your tickets through TicketsMarché.
Jazz lovers, your favorite festival is back. The Cairo Jazz Festival returns to AUC Tahrir Square for a packed weekend of live music, from Thursday, 5 November to Saturday, 7 November. This year’s program celebrates the global spirit of jazz with performances by Egyptian and international artists from 12 countries, including Hisham Kharma, Danish singer Nana Rashid, Amsterdam-founded band ARIFA, and more, with additional performances at Bibliotheca Alexandrina. A selection of workshops, talks, and special activities for your little ones also features on the program. Head to TicketsMarché for more details and tickets.
Up for an Alex comedy trip? Comedian and actor Ahmed Amin is making his first stop in Egypt on his world tour Meen Amin at Al Anfoushy Theater in Alexandria on Thursday, 5 November and Friday, 6 November. Expect Amin’s signature humor as he takes his audience through stories about his life and what makes him who he is. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets for the first night are sold out, but you can still book for the second night through TicketsMarché.
How do you help build a brand as successful as Gourmet without really knowing much about food? Dalia Sultan, chief innovation officer at Gourmet Egypt and the force behind “Handcrafted by Gourmet,” traces her path from marketing to product to steering the company’s leap into manufacturing.
Color is disappearing. For the past decade or so, bright color has been draining out of public life. Neutrals have taken over home décor and furniture, films look less saturated than they used to, and beige, gray, and black fill the windows of local and global fashion brands.
You’re not imagining it. A 2020 study by the Science Museum Group in the UK analyzed more than 7k everyday objects spanning roughly 200 years and found that grays and blacks have steadily crowded out color in the modern world. That raised a question for us: have these shades become the safe choice that cost us the nerve to stand out, or were they pushed on us for other reasons?
The economics of color
As manufacturers moved from wood and metal to plastic and silicone, product colors shifted with them, most visibly in cars, according to a report from the Science Museum Group’s digital lab. The drift wasn’t one-directional. History has had decades when bright colors thrived before receding again.
The business logic: Large companies chasing higher margins and lower risk tend to adopt global designs that suit every market. Neutral colors cut the risk of unsold inventory and let products sell widely without costly customization for local tastes.
Cars make the case: A neutral car is easier to resell than a bold one, so color becomes a purely financial choice that protects the asset’s value. That explains the drift toward white, black, gray, and silver. By 2023, 80% of cars sold in the US came in those shades, according to BASF’s annual color trends report.
The same logic applies to architecture and public space. Painting a facade in neutral tones costs less, carries less risk, and appeals to more buyers. Some professions even dress in muted colors on purpose to signal seriousness and competence and to draw less attention.
The psychology of color
Visual input accounts for roughly 80% of the sensory impressions humans receive, which makes color a major stimulus for the brain and body. Color is light at different wavelengths, and it can affect us even with our eyes closed, neuropsychologist Barbara Koltuska-Haskin writes in Psychology Today. Research also shows that the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature, energy levels, sleep, metabolism, and sex drive, responds to color cues. (Yes, the same logic behind avoiding phone light at night and getting sunlight in the morning.) The colors we choose for our homes and offices can therefore shape blood pressure, energy, and basic bodily functions.
On memory and arousal: Studies show that red produces higher physiological arousal than green. Color also interacts with emotion and recall: red strengthens memory for words with negative associations, while green does the same for positive ones. Warm versus cool: Warm colors like yellow, orange, pink, and red energize the body, though high intensity can irritate. Cool colors like blue, purple, and green calm it. The popular choice of white for schools and public spaces can backfire, raising stress and reducing focus. Gray in workplaces and formal settings can feel more depressing than black.
Why are we backing away?
As our digital lives get louder, many people are making their homes visually quieter, a refuge from the flood of color on their phone screens, according to a report from the Color Marketing Group. Interior design reflects that need for balance: walking into a living room in soft tones is a relief after hours of flashing icons and bright imagery.
There may also be a deeper explanation. In his book Chromophobia, Scottish artist and writer David Batchelor argues that Western culture has sidelined color for centuries, tying it to the superficial and the primitive. That left an inherited bias in the subconscious, he says, nudging many people toward neutrals out of fear of judgment.
Bring it back
The backlash: As color has faded, movements pushing for its return have appeared. In fashion, “dopamine dressing” means wearing bright colors and bold designs to lift your mood. The trend has gained wide traction, helped by American fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen and her 2020 book, Dress Your Best Life.
Digital platforms are driving the reversal. Visual rebellion spreads through short-form video, especially Instagram Reels, where a new generation celebrates loud color. Those clips draw mns of views and are creating consumer demand that forces brands to rethink strategies built on muted aesthetics to avoid risk.
In Egypt, some local brands are filling the gap.Kun Suki, which makes playful tableware, and Palma, a clothing label with a rich visual identity, sell bright, inventive products to people tired of beige and gray. That is a market-share window at a moment when big companies stick to a narrow palette. It gives these brands a competitive edge and a distinct visual identity, and, more to the point, a product we badly need in a world that looks a little grayer each year.
The headlines at home this week were a mixed bag. Locally, the week was about money: rates saw a hike when most analysts expected a hold, the IMF mission arrived early to start the final reviews that could unlock USD 2.3 bn, and Banque du Caire’s record-setting IPO pricing anchored a busy run on the capital markets. All of it came with the EGP weakening past 56 against the USD and the EGX30 sliding to fresh lows, which pushed importers’ costs up. Abroad, Washington pitched business incentives to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the table, Lula snagged a fourth term in Brazil, and protests spread across Europe.
ECONOMY-
The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates by 100 bps at its meeting yesterday, according to a CBE statement. The overnight deposit rate rises to 20.0%, the overnight lending rate to 21.0%, and the main operation and discount rates to 20.5%.
The CBE cited challenging external conditions and elevated uncertainty, and said the move aims to keep expectations anchored and safeguard the disinflation trajectory. The hike runs against the majority of analysts polled by EnterpriseAM, who expected a hold, though some had warned a hike was back in play. It comes as the greenback hits fresh highs and the EGX30 reaches fresh lows, closing 3.56% down on Sunday at 49.2k points. This marks the first rate hike since March 2024.
REFRESHER- The USD hit a high of EGP 55.89 at the CBE on Sunday, days after crossing EGP 55 for the first time the preceding Thursday and eclipsing the previous peak of EGP 54.73 recorded on 7 April. By Tuesday, the USD had breached the EGP 56 mark.
MEANWHILE- An IMF missionarrived in Cairo Monday to start talks on the eighth and final reviewof our USD 8 bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the last review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). That’s weeks ahead of the second half of November we had been told to expect last week. Clearing both reviews would unlock some USD 2.3 bn, with about USD 1.5 bn under the EFF and USD 800 mn under the RSF.
DEVELOPMENT-
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)has committed up to USD 221 mn to a new platform that will hold stakes in Norwegian developer Scatec’s solar, wind, and battery storage projects in Egypt. Under a share purchase agreement, Scatec will own 60% of the platform and the EBRD 40%.
CAPITAL MARKETS-
Banque du Caire’s (BdC) retail bookclosed 27x covered. Retail investors had ordered some 9.29 bn shares by the close on Wednesday, against the 343.1 mn shares in the upsized public tranche. That’s roughly EGP 49.2 bn (c. USD 921 mn) chasing EGP 1.8 bn (c. USD 34 mn) of stock at the EGP 5.30 final price. The book is allocated pro rata and without discretion, so applicants got about 3.7% of what they asked for.
ALSO- Enppi eyes a January IPO, priced in USD: The government is aiming to launch the IPO of state-owned petroleum engineering contractor Enppi in the second half of January, with the offering priced in USD. The state will likely sell 10-20% of the company, leaving EGPC, which holds 96.61%, with roughly 77-87%. Work on the fair value study has been accelerated, and the USD price range will be set once it’s done.
PLUS-MNT-Halan’s EGP 4 bn post-IPO capital increaseis fully paid, and it puts half of the IPO proceeds back inside the listed company. Parent MNT Investments BV subscribed to 163.27 mn new shares in MNT Tech Holding for Financial Investments at the EGP 24.50 offer price, lifting issued capital to EGP 176.3 mn from EGP 160 mn and the share count to 1.76 bn from 1.6 bn.
AND- Our investment fund industrycrossed EGP 500 bn in 3Q 2026. The Financial Regulatory Authority published the milestone on Sunday, the same day the EGX70 lost 11.07% of its value in a single session. Net asset value rose 7.16% q-o-q to EGP 504.71 bn from EGP 470.97 bn, and assets under management climbed 7.27% to EGP 512.84 bn, with eight new funds taking the total to 232.
ENERGY-
The Oil Ministryplans to import about 15 mn barrels of crude in 4Q 2026, 8% more than a year earlier, and pay for it through supplier credit. The shipments will cost USD 1.4-1.5 bn as regional tensions keep oil prices high, which works out to roughly USD 93-100 a barrel, by our math.
AND- Two of the country’s biggest solar-and-battery projectsmoved forward this week at very different stages. Contractors at Nefer Minya have started full construction, while Dandara (whose power purchase agreement was signed in March 2025) is still signing preliminary financing terms.
STARTUPS-
Cairo-based solar and water startup NoorNationclosed a USD 1.05 mn seed round backed by agribusiness group Linah Farms, Africa-focused climate tech investor Catalyst Fund, and Saudi VC firm KBW Ventures. Linah signed on after nine months of due diligence, turning one of NoorNation’s biggest clients into a shareholder.
MAJOR HEADLINES THIS WEEK-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyysaid Kyiv is ready to join trilateral technical talkswith the US and Russia, citing an energy ceasefire, Black Sea maritime and grain security, and an all-for-all prisoner swap as top priorities. The announcement followed his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signaling interest in three-way negotiations during talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg.
By Wednesday, Washington wasfloating business incentivesfor both sides: a return of US energy companies to an offshore project near Sakhalin, a resumption of Russian oil exports to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline, reopened Russian airspace for US airlines, and joint work on titanium. Ukraine would get a plan to attract long-term investment.
The US wants to advance the package at tripartite talks in Abu Dhabi next month, the first since February, though officials stress nothing proceeds while the war continues. Europe is split over its own role. The leaders of Finland, Norway, and Russia held a 90-minute call, originally planned for 20 minutes, that Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said was “not coordinated with the rest of us.” Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warned that going solo risks fracturing Europe’s voice.
Separately, Ukraine said Starlink and Starshield are back at full capacity after a disruption that strained ties with Washington. Elon Musk said Ukraine breached the terms of service by using the network for offensive drone attacks.
IN BRAZIL- Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured a fourth term with 51.8% of the vote, beating right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro. The result is a setback for US President Donald Trump, who backed Bolsonaro, and promises continued friction between Washington and Latin America’s largest economy.
IN EUROPE- Protests continued across France, Albania, Italy, Spain, and Portugal over pensions, housing, education, and corruption, despite tighter security. France offered students concessions to end weeks of unrest, including up to EUR 4 bn in loans for school renovations, 15k extra higher education places, 500 new teaching jobs, and a replacement for the Parcoursup admissions platform by 2028. More demonstrations are planned, and much of the package falls to President Emmanuel Macron’s successor after next year’s election.
In London, Prime Minister Andy Burnhamsaid he wants the UK back in the EUin his lifetime but ruled out reversing Brexit in this parliament. The EU, meanwhile, is preparing to cut imports of Chinese chemicals, furniture, and machinery, possibly through caps or tariffs as soon as 1Q 2027, to narrow a USD 404 bn trade deficit without triggering retaliation.
IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Microsoft isoffering voluntary buyoutsto around 60k employees, about 27% of its 223k workforce, to help pay for its AI infrastructure push. And Polar LNG’s former CEO Joel Riddle accused Russia’s Novatek of secretly funding the USD 25 bn US gas export venture, which is repurposing an Alaska terminal Novatek partly built. Novatek is under US sanctions, and Riddle was among the leadership team that resigned in September over sanctions risk. On Thursday, Alphabet shares fell 10% in premarket trading following the tech giant’s disappointing 3Q earnings report.
Writing as an act of rebellion and public service: In his book The Day the Pagers Exploded, Palestinian-Lebanese physician Hisham Sheikh Hassan delivers an extraordinary eyewitness account documenting the all-out war waged on Lebanon in the fall of 2024. Beginning with the shock of the pager detonations and expanding into a ground invasion, bombardment of the south and Dahiyeh, and mass displacement, the text stands as a nuanced, sensitive existential document.
The big picture: Writing from Beirut’s emergency rooms and the Southern Suburbs, Hassan uses an intimate, cinematic voice to thrust readers into the middle of the crisis — offering a stark counter-narrative to the sterile detachment of international news tickers. He dismantles decades of Orientalist framing in Western newsrooms, where Arab history, anti-colonial resistance, trauma, and culture have long been distorted through lenses that transform victims into threats while hand-delivering blanket immunity to aggressors. It’s a powerful perspective coming from a surgeon who returned to Beirut in 2023 after spending 24 years practicing medicine across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland.
The narrative goes beyond wartime journaling to offer an ethnographic and intergenerational history. Hassan carries the memory of his own family, who were driven from Haifa and Safed at gunpoint in 1948 and fled along valley paths into Lebanon, only to watch the exact same tragedy replay today in Nabatieh, Sidon, and Dahiyeh. He weaves past and present together, contrasting the olive groves his brother was prevented from harvesting due to shelling in the south with the village minarets his carpenter grandfather hand-carved, now being flattened by military bulldozers. This historical tracing transforms the landscape into a witness, exposing the bombing not as random destruction but as an attempt to erase ancestral geography.
What we liked: Hassan writes with a delicate, captivating style that immerses the reader without resorting to melodrama. He balances the sharp precision of a physician with unadulterated human tenderness, avoiding emotional exploitation or bids for pity. Instead of reducing human suffering to cold emergency statistics, he captures it through devastating details. Equally compelling is the book’s refusal to portray its subjects as passive victims. Hassan honors their agency and dignity, showing how local communities forge active, resilient solidarity within the rhythms of daily survival.
The verdict: This is an existential testament charged with raw anger and pride. Ultimately, The Day the Pagers Exploded proves that honest storytelling and active memory remain our first and last line of defense against historical erasure.
WHERE TO GET IT- You can find the paperback at AUC Press and Diwan. You can also get the e-book on Amazon and Kobo.
Still startin’ something. Nearly 44 years after its release on 30 November 1982, Michael Jackson’s Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time, according to Guinness World Records, which estimates more than 67 mn copies sold worldwide.
The sound and the hits: Produced by Quincy Jones, the album moves between funk, pop, rock, and R&B. “Beat It” brought rock guitar to pop radio, “Billie Jean” is built on a bass line everyone knows, and “The Girl Is Mine” pairs Jackson with Paul McCartney. Seven of its nine tracks became top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album spent 37 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. At the 1984 Grammys, Jackson secured eight awards, including Album of the Year.
The Halloween effect: The credit goes to the title track, the album’s seventh and final single, and its 1983 short film: Thriller. John Landis directed it on a reported USD 500k budget, more than 10 times the cost of an average video at the time, and in 2009, it became the first music video added to the US National Film Registry. The song has returned to the Billboard Hot 100 every Halloween season for years. Last year, it climbed back to No. 10, its highest spot since its original run, when it peaked at No. 4, making Jackson the first artist with Hot 100 top 10 hits in six separate decades, according to Billboard. This year? It’s there again.
What we love: It’s timeless, and Michael Jackson at his best. It gets you moving, leaving you ready to “Wanna be startin’ somethin’” — and even though the songs differ thematically, the album holds together. More than 43 years on, it’s as cool to play today as it was in 1982. Whether you’re feeling romantic, a little spooky, or contemplating human nature, there’s something here that hits home.
The verdict: Forever classic. If you’re tired of the usual pop playlists or nostalgic disco, Thriller is the album (and the song) to play this weekend, whether you’re getting ready for a Halloween party or just need something to carry your Friday routine.
A dining experience rooted in art:Tchaï Teahouse sits inside Tamara Haus in Downtown Cairo — a space seamlessly blending food, art, and design. The building houses a furniture gallery alongside artistic showrooms highlighting pieces from independent Egyptian brands, making a preliminary stroll through its halls an engaging part of the overall visit before ever sitting down at a table.
First impressions: We began our visit with a walk across the building’s two floors before settling into the restaurant, which features an elegant interior mixing heritage architecture with contemporary touches. Seating options cater to every mood, whether you are looking to read, work, or catch up with friends, in a tranquil setting well removed from the chaos of Downtown streets. The establishment leans into a slow hospitality concept, encouraging guests to linger and unhurriedly savor their time. Warm, attentive staff members added another layer of hospitality to the afternoon.
What we tried: The menu spans tea, coffee, cold drinks, sandwiches, entrees, and desserts, heavily influenced by Egyptian, Armenian, and French culinary traditions. Based on recommendations from the staff, we opted for the Zouzou salad — made with seasonal greens and fresh herbs — and the signature Tchaï ravioli tossed in herb butter.
What we liked: The Zouzou salad arrived with a bed of mixed greens, including lettuce and arugula, tossed with fresh herbs, crispy breadcrumbs, and olive oil. While fresh, it proved fairly ordinary and lacked a standout flavor profile. On the other hand, the Tchaï ravioli stole the show. Featuring dark-dough ravioli stuffed with slow-cooked, charcoal-grilled ragout, the dish boasted a rich smoky depth. Shiitake mushrooms and a velvety herb butter sauce tied everything together, offering a balanced creaminess that complemented the filling without overpowering it.
Portion sizes for the main dishes lean on the smaller side, so ordering multiple items is recommended for those arriving with a larger appetite. Regarding the tea selection — while central to the venue’s identity — the available options during our visit were somewhat more limited than anticipated.
Our verdict: Tchaï Teahouse possesses all the ingredients of an appealing dining spot for anyone seeking a serene space driven by design and art. It stands out as an excellent spot for those looking to discover a fresh concept and enjoy a quiet moment away from the noise of Downtown Cairo.
WHERE TO FIND IT- You can find Tchaï Tea House inside Tamara Haus in Downtown Cairo.
If your idea of Halloween involves a blanket, an ’80s classic, or a Stephen King novel, this is the podcast to put on this weekend. Hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett, The Book Club is a freeflowing conversation about the books that shape the culture, drive the conversation, and change how we see things.
What to expect: The Book Club is a weekly podcast with episodes running from an hour to 90 minutes. Sandbrook and Syrett cover classics and contemporary titles alike, and they go well beyond the plot to explore cultural context, author histories, and the movements and moments behind each book. Episodes are timed to the calendar, with each pick tied to a major holiday, conversation, or season.
Since it’s Halloween, this week’sepisodegoes to Stephen King, the “King of Horror,” and The Shining, one of his best-known novels, which has an equally famous film adaptation. Over 80 minutes, the hosts discuss the film, note where it departs from the book, explore how King’s childhood shaped his writing, and range across his wider body of work.
What we liked: Much like a real book club meeting, the hosts don’t fuss over structure, which is the one setting where we’d call that a plus. The discussion is unburdened, they speak naturally and with passion, and they go past surface-level chit-chat to dig into the author’s psyche and offer their own readings. Despite its length, the episode flew by thanks to a light-hearted, accessible tone. Sandbrook and Syrett made observations we appreciated enough to save the podcast to our favorites.
The verdict: The Book Club is for anyone who loves stories and has an hour or two to spare on a weekend. With genres and authors rotating, there’s usually a discussion worth tuning into, whether it’s Sylvia Plath, the Brontë sisters, or the dystopian novels that somehow came true.
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