{"id":572610,"date":"2020-07-01T04:56:09","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T04:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/07\/01\/what-were-tracking-on-1-july-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-07-01T04:56:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T04:56:09","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-1-july-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/07\/01\/what-were-tracking-on-1-july-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 1 July 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the first day of 2H2020, everyone <\/strong>\u2014 offering faint hope of a new start after a period in which the (only?) winners globally appear to have been investors in US equities, as Wall Street closed yesterday its best quarter in more than 20 years<\/a>. The Dow and S&P have trimmed their losses for the year to single digit percentages, while the Nasdaq is now up 12% since 1 January (which feels like what \u2026 three years ago?). Closer to home, the EGX30 is down 22.9% <\/strong>year-to-date.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the first day of the state\u2019s new fiscal year<\/strong>, with electricity prices set to rise 16-30%<\/a>, a new 1% surtax on all employee salaries<\/a> expected to go into effect for one year, and a 14% rise in pensions<\/a> becoming effective this morning.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t look now, but there\u2019s another virus brewing in China with pandemic potential \u2014<\/strong> and it could be a nasty one. <\/strong>Top US virus expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned yesterday that there is an emerging<\/strong> strain of swine flu found showing similarities to H1N1 and the 1918 flu<\/strong>, which he said health officials are \u201ckeeping a close eye on.\u201d The strain \u2014 dubbed G4 EA H1N1 \u2014 hasn\u2019t yet been detected in humans but shows the potential for \u201creassortment capabilities\u201d that could see it mutate into a contractible virus, MSNBC<\/a> reports. It\u2019s not \u201can immediate threat where you're seeing infections, but it's something we need to keep our eye on,\u201d Fauci said.<\/p>\n

What to do is simple enough that even a first-year analyst can model it:<\/strong> \u201cWe find a national [facemask] mandate could ... cut the daily growth rate of confirmed cases by 1.0pp to 0.6% ... a face mask mandate could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5% from GDP<\/strong>,\u201d Goldman Sachs writes<\/a>, speaking to the situation in the United States.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> On a much brighter note: <\/strong>Our international airspace officially reopens this morning<\/strong>, allowing regularly scheduled commercial flights in and out of the country for the first time since the government imposed a ban in March.<\/p>\n

The first EgyptAir flight taking off from Cairo today is heading to London<\/strong>, Al Masry Al<\/a>Youm<\/a> reports, citing an unnamed source at Cairo International Airport. The flight is expected to depart at 9:10am with 265 passengers on board. EgyptAir has <\/strong>25 active destinations<\/a><\/strong> as of this morning<\/strong>, with six more scheduled to start between 8 and 15 July. Not on the list: Turkey<\/strong>, where flights are unlikely to resume before August, Masrawy<\/a> reports, citing aviation ministry sources.<\/p>\n

Egypt is the #1 destination for Emiratis looking for a post-lockdown holiday<\/strong>, according to data provided by travel search engine Wego, the National<\/a> reports. Would-be holidaymakers are mostly searching for bookings to Egypt, while India, the Philippines, Turkey and Sudan rounded off the top 5, the company said.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not a citizen, you\u2019re not headed to the EU anytime soon. <\/strong>Egypt isn\u2019t on the final list<\/a>of 14 countries<\/a> whose residents will be allowed into the Schengen area, which is starting to reopen to outside visitors today. The main criteria for inclusion on the list is an infection rate below 16 per 100k people and a declining new case rate.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t worry, <\/strong>you won\u2019t be rubbing elbows with the Griswolds<\/a><\/strong> if you are indeed able to make it to Europe. The US has also been left off<\/a> the list.<\/p>\n

So who is allowed to plan a European vacation?<\/strong> The list includes Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay. Incoming travelers from China will also be permitted to enter Europe \u2014 making it 15 countries \u2014 if China moves to allow European travelers to enter its borders.<\/p>\n

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PSA- You\u2019re off work tomorrow as Egypt observes the anniversary of the 30 June <\/strong>Revolution. <\/strong>We\u2019re off, too, but will be back in your inboxes at the appointed hour on Sunday morning. Enjoy the break, everyone.<\/p>\n

PSA #2- State banks and the Egyptian Exchange are closed<\/strong> today and tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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News triggers coming up in July:<\/strong><\/p>\n