Good afternoon, friends, and happy Monday. Amid a general slowdown in the international and domestic presses this month, we have all the latest for you — including Capmas’ inflation figures for February and tidings of the potential collapse of Elon Musk’s business empire.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Annual headline urban inflation plunged to 12.8% in February, marking an 11.2 percentage point drop from the 24.0% recorded in January, according to data from state statistics agency Capmas. This figure marks the nation’s lowest inflation reading since March 2022 when inflation recorded 10.49%, which marked the beginning of an upward trend that has now been slowing for three consecutive months. On a monthly basis, inflation fell by 0.1 percentage points to 1.4%.

F&B price inflation saw a significant drop: Food and beverage price inflation — the largest component of the basket of goods and services used to calculate headline inflation — fell by 17.1 percentage points to 3.7% y-o-y in February — the weakest pace since June 2021, Capital Economics’ James Swanston wrote in a note seen by EnterpriseAM. “Meanwhile, our measure of non-food inflation declined to a two-year low of 17.3% y-o-y with the largest falls recorded in health, recreation and culture, furnishings, and restaurants and hotels,” the note reads. On a monthly basis, food and beverages prices were up by 0.2%, marking the second consecutive monthly rise in prices.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Amid a relatively slow newsday in the international press, headlines are covering the arrest and detention of Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil by Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security on accusations that Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas,” with authorities declining to elaborate further. A Palestinian green card holder married to a US citizen who is currently eight months pregnant, Khalil had been among the leaders of Columbia’s pro-Palestine protests over the course of Israel’s war on Gaza — a position that Khalil feared had put him in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, according to comments he made to Reuters in the hours before his arrest. In a post on X sharing news of Khalil’s arrest, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that US authorities “will be revoking the visas and/or green cards of Hamas supporters in America so they can be deported.” Neither the State Department nor the Department of Homeland Security has accused Khalil of providing material aid to Hamas — the only kind of pro-Palestine activity that violates US law. (BBC | Washington Post | AP | WSJ)

ELSEWHERE- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is making his way to Riyadh today ahead of tomorrow’s talks with US officials over ending the Russia-Ukraine war. The news comes shortly after Donald Trump’s announcement that the US has “just about” lifted all restrictions on US intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

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

• Capital Economics gives Egypt a progress report: London-based research outfit Capital Economics’ MENA team hosted a 20-minute briefing (watch, runtime: 22:51) discussing Egypt’s progress on implementing economic reforms and policy one year after the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to float the EGP and adopt a flexible exchange rate regime.
• Egypt has reportedly set a pricing and payment mechanism for securing LNG supply agreements for the summer months. Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (Egas) sent the conditions to global LNG suppliers in a bid to secure direct contract offers instead of issuing public tenders.
• Earnings, earnings, earnings. More companies are out with their 2024 earnings — we have the annual earnings of real estate giants Palm Hills Developments and Madinet Masr, as well as coverage of Edita Food Industries’ financials for the year.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The capital is continuing its warmer weather with highs of 26°C before dipping to a slight chilly low of 14°C, according to our favorite weather app.