{"id":571047,"date":"2020-04-28T03:32:46","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T03:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/04\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-april-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-04-28T03:32:46","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T03:32:46","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-28-april-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/04\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-april-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 28 April 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

BIG NEWS AT HOME- Egypt is reportedly looking to get USD 3 bn from the International <\/strong>Monetary Fund<\/strong> under the one-year rapid financing instrument and the stand-by arrangement thatthe government has requested<\/a>, according to a report in Al Shorouk<\/a> citing an unnamed government official. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly did not disclose the size of Egypt\u2019s funding request to the lender, but analysts expect the figure to range between USD 2.8 bn and USD 4 bn.<\/p>\n

<\/a> BIG NEWS ABROAD- There are (very early) suggestions that the first several mn doses<\/strong> of a vaccine could be available in September. <\/strong>\u201cIn the worldwide race for a vaccine to stop the coronavirus, the laboratory sprinting fastest is at Oxford University,\u201d former NYT Cairo bureau chief David Kirkpatrick writes for the Gray Lady this morning<\/a>, noting that researchers at the Jenner Institute \u201cnow say that with an emergency approval from regulators, the first few mn doses of their vaccine could be available by September\u201d \u2014 if it works. The Oxford team expects to kick off mass clinical trials of their vaccine by the end of May.<\/p>\n

Why is the Oxford team so optimistic its vaccine might work? <\/strong>Because scientists in the US last month \u201cinoculated six rhesus macaque monkeys with single doses of the Oxford vaccine. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the virus that is causing the pandemic \u2014 exposure that had consistently sickened other monkeys in the lab. But more than 28 days later all six were healthy.\u201d The story comes as the global case count for covid-19 broke the 3 mn barrier overnight<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Big news to start a very, very slow newsday<\/strong> \u2014 you\u2019re reading what we figure is the shortest issue of Enterprise in \u2026 three or more years.<\/p>\n

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MORNING MUST-READ- <\/strong>It\u2019s time for companies to shift from \u201cjust in time\u201d to \u201cjust in<\/a><\/strong>case,\u201d<\/a><\/strong> the Financial Times\u2019 editorial board writes. In the pursuit of \u201cmaximum shareholder value\u201d and \u201cefficiency,\u201d businesses have \u201csacrificed robustness, resilience and effectiveness. In many cases, they will turn out to have sacrificed the business itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investors are going to \u201cshun fragile business models. <\/strong>Equity and bond markets are already discriminating sharply in favour of fundraising requests from companies with strong balance sheets and high credit ratings.\u201d Winners could be those who are not just robust and flexible, but actively \u201canti-fragile\u201d \u2014 outfits that can thrive and grow on chaos, if you want to oversimplify Nassim Nicholas Taleb\u2019s Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Got fasting<\/strong> brain and not in the mood to read Antifragile?<\/strong> Start with this video of a presentation and panel discussion featuring Taleb back in 2013 (watch, runtime: 19:19<\/a>) or this longer presentation by Taleb Microsoft Research (watch, runtime: 1:05:53<\/a>). Got time? Watch the longer talk.<\/p>\n

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The markets this morning: <\/strong>Asian markets are down in early trading this morning and futures at dispatch time suggest Europe will open in the green and US shares in the red later today. The EGX30 closed flat yesterday with total turnover of about EGP 1 bn, or 51% above the trailing 90-day average.<\/p>\n

So, when do we eat? <\/strong>Maghrib prayers are at 6:31pm and you\u2019ll have until 3:40am to finish caffeinating. Fajr is coming one minute earlier every day through the end of the Holy Month.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 IN EGYPT-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Egypt has now identified a total of 4,782 confirmed cases of covid-19<\/strong> after the Health<\/a>Ministry reported<\/a> 248 new infections yesterday. The ministry also said that another 20 people had died from the virus, the highest single-day death toll to date<\/strong>, taking the total number of deaths since the outbreak began to 337. We now have a total of 1,602 confirmed cases that have since tested negative for the virus after being hospitalized or isolated, of whom 1,236 have fully recovered.<\/p>\n

A journalist for Al Khamis newspaper is among the dead<\/strong>, State Information Service and Journalists\u2019 Syndicate chief Diaa Rashwan said. Al Masry Al Youm<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n

The Coptic church has reported two clergy members <\/strong>are the first church officials to have been infected with the virus that causes covid-19, Ahram Online<\/a> writes.<\/p>\n

The Foreign Ministry has resumed notary services as of Sunday<\/strong> following Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly\u2019s decision last week to relax some covid-19 restrictions throughout Ramadan, according to the local press<\/a>. The office provides authentication services for Egyptian documents that need to be submitted to foreign agencies and institutions, such as diplomas and marriage certificates.<\/p>\n

Some Justice Ministry registry offices are also now open<\/strong>, but offering a limited list of services.<\/p>\n

Still closed:<\/strong> Passport services for nationals as well as visa and work permits for foreign residents.<\/p>\n

The Egyptian Businessmen's Association is lobbying Cabinet for a raft of measures to <\/strong>support businesses <\/strong>struggling with the impact of the covid-19, according to Hapi Journal<\/a>. Among the measures proposed by the association:<\/p>\n