{"id":568970,"date":"2020-02-10T04:39:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T04:39:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/02\/10\/what-were-tracking-on-10-february-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-02-10T04:39:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T04:39:06","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-10-february-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/02\/10\/what-were-tracking-on-10-february-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 10 February 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a typically quiet Monday news day<\/strong>, and as we suggested yesterday, the House of Representatives dominated newsflow, discussing amendments to the Anti-Terror Act and gearing up for votes on key pieces of legislation including the Consumer Credit Act and, soon, the long-awaited Banking Act. We have more in this morning\u2019s Speed Round.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Expect a wave of oil and gas announcements over the next three days as <\/strong>the <\/strong>Egypt<\/a><\/strong>Petroleum Show<\/a><\/strong> gets underway today<\/strong> at the International Exhibition Center. US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen will be there, the embassy said in a statement<\/a> that notes Washington \u201cbelieves that Egypt is positioned to be an important regional energy hub, for Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.\u201d<\/strong> Cohen will be accompanied by senior energy officials from the State Department, Department of Energy and US Trade and Development Agency. Twenty US companies are participating, as are 10 French companies, including Schneider Electric, Total, and Technip, according to a French embassy statement (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Inflation data for January is out today.<\/strong> The rate of inflation accelerated to 7.1% in December after hitting multi-year lows of 2.4% in October<\/a>, thanks in large part to the easing of the base effect.<\/p>\n

Global venture capital group <\/strong>Kauffman Fellows<\/a><\/strong> is in Cairo<\/strong> for a three-day visit from Thursday, 13 February.<\/p>\n

The Central Bank of Egypt meets a week from Thursday <\/strong>to consider interest rates.<\/p>\n

enterprise<\/a><\/p>\n

Asian markets opened lower and US stock futures also dipped this morning<\/strong>, starting off a week \u201cthat may prove crucial in determining the trajectory of coronavirus cases, and in turn the prospects for a v-shaped economic recovery,\u201d Bloomberg says<\/a>. Investors are keeping an eye on how quickly the virus\u2019 reach extends beyond China, and mounting concerns have already nudged up gold prices, the business information service notes.<\/p>\n

Cryptocrime<\/strong> is very real \u2014 and rather lucrative:<\/strong> Cryptocurrency-related scams raked in nearly USD 4 bn last year amid a wave of new interest, notably from novice investors, in the fast rising currency. The Wall Street Journal details<\/a> the swift rise and fall of the most prolific fraudsters at PlusToken, the six-man operation out of Vanuatu, that single-handedly drained investors of nearly USD 2 bn last year.<\/p>\n

How stock exchanges are shifting <\/strong>towards diversification:<\/strong> Exchange operators \u2014 including NYSE\u2019s parent company Intercontinental Exchange, the London Stock Exchange Group and Nasdaq \u2014 have become \u201cdiversified multinationals,\u201d offering a host of global financial services, writes Alexander Osipovich in theWall Street Journal<\/a>. This is because it\u2019s no longer sufficiently profitable to be a mere exchange, he argues, and getting a foothold in data sales and technology is therefore an appealing alternative. NYSE\u2019s bid to acquire eBay \u2014 which it abandoned last week following investor backlash \u2014 appears to have been part of this direction towards diversification, as the exchange operator was likely looking to mine the online marketplace for data, Osipovich says.<\/p>\n

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In international miscellany:<\/p>\n