{"id":564255,"date":"2021-08-19T13:39:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T13:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/08\/19\/tonight-global-stocks-are-in-the-toilet-the-ever-given-is-steaming-toward-the-suez-canal\/"},"modified":"2021-08-19T13:39:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T13:39:05","slug":"tonight-global-stocks-are-in-the-toilet-the-ever-given-is-steaming-toward-the-suez-canal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/08\/19\/tonight-global-stocks-are-in-the-toilet-the-ever-given-is-steaming-toward-the-suez-canal\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Global stocks are in the toilet + the Ever Given is steaming toward the Suez Canal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, folks, that\u2019s workweek #33 of 2021 in the books <\/strong>for those of us here in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world. We hope it treated you well \u2014 and that you\u2019re heading for the beach right now (if summer hasn\u2019t already come to an end for you as the kids return to school).<\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG STORY TODAY- Global stocks are in the ?this afternoon<\/strong>, with major European indexes across the continent down all down 2% or more. The EGX30 followed suit, closing today down 0.9% and erasing its gains for the year. The benchmark index is now 0.3% in the red YTD. Look for Wall Street and Bay Street to open sharply lower later this afternoon, if futures are any indication.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s going on? Investors are leery about the US Federal Reserve\u2019s plan to begin <\/strong>tapering later this year<\/strong> \u2014 and they\u2019re also getting skittish about the potential impact on global growth of the rapidly spreading delta variant of the virus that causes covid-19. The story leads the front pages of the Financial Times<\/a> and CNBC<\/a> and is getting prominent play in the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, which adds that oil is also on the slide.<\/p>\n

SAY IT ISN\u2019T SO- Battlestations, battlestations \u2014 the Ever Given is heading for the Suez <\/strong>Canal<\/strong>, according to shipping monitor Marine Traffic<\/a>. In case you were living under a rock back in March, the Panama-flagged ship became lodged<\/a> in the Suez Canal for nearly a week, disrupting some 10-15% of global trade. It was then held pending negotiations over compensation, before finally being released on 7 July. Owner Shoei Kisen reportedly paid out<\/a>USD 540 mn in compensation to the Suez Canal Authority.<\/p>\n

The good people at GASC need to be working on their market forecasts <\/strong>as Russia looks set to cut back further on wheat exports. Russia has traditionally been our top provider of wheat (just as we\u2019ve traditionally been the largest wheat importer in the world), but Moscow is selling less and less. Today, Russian has fulfilled just 20% of all wheat contracts Egypt has filled, the lowest level in seven seasons, according to Bloomberg<\/a> data. What gives? <\/strong>Putin is keeping more and more of it home in a bid to keep a lid on inflation \u2014 and Russia seems to be on track for an anemic crop this year.<\/p>\n

Turkey is really poking around in our neighborhood once more. <\/strong>This time, Mr. Erdogan is banging on about the need for a peaceful solution of Ethiopia\u2019s war in Tigray \u2014 and separately offering to mediate on the Sudan-Ethiopia border dispute<\/a>. The move comes after Erdogan met with UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan in what Bloomberg<\/a> called \u201cthe clearest sign yet that the regional foes are ready to turn the page.\u201d<\/p>\n

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