{"id":575901,"date":"2020-11-03T04:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T04:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/11\/03\/what-were-tracking-on-3-november-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-11-03T04:00:19","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T04:00:19","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-3-november-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/11\/03\/what-were-tracking-on-3-november-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 3 November 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning ladies and gents. <\/strong>It\u2019s the first hump day of November, and two stories have really captured our attention.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- We just got another warning that at least some covid-19 restrictions could come back <\/strong>into effect. <\/strong>Authorities may have to take \u201cdifficult decisions\u201d to reimpose some restrictions that were in place earlier in the pandemic if citizens continue to flout social distancing and precautionary measures such as wearing masks, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly warned during a cabinet meeting yesterday<\/a>. It\u2019s the second time in less than two weeks<\/a> that Madbouly has issued this type of warning, having earlier said that soaring case numbers in neighboring countries are cause for significant concern.<\/p>\n

The PM has a point:<\/strong> It only takes a short walk through the streets of the capital to see that all of us \u2014 from every walk of life \u2014 have largely \u201ccancelled\u201d covid. Madbouly repeated yesterday his call for authorities to fine people for not wearing masks in public transportation, malls, and government buildings. Bloomberg<\/a> also covered Madbouly\u2019s statements.<\/p>\n

Cases have been creeping up in the past few days:<\/strong> The Health Ministry reported<\/a> 189 new cases yesterday, the highest daily figure since 31 August<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

But a full lockdown still seems unlikely<\/strong>, with even Health Minister Hala Zayed seeming to<\/a>take a second lockdown off the table<\/a> a couple of weeks back, even if we begin to see a serious spike in cases.<\/p>\n

Covid was topic du jour on the airwaves last night:<\/strong> Kelma Akhira\u2019s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 16:31)<\/a>, Al Hayah Al Youm\u2019s Lobna Assal (watch, runtime: 9:13)<\/a>, Masaa DMC\u2019s Eman El Hosary (watch, runtime: 9:40)<\/a> and Ala Mas\u2019ouleety\u2019s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 7:29)<\/a> all featured segments on the PM\u2019s statements yesterday.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- It\u2019s election day in the US \u2014 <\/strong>Anxiety, chaos and patience are the key themes running through the global press\u2019 coverage this morning as Americans head out to the polls.<\/p>\n

The key question as polling stations open: Whose ballot will count?<\/strong> Anything other than a landslide victory for either candidate may well end up in a bitter legal battle \u2014 at the center of which will be the validity of mail-in ballots. The Donald has already tried (and failed) to launch lawsuits against mail-in ballots in the states of Texas and Nevada, the Financial Times<\/a> reports. Trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in ballots, claiming that they will be used to commit election fraud. A major point of contention for the president surrounds absentee ballots posted before election day but which do not arrive until after 3 November. Trump insists that these votes will not be counted, eliciting a strong response from the Michigan attorney-general who described a failure to count all the ballots as tantamount to a \u201ccoup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wondering where to watch it all go down?<\/strong> Everyone and their mothers will have live coverage as the results start to trickle in. CBS News<\/a> has a live election coverage and results stream scheduled to start at midnight CLT tonight, ABC News<\/a> is streaming its news on YouTube, while CNN will be live with its traditional all night coverage. Until then, for a comprehensive look at all the potential developments, FiveThirtyEight<\/a> has you covered with a series of graphs that update based on new polls and results as they come in. You can also get live election news on The New York Times<\/a>. And for those of you tired of legacy media, Joe Rogan will be live-streaming on YouTube<\/a> all night long. Check out his channel later tonight.<\/p>\n

And if you want to get nerdy with it:<\/strong> The Wall Street Journal<\/a> has an hour-by-hour breakdown of when polls close in states across the country, when we\u2019re likely to start seeing results, and what to keep your eye on.<\/p>\n

What are the pundits saying? <\/strong>FiveThirtyEight\u2019s Nate Silver is warning \u201cI\u2019m here to remind you<\/a>that Trump can still win<\/a>,\u201d writing that \u201ca 10 percent chance isn\u2019t zero. And there\u2019s a chance of a recount, too.\u201d 270toWin has Biden taking 290 electoral votes<\/a> to Trump\u2019s 163.<\/p>\n

A sign of things to come \u2014 or the calm before the storm?<\/strong> Global stock markets finished in the green across the board yesterday as investors positioned themselves ahead of the vote. Coming off their worst week since March, US stocks rebounded as the Dow closed the session up 1.6% and the S&P 500 up 1.2%. Apple and Amazon held back the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which closed 0.4% in the green. Over in Europe, major indexes all gained 1-2%.<\/p>\n

Asian markets were all up in early trading this morning<\/strong> while markets in the US and Europe are looking like they\u2019ll see gains when they open later.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let the green fool you:<\/strong> The VIX measure of stock market volatility remained high during trading yesterday, while yields on US treasuries and German bunds both fell, indicating increased risk-off sentiment.<\/p>\n

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PSA for Apple nerds: There\u2019s one more thing. <\/strong>How long is it that you\u2019ve waited for someone at Apple to utter those words from the stage? They\u2019re not coming at the end of a keynote, but you\u2019ll still want to make sure your credit card is at hand next week: Apple is holding what looks set to be its final product unveiling of 2020 under the banner of \u201cOne more thing.\u201d Expectations are that the faithful will be rewarded with Macs powered by Apple silicon and perhaps those tracking tags. The event streams on Tuesday, 10 November at 8pm CLT. You can stream it here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s PMI day<\/strong>, with the gauge due out here<\/a> at 6:15am, just a few minutes after our traditional dispatch time. Egypt\u2019s private sector finally entered expansion territory for the first time in 14 months in September<\/a>, driven by a strong rise in consumer demand and strengthened business activity. October PMI figures for Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also set to be released today.<\/p>\n

The Egypt Romania business council is meeting today<\/strong> with 15 Romanian companies and the Romanian deputy economy minister in attendance, the local press<\/a>reports. A delegation of Romanian companies yesterday held talks<\/a> with the Arab Organization for Industrialization to discuss joint projects in a range of sectors including defence, IT and solar energy.<\/p>\n

GERD negotiations will continue today, and possibly Wednesday<\/strong>, as legal and technical representatives of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan prepare their recommendations on the framework for future negotiations and the role of observers ahead of Thursday\u2019s ministerial committee meeting, the Sudanese Irrigation Ministry said in a statement<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n

Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki is in Portugal to talk military cooperation<\/strong> with Portuguese officials over the course of several days, according to aministry statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The second phase of House elections kick off tomorrow<\/strong>, when Egyptians abroad going to the polls. Casting their ballots are folks registered in Cairo, Dakalia, Qalyubia, Menofia, Gharbia, Kafr El Sheikh, Sharqia, Damietta, Port Said, Ismailia, Suez, North Sinai and South Sinai. Expats have until Friday to vote. Polls open for voters here at home on 7-8 November.<\/p>\n

Other news triggers to keep your eye on:<\/strong><\/p>\n