{"id":592058,"date":"2019-12-25T04:24:28","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T04:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/12\/25\/what-were-tracking-on-wednesday-25-december-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-12-25T04:24:28","modified_gmt":"2019-12-25T04:24:28","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-wednesday-25-december-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/12\/25\/what-were-tracking-on-wednesday-25-december-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on Wednesday, 25 December 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merry Christmas, everybody.<\/strong> We hope you\u2019re spending it with plenty of family, friends and gifts (even if you do have to come in to work today). If you\u2019re not planning a fun day out, let Netflix (Hulu or Amazon Prime) help keep the family celebrating, with the platforms coming out with a host of shows and movies for the holiday season. The Independent has a list of films<\/a> you can catch on the streaming platform.<\/p>\n

And let the countdown to NYE begin.<\/strong> We go on our annual publication holiday on Wednesday, 1 January and will be back the following Wednesday (8 January).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s hope the CBE ends the year on a high note<\/strong>, as the central bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee meets tomorrow for the final time in 2019 to decide on interest rates. Seven of 10 economists we surveyed<\/a> expect the committee to hold off on delivering the fifth rate cut of the year on the back of a slight uptick in inflation in November and uncertainty over December\u2019s figures. Most respondents say the CBE will adopt a wait-and-see approach as it gauges the impact of the previous cuts. A Reuters poll of economists<\/a><\/strong> had similar results<\/strong>, with nine out of 14 expecting the central bank to keep rates on hold.<\/p>\n

The minority expecting a rate cut on Thursday see it in the 50-100 bps range. <\/strong>Among the reasons they cite are an already \u201cexceptionally low inflation rate\u201d and high real interest rates to continue attracting carry traders.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Expect low trading volumes on the EGX to continue until after the holidays<\/strong>, Naeem Brokerage\u2019s Tarek Abazza says<\/a>. The EGX30\u2019s turnover yesterday was EGP 382 mn, or around 40% below the trailing 90-day average. Analysts told Reuters\u2019 Arabic service earlier this month<\/a> that volumes have fallen a little over 40% since 2017, attributing the fall to low trading volumes and a lack of new listings weighing heavily on the Egyptian exchange\u2019s ability to attract investors.<\/p>\n

PSA- The national weather service is still warning of cool, windy weather<\/strong> from now through Friday morning. Look for daytime highs of 19\u00b0C plunging to 9\u00b0C overnight on Thursday with winds of more than 30 km\/h.<\/p>\n

enterprise<\/a>Take a step into our phenomenal world & celebrate 2020 with The Lemon Tree & Co. at Somabay. Family & Friends Reunion IV, Music Festival is happening on the 29th & 30th of December and the celebration extends to NYE, December 31st where GALERIE presents a full night of elegance, admiration & laughter. For reservations: http:\/\/nye2020tlt.com\/<\/p>\n

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So what, exactly, is happening with the Investment Ministry and GAFI? <\/strong>Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly clarified to the press on Tuesday just what exactly is happening with the Investment Ministry and the General Authority for Freezones and Investments (GAFI). He made it clear that, as of Sunday\u2019s cabinet shuffle, there is no Investment Ministry, and that GAFI will operate under the jurisdiction of the cabinet, according to Al Mal<\/a>. The cabinet shuffle thattook place on Sunday<\/a> saw Sahar Nasr exiting as an investment minister, with Madbouly taking over the portfolio. He said then the decision was to help untangle the bureaucracy of investment and streamline policy.<\/p>\n

Egyptian-Greek-Cypriot alliance leans on France to scare off Turkey: <\/strong>Our fair capital will play host to a summit between Cairo, Athens, Nicosia, and Paris on 4 or 5 January, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias announced yesterday in an interview<\/a>. While no details are yet out about the purpose or agenda of this meeting, you have to figure it has something to do with Turkey\u2019s recent signing and ratification<\/a> of a military accord with Libya\u2019s Government of National Accord, which is led by Tripoli-based Prime Minister Fayez Al Serraj. France and Egypt are leading supporters of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, Al Serraj\u2019s rival in the east.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had a discussion about issues of \u201ccommon interest\u201d with Greek Prime Minister<\/strong> Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to an Ittihadiya statement<\/a>. The two also talked trilateral cooperation with Cyprus.<\/p>\n

Greece and Cyprus also have a bone to pick with Turkey over the East Mediterrannean gas fields<\/strong>, as Turkey opposes the regional cooperation of East Mediterrannean countries without the inclusion of Turkish Cyprus.<\/p>\n

We have other friends, too:<\/strong> Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the Libya issue with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in a phone call yesterday, according to a Cabinet statement<\/a>. Shoukry also had a chat with the UN special envoy to Libya, the statement says without providing further details.<\/p>\n

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*** Tell us what you think will happen in 2020 and maybe we\u2019ll send you an Enterprise <\/strong>mug and our very own coffee:<\/strong> Every year we ask you, our readers, to weigh in on what you expect for the year ahead: Are you investing? Do you plan to hire new staff in 2020? How do you think the EGP will perform? What\u2019s your take on interest rates? Tell us, and we\u2019ll share the results with the entire community in early January to help you shape your view of the year. The survey is quick, we promise.<\/p>\n

You can take the Enterprise Reader Poll here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Get into the holiday spirit: <\/strong>The EGX is only up 6% heading into the final trading days of the year, but global stock markets are now worth nearly USD 90 tn, having gained USD 17 tn in value this year, CNBC<\/a> says, citing figures from Deutsche Bank. Get your fix of nostalgia with the FT\u2019s The big market moments of 2019<\/a><\/strong>, which recaps the \u201ccentral bankers, politicians and companies with grand ideas\u201d this past year.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Celebrations of the global equity and debt rally continue<\/strong>, with the Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/a>proclaiming that stocks and bonds haven\u2019t grown this much since 1998, despite the US-China trade war and Brexit fears. The S&P 500 has soared 28.6% this year, while a bond rally has pushed the yield on the benchmark 10-year US treasury note down 75 bps.<\/p>\n

A touch of irrational exuberance?<\/strong> But as the market rally continues, warnings are sounding that US corporate debt is rising to unsustainable levels. This time, it\u2019s coming from Bloomberg Opinion\u2019s John Authors<\/a> (the former FT hand), who warns that the number of \u201cintangible\u201d US-listed companies \u2014 outfits with \u201cnegative tangible book value, meaning that their tangible assets aren\u2019t worth enough to repay all their debt\u201d \u2014 have grown to 40% of US stocks, up from 15% 20 years ago. He blames \u201crapacious financial engineers and private equity investors<\/strong>\u201d who have taken over companies, sold their physical assets and \/ or extensively leveraged them rather than invest in new assets that make something.<\/p>\n

Santa\u2019s 2019 naughty list:<\/strong><\/p>\n