{"id":544463,"date":"2022-03-06T03:35:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-06T03:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/03\/06\/this-morning-goodbye-covid-watch-imf-warns-of-global-economic-impact-of-ukraine-war-fx-reserves-rise-in-february\/"},"modified":"2022-03-06T03:35:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-06T03:35:12","slug":"this-morning-goodbye-covid-watch-imf-warns-of-global-economic-impact-of-ukraine-war-fx-reserves-rise-in-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/03\/06\/this-morning-goodbye-covid-watch-imf-warns-of-global-economic-impact-of-ukraine-war-fx-reserves-rise-in-february\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Goodbye Covid Watch; IMF warns of global economic impact of Ukraine war; FX reserves rise in February."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends, and happy Sunday to you all. <\/strong>This morning\u2019s issue is a bit like drinking from a fire hose, so let\u2019s jump straight in:<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD THIS MORNING- The war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia <\/strong>will have a \u201csevere impact\u201d on the global economy<\/strong>, the IMF said in a statement<\/a> yesterday. Price shocks will likely be felt worldwide, especially in poor households where food and fuel make up a significant proportion of expenses. \u201cThe sanctions on Russia will also have a substantial impact on the global economy and financial markets, with significant spillovers to other countries,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

We have the latest on the war and its impact on Egypt <\/strong>in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/p>\n

DATA POINT OF THE MORNING- Egypt\u2019s net foreign reserves rose to USD 40.99 bn in <\/strong>February<\/strong>, up from USD 40.98 bn in January<\/a>, according to central bank data<\/a> out last week.<\/p>\n

PSA- Keep your windows closed today \u2014 there\u2019s a sand storm incoming. <\/strong>The Egyptian Meteorological Authority is predicting (pdf)<\/a> high winds will whip up dust today in parts of Cairo, the North Coast and elsewhere across the country. The mercury will reach a high of 27\u00b0C in the capital today before things cool to a milder 21-22\u00b0C through the rest of the week. Overnight lows will range from 10-12\u00b0C through until Thursday.<\/p>\n

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EDITOR\u2019S NOTE- We\u2019re discontinuing our regular Covid Watch section, ending our <\/strong>two-year-old count of <\/strong>new daily cases. <\/strong>The peak of this omicron-led wave is now well behind us, Egypt is making progress on vaccination that was unimaginable a year ago, and more and more holdouts are going back to (some form of) working from the office. With omicron so mild, what matters far more than new case numbers is the official death count \u2014 and that was at 10 yesterday, a fifth of what it was just a few weeks ago. (And as we all know, the official case count has always been from government labs only, so it gives us \u201cdirectionality\u201d only when you consider that the majority of tests are done at private labs.)<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Enterprise, we\u2019re still in the middle of the pandemic,\u201d you say.<\/strong> Yes, we are \u2014 for the moment. Nations around the world have for some time been moving to \u201clive with\u201d the virus \u2014 something we did here in Egypt more than 18 months ago. The simple fact is that we\u2019re in a far better position today than at any time in the past two years when it comes to this bug (touch wood). We\u2019ll continue to monitor developments, and if there\u2019s a need, we\u2019ll bring back Covid Watch.<\/p>\n

We will keep track once a week of the government\u2019s vaccination figures. <\/strong>About 50% of those eligible have now been vaccinated, Acting Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said during last week\u2019s cabinet meeting<\/a>. The latest health ministry figures<\/a> show that almost 30.4 mn people are now fully vaccinated and another 10.1 mn have received their first shot. More than 1.2 mn have now received a booster jab. Around 121.6k children aged 12-15 and around 769k 15-18 year-olds have received two shots of a covid jab, Abdel Ghaffar said.<\/p>\n

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HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mansour is not heading to Stamford Bridge: <\/strong>CEO of Mantrac Group and Man Capital Loutfy Mansour is not considering making a bid to buy Chelsea, Mansour\u2019s spokesperson told the Guardian<\/a>. The Telegraph<\/a> last week reported<\/a> that the business mogul was considering a takeover bid after the club\u2019s owner, Russian b\u2019naire Roman Abramovich, announced he would sell the club amid Western sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives is holding plenary sessions <\/strong>today through Tuesday<\/a><\/strong> to discuss a handful of bills, including amendments to the law regulating real estate brokerage<\/a> that would see a registry set up for licensed brokers. The changes would also regulate fees, among other moves to professionalize the largely informal sector, Youm7<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

Also on the agenda:<\/strong><\/p>\n