{"id":578823,"date":"2023-01-16T04:11:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T04:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/16\/this-morning-happy-mlk-day-blue-monday\/"},"modified":"2023-01-16T04:11:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T04:11:09","slug":"this-morning-happy-mlk-day-blue-monday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/16\/this-morning-happy-mlk-day-blue-monday\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Happy MLK Day \/ Blue Monday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, lovely people, and happy Monday. <\/strong>To our friends in the US marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we wish you a restful holiday. And to those who subscribe to the notion that this is the single most depressing day<\/a> of the year, try dancing the bluest of Mondays away (watch, runtime: 4:07<\/a>).<\/p>\n

PSA- Expect more rain today:<\/strong> There\u2019s a good chance of intermittent, light-to-medium showers across Greater Cairo and most other parts of the country today, according to an Egyptian Meteorological Authority statement<\/a>. Our favorite weather app sees only sprinkles between 12 noon and 2pm in the capital city and a chance of showers in the early afternoon and early evening in Alexandria. Look for a daytime high of 17\u00b0C in Cairo and 18\u00b0C in Alex.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY here at home: We\u2019re getting a slight reprieve from all the EGP talk this <\/strong>morning <\/strong>after Chevron and Eni confirmed a \u201csignificant\u201d gas find in the Eastern Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

<\/a> But first, your obligatory EGP WATCH- The EGP held steady against <\/strong>the USD yesterday<\/strong>, falling less than 0.01% to settle at 29.63, down from 29.61<\/a> at the start of the day, according to the official central bank rate. The currency remains down nearly 20% from its 24.79 \/ USD level immediately before the central bank allowed it to slip further against the USD on 4 January, as authorities transition to a fully flexible exchange rate<\/a> as agreed with the IMF.<\/p>\n

Keep an eye on trading dynamics after 10:30am CLT<\/strong>, when London traders hit their desks. London was off yesterday for the weekend, but the EGP gained on the USD last Wednesday and Thursday after 10:30am, suggesting flows out of London could be playing a role.<\/p>\n

The central bank sells more t-bills on strong appetite:<\/strong> Yesterday\u2019s treasury auction<\/a> of three-month bills was more than 10x oversubscribed, receiving EGP 140.1 bn worth of bids on an EGP 13 bn sale, according to central bank figures<\/a>. It ultimately sold EGP 87.1 bn worth of bills at a weighted average yield of 20.52%. The central bank also sold EGP 10.7 bn worth of nine-month bills at a weighted average yield of 21.48% in an auction that was 1.5x oversubscribed.<\/p>\n

Local banks crack down on gold diggers: <\/strong>Banks are preparing lists of clients who it thinks are misusing their debit and credit cards to buy gold abroad using USD, putting pressure on our FX reserves, Shorouk News<\/a> reports, citing unnamed banking sources. The CBE had previously instructed banks to notify it of any misuse of cards after noticing a spike in people using their debit and credit cards to secure FX from abroad despite having never left the country. Most major banks have introduced FX purchase and withdrawal limits<\/a>abroad.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>Local gold prices saw record highs on the back of the EGP\u2019s depreciation, with the price of 21-carat gold rising to EGP 1.8k in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FROM THE RUMOR MILL-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some<\/strong> shareholders at Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) aren\u2019t fully on board <\/strong>with Compass Capital\u2019s valuation<\/strong> following last week\u2019s depreciation of the EGP, Shorouk News<\/a> reports, citing \u201cinformed sources.\u201d Compass has offered to pay EGP 30 per share to acquire a majority stake in the company \u2014 valuing it at EGP 720 mn \u2014 and was last week given the all-clear<\/a> by Pachin\u2019s board to start due diligence. But in light of recent movements in the exchange rate \u2014 which last week saw the EGP lose more than 7% against the greenback \u2014 some shareholders now reportedly believe that the offer undervalues the company, the sources reportedly said.<\/p>\n

This comes amid a bidding war<\/strong> that has seen Eagle Chemicalsoffer EGP 29.5 a share<\/a>, a 1.7% premium to the price offered by UAE\u2019s National Paints Holdings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n

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HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Davos starts today:<\/strong> Global finance, business, politics, and media players will converge on the Swiss town this week to chew over the biggest challenges facing the planet. With \u201cCooperation in a Fragmented World\u201d the chosen theme for this year\u2019s World Economic Forum<\/a>, expect discussions to be dominated by the war in Ukraine, deglobalization, and food and energy security.<\/p>\n

Representing Egypt at this year\u2019s event<\/strong> are Planning Minister Hala El Said<\/strong> and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat<\/strong>, who will take part in a number of panel discussions over the five days.<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S DOOM GLOOM IN THE BUSINESS PRESS as the jet set gathers on the slopes. <\/strong>\u201cTop<\/a>global companies write down bns as deals make way for gloom<\/a>,\u201d writes the Financial Times in its lead story this morning, adding that as much as \u201ca third of the global economy [is] forecast to be in recession this year.\u201d Two of the four big above-the-fold stories in this morning\u2019s WSJ dance to the same tune, with the Journal noting that \u201cdeclining international cooperation and commerce could shrink the global economy, particularly harming low-income countries<\/a>.\u201d It also notes that economists in its exclusive survey see a 61% chance of a recession in the United States<\/a> in the coming 12 months even as inflation cools. (More on that last bit in this morning\u2019s Planet Finance, below.)<\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- <\/strong>Egypt beat Morocco 30-19<\/a><\/strong> in the national team\u2019s second match of <\/strong>the 2023 World Men\u2019s Handball Championships yesterday. <\/strong>The victory comes after Egypt kicked off the tournament with their first-ever victory over Croatia. Egypt plays its next group stage match against the United States tomorrow at 7pm.<\/p>\n

FM Shoukry in Abu Dhabi for <\/strong>sustainability week<\/a><\/strong>: <\/strong>Foreign Minister and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry will speak at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and hold bilateral talks on climate change during the Masdar-hosted event, according to a ministry statement<\/a>. The gathering runs 14-19 January.<\/p>\n

Go deeper: <\/strong>Read about the renewables pacts signed yesterday between the UAE and South Korea at the summit in this morning\u2019s edition of Enterprise Climate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

IN THE HOUSE-<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the legislative agenda this week in the House:<\/strong><\/p>\n