{"id":551834,"date":"2022-07-25T13:59:07","date_gmt":"2022-07-25T13:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/25\/tonight-regional-industrial-agreement-afoot-fed-anticipation-reaches-critical-levels-also-somalia-could-be-our-new-gerd-ally\/"},"modified":"2022-07-25T13:59:07","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T13:59:07","slug":"tonight-regional-industrial-agreement-afoot-fed-anticipation-reaches-critical-levels-also-somalia-could-be-our-new-gerd-ally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/25\/tonight-regional-industrial-agreement-afoot-fed-anticipation-reaches-critical-levels-also-somalia-could-be-our-new-gerd-ally\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Regional industrial agreement afoot + Fed anticipation reaches critical levels. ALSO- Somalia could be our new GERD ally."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another macro-heavy Monday.<\/strong> Here at home, we have major trade and diplo news, while abroad, the world is eagerly anticipating how the Fed plans to move on inflation, which is fueling a potential global labor protest movement (more on that in today\u2019s For Your Commute).<\/p>\n

But first, the Islamic New Year teasing continues: <\/strong>The private sector will be off on Saturday in observance of the Islamic New Year, a statement<\/a> by the Manpower Ministry read. The news follows an announcement by the Madbouly cabinet yesterday<\/a> that Saturday will be a national holiday in observance of Islamic New Year. It is highly unlikely we\u2019ll be getting a weekday replacement day.<\/p>\n

Your next national holiday is not likely to be before October<\/strong> when we observe Armed Forces Day. 6 October will, in turn, be our last holiday until New Year\u2019s Day 2023 (which is typically a day off for the banking sector).<\/p>\n

THIS IS WHAT THE FUTURE LOOKS LIKE: <\/strong>With holidays tied to the lunar calendar coming up 10 days earlier each year, we\u2019re going to be frontloading our holiday schedule in the first half of the year for some time to come. It\u2019ll be interesting to see how we all space out our vacation days in response.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE identified USD 3.4 bn-worth of joint investment projects to<\/strong> implement<\/strong> in the first phase of the three countries\u2019 USD 10 bn industrial partnership<\/a>, according to a Trade and Industry Ministry statement (pdf)<\/a>. A high-level committee bringing together the three countries\u2019 trade ministers identified these projects as being qualified for feasibility studies, the statement says. The investments, which cover 12 separate projects, are in the food and agriculture, fertilizers, and pharma sectors. The next phase of the partnership will focus on chemicals, textiles, clothing, plastics, and metals manufacturing.<\/p>\n

The three countries also announced today that Bahrain will be joining the partnership<\/strong>, making it the first country outside the three founding nations to do so. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly had previously invited \u201cour brothers from Arab states\u201d to enter the partnership alongside Egypt, Jordan, and the UAE.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> The global business press has its eyes squarely fixed on the Federal Reserve\u2019s interest <\/strong>rate meeting tomorrow<\/strong>, with analysts and investors consulting their magic eight-balls on how far the Fed will go with its tightening cycle. While the consensus is that the Fed will go ahead with a second consecutive 75-bps rate hike to tamp down on inflation, some investors are hopeful that this marks the peak of its tightening cycle, spurring a stock rally that saw everything from oil to European stocks and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq<\/a> rise, Bloomberg<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

But many analysts think it\u2019s premature to assume the Fed will take its foot off the pedal: <\/strong>Morgan Stanley analysts<\/a> and analysts at Barclays<\/a> say the Fed will continue to raise rates as inflation remains entrenched in the economy, estimating that it could be months before the Fed is comfortable enough with inflation to pivot its stance. Some are even projecting that the Fed will make a rare U-turn by raising rates aggressively through the end of the year before cutting them next year as the economy moves into recession, the Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

^^We\u2019ll have more<\/strong> on these and other stories in tomorrow\u2019s EnterpriseAM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM<\/strong>:<\/p>\n