{"id":548340,"date":"2022-08-04T03:58:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T03:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/08\/04\/this-morning-un-publishes-cop27-schedule-opec-just-agreed-to-the-least-significant-supply-hike-ever\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T03:58:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T03:58:10","slug":"this-morning-un-publishes-cop27-schedule-opec-just-agreed-to-the-least-significant-supply-hike-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/08\/04\/this-morning-un-publishes-cop27-schedule-opec-just-agreed-to-the-least-significant-supply-hike-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: UN publishes COP27 schedule + OPEC just agreed to the least significant supply hike ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people. <\/strong>Once again we\u2019ve made it through the workweek together. It\u2019s been a busy one, for those of you tuning in from Sahel at week\u2019s end, with plenty of M&A, policy and investment news \u2014 and this morning is no exception.<\/p>\n

COUNTDOWN TO COP27- We now have a schedule for COP27<\/strong>, courtesy of the UN, which has released a basic itinerary<\/a> for the 11-day gathering. The conference will kick off on 7 November in Sharm El Sheikh with a two-day summit of world leaders, which will be followed by nine days of discussions on decarbonization, climate finance, adaptation strategies and others.<\/p>\n

COP27 now has an official Facebook page: <\/strong>The Foreign Ministry announced the launch of the official Facebook page for the summit yesterday. Check it out here.<\/a><\/p>\n

And speaking of climate: It\u2019s the final day of the Egypt- and UN-led <\/strong>regional climate<\/a><\/strong>roundtable<\/a><\/strong> in Addis Ababa, <\/strong>Ethiopia:<\/strong> The event \u2014 the first of five regional roundtables being held around the world ahead of COP27 in November \u2014 brings together African climate negotiators and global officials to discuss climate finance for three days in the Ethiopian capital. COP27 President Sameh Shoukry, Mark Carney (UN climate envoy and co-chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero) and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed are among those in attendance.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> EGP WATCH- The EGP has continued its slide against the greenback this <\/strong>week.<\/strong> The currency has fallen more than 0.8% during the past four days, closing at 19.15 yesterday from 18.98 and edging closer to the record of 19.54 low set in December 2016. The EGP has now fallen more than 21% against the greenback since March, when the central bank devalued the currency<\/a> in response to rising external pressures fuelled by the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The Madbouly government\u2019s public consultations on its state ownership policy <\/strong>continue today<\/strong>, with experts and think tanks weighing in on the manufacturing sector. Every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday see workshops on how privatization plans will affect specific industries. You can find more details on the schedule of the meetings here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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WEEKEND MUST READ-<\/strong> The <\/strong>Financial Times<\/a><\/strong> takes a deep dive into the chill that <\/strong>has come over venture capital in recent months.<\/strong> Regular readers will know that we\u2019ve had a keen eye on the global slowdown in VC funding, as some startups in need of capital \u2014 including local names<\/a> \u2014 face down rounds, while others look to tighten their belts<\/a>. Some USD 330 bn of private capital flowed into American tech start-ups last year \u2014 double the figure recorded in 2021, which is itself double 2020\u2019s sum. Now, the signs are that the bubble has burst and the days of easy VC money may be over as economic conditions turn hostile. For the salmon-colored paper, it all adds up to<\/strong> a \u201csilent crash\u201d that could spell the end of the boom years \u2014 possibly for good.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reset your expectations:<\/strong> We\u2019ll probably see more major devaluations along the lines of the one seen by Klarna<\/a> before the VC world comes to terms with a new reality \u2014 one where earnings matter more than growth and there aren\u2019t suitcases of bills to throw at risky innovation. \u201cThere\u2019s no question, growth at any price is gone for the next few years,\u201d the head of New York VC B Capital tells the FT.<\/p>\n

SIGNS OF THE TIMES-<\/strong><\/p>\n

#1- What goes up\u2026<\/strong> The layoffs sweeping the US tech sector have come to stock-trading app Robinhood, which rode the wave of frenzied retail trading in 2021 to become a household financial name. In a blog post<\/a> Tuesday, CEO Vlad Tenev said the company would slash its headcount by nearly a quarter in response to \u201creduced customer trading activity.\u201d The company\u2019s share price has fallen 50% this year and it reported a 44% y-o-y drop in revenues in 2Q 2022<\/a>, as rising interest rates deflate pandemic-era bubble assets such as tech stocks and crypto.<\/p>\n

#2-The US\u2019 latest move to hamper China\u2019s semiconductor industry could blow up in its <\/strong>face:<\/strong> The US is reportedly considering imposing restrictions on exports of chip-making equipment to China as it tries to retain its technological supremacy in the critical semiconductor industry, Reuters<\/a> reports. Unfortunately, a ban isn\u2019t going to pass without inflicting collateral damage on US firms, some industry watchers say, claiming the curbs would be a blow to big manufacturers including Samsung and SK Hyinx, causing further disruption to supply chains and making it harder for the US\u2019 biggest tech companies to get their hands on crucial chips.<\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> There\u2019s single story dominating the narrative in the global press this morning:<\/strong> The US press is focused on the abortion vote in Kansas yesterday, which saw lawmakers in the conservative state back a measure to protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision to overturn Roe v Wade<\/a>. (AP<\/a> | NYT<\/a> | Washington Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n

OPEC+\u2019s paltry supply hike yesterday is a topic of conversation:<\/strong> The alliance of oil producers agreed yesterday to increase output by 100k barrels a day in what is one of the smallest production increases in OPEC\u2019s 62-year history.<\/p>\n

Putting this into perspective:<\/strong> This amounts to 1\/1000th of global demand \u2014 the world consumes this quantity of oil every 86 seconds<\/strong>. As such, it will make little difference to oil prices, which have refused to fall significantly below USD 100 a barrel since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is so little as to be meaningless.<\/strong> From a physical standpoint it is a marginal blip. As a political gesture it is almost insulting,\u201d one analyst said, in reference to US President Joe Biden\u2019s appeal to the Saudis last month to increase production. Reuters<\/a> and Bloomberg<\/a> have more.<\/p>\n

Also in the business press:<\/strong> The Financial Times<\/a> reports that SoftBank has raised USD 22 <\/strong>bn<\/strong> by selling down its stake in Alibaba as the great 2022 tech sell-off forces it into damage limitation mode. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal<\/a> says that Walmart is preparing to shed hundreds of corporate jobs<\/strong>, a week after it issued a bleak outlook<\/a> for the rest of the year as inflation hits consumer demand.<\/p>\n

CLOSER TO HOME- Ukraine\u2019s first grain shipment has been cleared to exit the Black <\/strong>Sea.<\/strong> The first Ukrainian grain shipment to make it through a newly-agreed corridor through the Black Sea has passed inspection by Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish, and UN officials and will continue on its journey to Lebanon, the UN said in a statement<\/a> yesterday. The ship, which departed from the Ukrainian port of Odesa this week, is carrying some 26k tons of Ukrainian grain and should pave the way for more shipments to follow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy downplayed the importance of the shipment, saying that only time will tell if more grain shipments will follow.<\/p>\n

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re on the lookout for a number of key macro figures <\/strong>this week and next:<\/p>\n