{"id":567723,"date":"2020-12-06T04:30:14","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T04:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/12\/06\/what-were-tracking-on-6-december-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-12-06T04:30:14","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T04:30:14","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-6-december-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/12\/06\/what-were-tracking-on-6-december-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 6 December 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, nice people, and welcome to another workweek. <\/strong>We have a packed issue this morning, so let\u2019s get right to it.<\/p>\n

It remains all covid, all the time on the world\u2019s front pages <\/strong>as covid sweeps the United States and Europe and Pfizer says it is cutting by 50% its distribution target<\/a> for its vaccine through the end of this year thanks to logistics challenges.<\/p>\n

The scarce supply of vaccines is making the race to vaccinate populations a <\/strong>worldwide competition: <\/strong>Governments around the world are scrambling to secure shots as the number of doses available from Western pharma companies remains limited, likely leading to what the Wall Street Journal<\/a> calls a \u201cfragmentary vaccination drive likely to proceed at vastly different speeds,\u201d leaving most of the world\u2019s population without access to a jab for months to come.<\/p>\n

The Health Ministry <\/strong>reported<\/a><\/strong> 431 new covid-19 infections yesterday<\/strong>, up from 427 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 118,014 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 18 new deaths, bringing the country\u2019s total death toll to 6,750.<\/p>\n

(While we\u2019re on the subject of covid: Yes, you\u2019re going to <\/strong>need to be vaccinated<\/a><\/strong> if you want <\/strong>to travel. <\/strong>And before we switch subjects: This is how 700 epidemiologists are living now<\/a> and what they think is next. Clearly, ain\u2019t none of them living in Omm El Donia.)<\/p>\n

The EU has agreed to return to the negotiating table one last time to hammer out a Brexit<\/strong> agreement with the UK<\/strong>, the Financial Times<\/a> reports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson are set to talk again tomorrow evening in an \u201celeventh hour push\u201d to reach a pact both sides are happy with.<\/p>\n

The UK has had better luck with Egypt, as the two countries signed yesterday a<\/strong> post-Brexit trade agreement<\/strong>, according to a Foreign Ministry statement<\/a>. The trade continuity agreement, which comes into effect on 1 January 2021, will liberalize trade on industrial products, as well as the majority of commodities and food items including produce and fish, the statement says.<\/p>\n

REGIONALLY- Saudi Arabia and Qatar are signaling they may be willing to throw in the <\/strong>towel on the Great Qatar Smackdown. <\/strong>We\u2019d still be kind of surprised to see this happen before Joe Biden occupies the White House, but the story is getting plenty of traction in the global business press (Reuters<\/a> | Bloomberg<\/a>).<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in France<\/strong> for a two-day diplomatic visit that will include talks with French president Emmanuel Macron, according to Macron\u2019s agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-<\/p>\n

The Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund is hosting a webinar on the future of <\/strong>Egypt\u2019s private sector <\/strong>at 11am EST (6pm CLT) on Tuesday, 8 December. Speakers include our friends Ashraf Sabry (Fawry) and Magda Habib (Dawi Clinics). You can register for the event here<\/a> and check out the flyer here (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Voters in Cairo head to the polls tomorrow <\/strong>to vote in runoffs for the House of Representatives. Polls will be open in 11 other governorates from Qalyubia to Sinai.<\/p>\n

Also Tuesday: Apple may still have \u201cone more thing\u201d <\/strong>for you to add to your Christmas wish list, MacRumors<\/a> suggests. Maybe new earphones?<\/p>\n

Other key dates for your diary this month:<\/strong><\/p>\n