{"id":595998,"date":"2019-08-18T04:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-08-18T04:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/08\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-august-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-08-18T04:00:47","modified_gmt":"2019-08-18T04:00:47","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-18-august-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/08\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-august-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 18 August 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The central bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee is set to meet this Thursday, 22 August to review key interest rates.<\/b> Three-quarters of economists we polled believe that the central bank will cut rates for the first time since February. We have more on this in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will be in France next week to attend the G7 Summit<\/b>, which will run from Sunday to Tuesday in Biarritz.<\/p>\n

The National Cancer Institute reopened yesterday<\/b> following the deadly car bombing earlier this month, Cairo University president Mohamed Al Khosht told Al Masry Al Youm<\/a>. The institute was closed after a car bomb on 4 August<\/a> killed 20 people and injured 47 others. Cairo University and Arab Contractors Company are still in the process of repairing the building, Khosht said, but confirmed that patients yesterday began to be readmitted for treatment.<\/p>\n

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You know what\u2019s really bad for markets? All these headlines about how bad things are going for markets.<\/b> An economic slowdown could be essentially summoned by \u201calarmist headlines\u201d that stir sentiment in the wrong direction, and would require \u201cpolitical will to head off,\u201d El Erian said<\/a> in a Bloomberg Radio interview. \u201cWe may end up in a situation where people read these alarmist headlines, they get concerned, they stop spending. As they stop spending, companies stop investing. And then we get a major slowdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> Pimco: Unreported Chinese loans are the \u201cbiggest risk for EMs right now\u201d:<\/b> Unreported loans given to emerging-market governments by Chinese state-owned banks are the \u201cbiggest risk for EMs right now,\u201d Erin Browne, a portfolio manager at Pimco, told MarketWatch<\/a>. The size and terms of many overseas loans issued by Chinese banks are not disclosed, a problem for EM bondholders who have no way of ascertaining a bank\u2019s creditworthiness or the restructuring process that will be followed in the event of default. \u201cLending by sovereigns that are not part of the official institutional sector is the biggest risk for emerging markets right now - it clouds the waters with respect to how official sector involvement will be during times of distress,\u201d Browne said. \u201cThat debt is not transparent to the IMF and to other borrowers that have issued to these countries. If they were to default, or if they were to go in a period of distress, it would be contingent on China setting the rules in terms of working out that debt,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Fitch downgraded Argentina\u2019s sovereign debt rating to CCC on currency concerns following primary elections<\/b>, pushing it deeper into junk territory, according to the Financial Times (paywall)<\/a>. Deteriorating market sentiment following the victory of Alberto Fernandez over Mauricio Macri in the country\u2019s primary elections, and the ensuing sharp depreciation in the ARS and widening of sovereign debt spreads \u201cposes a major setback to macroeconomic stabilisation efforts and sovereign financing conditions.\u201d This could hurt sovereign liquidity and increase debt sustainability risks, Fitch said.<\/p>\n

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Whistleblower accuses GE of fraud worse than Enron:<\/b> Harry Markopolos, the whistleblower who exposed the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, is accusing General Electric of USD bns-worth of fraud following a yearlong investigation into the company on behalf of a hedge fund, according to the Guardian<\/a>. \u201cGE\u2019s USD 38 bn in accounting fraud amounts to over 40% of GE\u2019s market capitalization, making it far more serious than either the Enron or WorldCom accounting frauds,\u201d Markopolos said in his report, \u201cGeneral Electric, a Bigger Fraud than Enron.\u201d The accusations caused GE\u2019s shares to plummet 15%.<\/p>\n

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Sudan\u2019s civilian, military leaders sign final transitional government agreement:<\/b> Sudan\u2019s Forces of Freedom and Chance (FFC) opposition coalition and the Transitional Military Council (TMC) have signed the final power-sharing agreement that will see a \u201csovereign council\u201d set up to rule the country for a transitional three-year period until elections are held, Reuters reports<\/a>. The council will include five members nominated by the TMC, five by the FFC, and one agreed on by both parties. The council\u2019s members will be announced later today, but the TMC has already reportedly nominated its head Abdel Fattah Al Burhan to lead the council and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan \u201cHemeti\u201d Daglo to be second in charge, Sky News Arabia reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly <\/b>attended the signing<\/b><\/a>, <\/b>alongside African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and representatives from Saudi and the UAE. The parties signed a constitutional declaration earlier this month<\/a> after weeks of negotiations that followed the ouster of former Sudanese strongman Omar Al Bashir in April.<\/p>\n

In other international news:<\/p>\n