The end of revenge travel?

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracts at a sharper pace in September

Good afternoon, friends. It’s almost the end of the week, with the upcoming long weekend making tomorrow a THURSDAY-equivalent.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

PMI contraction accelerates again: The contraction in Egypt’s non-oil private sector deepened in September on the back of “price and supply challenges” that curbed output levels, according to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) (pdf). Our PMI fell to a four-month low of 48.7 in September, down from 49.2 in August. September is now the 34th consecutive month that business activity has been in decline.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Sam Bankman-Fried’s upcoming trial is getting play in the international business press this afternoon. The former b’naire is facing charges of embezzling from FTX customers from 2019 until November 2022 to finance his hedge fund Alameda Research, donate over USD 100 mn to politicians, and purchase luxury properties.Bankman-Fried was indicted last December and has been detained since August 11 when a judge uncovered that he allegedly engaged in witness tampering by sharing a former partner’s personal writing with a reporter. (Reuters | Bloomberg | WSJ)

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

ELECTION 2023: El Sisi has officially thrown his hat into the ring: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will seek a third term in office after he announced yesterday his candidacy for December’s presidential election.
Maersk’s expansion of East Port Said port could get IFC backing: The International Financial Corporation (IFC) is considering providing a loan of up to USD 175 mn to help the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) expand its existing container terminal at East Port Said port.
Sugar traders are no longer taking their ahwa ziyada: The Madbouly government will meet with sugar packing companies and traders later today to negotiate new terms and requirements for trading of the commodity.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect another cloudy day with a high of 31°C during the day dropping to 24°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

Will Meta charge EU users for Instagram and Facebook for a no ad experience? PLUS: The travel bug seems to be slowing down

Is M eta going to make users pay for a no-ad experience on Instagram + Facebook? That’s what the Wall Street Journal suggests, reporting that Meta is proposing a monthly subscription service, Subscription No Ads (SNA), for European users. The subscription would be offered to European users who are unwilling to allow their digital activity to be used for targeted advertising. The proposed service — which would cost around EUR 10 per month for desktop users and EUR 13 per month for mobile users — is a bid to help Meta comply with EU regulations that require user consent before showing personalized ads.

REMEMBER- Earlier this year, Meta was fined EUR 390 mn due to breach of data privacy. Meta believes that a paragraph in a July EU court decision, which mentions charging a reasonable fee to users who decline targeted ads, supports the introduction of a subscription service.

2023 has so far been a good year for the travel industry, but high prices will probably discourage travelers from more “revenge travel,” according to a Morning Consult Pro report. The summer of 2023 saw travelers spending more on trips than they have in recent years — while the industry is finally recovering from the pandemic and a global slump, holiday makers’ faith in travel companies is not totally restored, the report notes. Even though travelers were willing to shell out a little during the high season, the coming months are likely to see spending decelerate in what is known as the shoulder season — or the period of time between the peak and off-seasons.

Younger people are traveling more, based on a study surveying a total of 14k adults between January 2021 and July 2023 in a host of countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US for this study. Meanwhile, millennials, followed by Gen-Z adults (who are probably going to travel more as their careers take-off) were the top travelers, based on the results of a survey of 2k American adults who were interviewed monthly from October 2021 to August 2023.

Prolonged sitting increases your chances of developing dementia, according to a recent study by JAMA. The study, which looked at data from the UK’s Biobank covering more than 49k individuals over the age of 60 — 54.7% of which are women — has found that time spent doing sedentary activities and the incidence of dementia were significantly (although non linearly) correlated.

A movement tracker and AI algorithms helped obtain the results. Over the course of nearly seven years, the study found that the chance of acquiring dementia was 8% higher for the individuals who sat for at least 10 hours per day, as many of them did. The risks increased to 63 percent for those who remained seated for at least 12 hours.

Move more, sit less and you can also check off heart disease, obesity, diabetes, a WaPo article reported, citing a number of previous studies. However, exercise alone, these studies show, is not enough to ward off disease if it is not accompanied by consistent movement during the day. In fact, extended sedentary habits can even cancel out the positive effects of working out.

A Victorian-era film demonstrating the roots of modern football

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Was football only meant for the elite? The English Game is a British historical miniseries of six episodes that show you how football went from an aristocratic game to an open one welcoming all. The episodes depict the inception of modern football in the 19th century when football was transitioning from a largely amateur and upper-class sport to a game that began to embrace professionalism and attract players from working-class backgrounds. These supposed underdogs made an effort to challenge the dominance of the privileged elite and gain recognition within the football establishment. Eventually, football became an escape for the working class. The narrative revolves around Arthur Kinnaird (Edward Holcroft), a member of an aristocratic family who has conflicting thoughts between conforming to his societal expectations and being empathetic towards the working class, and understanding their growth in the game. Fergus Suter (Kevin Guthrie), is a talented working-class Scotsman, who is torn between his loyalty to the Darwen Football team (working-class team) and the opportunity for better financial projects offered by Blackburn FC. The series also delved into various aspects of society highlighting the growing wealth gap, social inequality, and the challenges faced by women in the Victorian era.

In Poverty, by America , Matthew Desmond tackles the hairy questions of inequality in the land of liberty. Consider this book the ultimate rebuttal of the “American Dream” where Desmond addresses how resources are far from being fairly distributed among the population of the global superpower. Despite staggering displays of wealth and pomp, a large number of Americans are living in poverty, facing eviction, homelessness, and debt. Plus, hard work doesn’t always pay off: The Princeton sociologist and author takes on the issue of exploitation that separates the haves from the have-nots in what he describes as the “confounding, unblushing inequality” that has puzzled him since his youth. From tax breaks for the wealthy, to increasingly less powerful labor unions, Desmond makes a compelling case for the abolition of poverty in his homeland. Rather than accepting the status quo, the author argues for a more equitable, morally upright country where no one thrives at the expense of another.

What the markets are doing on 3 October, 2023

The EGX30 fell 1.0% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.6 bn (26.2% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 35.0% YTD.

In the green: EFG Holding (+1.3%), Fawry (+1.1%) and ADIB (+0.9%).

In the red: Alexandria Mineral Oils (-7.9%), Orascom Development (-5.3%) and Ezz Steel (-4.6%).

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

OCTOBER

3-4 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): Omar Khairat is set to perform at Cairo Opera House

4-18 October (Wednesdays): Japanese tea-making workshop at AUC New Cairo Campus.

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

7-21 October (Saturday-Tuesday): Illustration workshop with Keem The Kid at Cocoon Cultural Center.

11 October (Wednesday): Teatro Di San Carlo performance, the Pyramids of Giza, Giza.

12-16 October (Thursday-Monday): Cairo Opera Ballet Company Cinderella at Cairo Opera House.

13-20 October (Friday-Friday): El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

13 October (Friday): The Garden Market at Merryland Park.

13 October (Friday): Oktoberfest at the Swiss Club.

18 October (Wednesday):Ruby and Ahmed Saad at Misr University

26 October - 3 November (Thursday-Friday): The 15th Annual Cairo International JazzFestival at AUC’s Tahrir campus

28 October (Saturday): DJs Kygo, Tiësto, Kung and Frank Walker concert, Giza Pyramids.

NOVEMBER

11 November (Saturday): El Gouna Half Marathon 2023, El Gouna.

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).

16 November (Thursday): Jim Gaffigan’s Barely Alive Tour at The Marquee, Cairo Festival City.

JANUARY

20 January (Saturday): Charlotte Cardin performing at Cairo Jazz Club 610

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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