{"id":597861,"date":"2019-05-07T03:31:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T03:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/05\/07\/what-were-tracking-on-07-may-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-05-07T03:31:34","modified_gmt":"2019-05-07T03:31:34","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-07-may-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/05\/07\/what-were-tracking-on-07-may-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 07 May 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to one of the slowest news days of the past year<\/b>, ladies and gentlemen.<\/p>\n

We hope your first day of fasting passed smoothly yesterday<\/b> \u2014 only have 29 more days to go. In the meantime, the Associated Press<\/a> brings us a rundown of key facts about the holy month that you can forward to foreign friends who ask basic questions: \u201cNot even water?\u201d<\/p>\n

All quiet on the news front:<\/b> We should get April inflation figures on Thursday, but apart from that our diary is looking fairly empty for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> US stocks made a \u201cbig comeback\u201d yesterday after opening deeply in the red on fears that the China-US trade war is taking a turn for the worse.<\/b> Weekend tweets from The Donald threatening new tariffs sent the market into an early tailspin, but traders shrugged off concerns as the session wore on. Analysts suggested that \u201cthe fact the stock market is near all-time highs and has been performing well may have provided some latitude for Trump,\u201d CNBC reports<\/a>. See also coverage in the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. Trump is apparently upset that China \u201creneged on [earlier] trade commitments\u201d <\/b>in the course of negotiations, the New York Times<\/a> says.<\/p>\n

But emerging markets need to brace themselves for a hit, the pundits warn. <\/b>Regardless of what happens this week, yesterday was a warning that investors are going to be looking to shed risk in the coming period, BNY Mellon\u2019s Liz Young said in a particularly cogent appearance on Bloomberg yesterday (not posted to the website as of dispatch time this morning). The riskoff and the prospect that the USD will strengthen amid trade turmoil are together bad news for EM, Young said, adding that BNY still likes emerging markets \u201cin the second half of this year.\u201d EM strategists at SEB in Stockholm and Societe Generale in Singapore agree <\/b>that the brewing trade tensions \u201cthrow a monkey wrench into the EM trade,\u201d <\/b>Bloomberg reports (more here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Egyptian shares posted their biggest decline so far this year <\/b>in very light trading yesterday, with all but three constituents of the EGX30 closing in the red. Saudi Arabia also closed down yesterday, but look for one theme in the coming months: Investors <\/b>getting out of Turkey<\/b><\/a> and <\/b>into KSA<\/b><\/a>.<\/b> How much of the excess liquidity spills into Egypt is the open question.<\/p>\n

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Central bankers in Lebanon are on strike <\/b>over threatened cuts to public spending, the Financial Times<\/a> writes, with an open-ended walkout that started on Saturday \u201cforcing the country\u2019s stock exchange to close and commercial banks to limit cash withdrawals on Monday.\u201d Reuters has extensive coverage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also on strike: Uber drivers in seven major US cities<\/b>, who are planning to walk off the job for two hours on Wednesday morning ahead of the ride-hailing company\u2019s IPO on Thursday<\/b>, according to Reuters<\/a>. The drivers are taking action against what they claim are unfair working conditions, a taxi union said.<\/p>\n

As a species, we are truly horrible for the planet. <\/b>Only a \u201c\u2018transformative change\u2019 in every aspect of how humans interact with nature\u201d will prevent as many as 1 mn animal and plant species from going extinct. \u201cNature everywhere is declining at a speed never previously seen and our need for ever more food and energy are the main drivers,\u201d the BBC<\/a> reports, citing a new UN study out yesterday. See the New York Times<\/a> and Nature<\/a> for more. We have an extended take in our Worth Reading this morning.<\/p>\n

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The celebrity news world is abuzz with the arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle\u2019s first child.<\/b> The newborn boy is now seventh in line to the British throne, the New York Times notes<\/a>. Newborns in the royal family are usually the subject of \u201cuncommon fascination,\u201d but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s son is also significant due to his being \u201cthe first multiracial baby in the British monarchy\u2019s recent history.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What we\u2019re tracking today, the Ramadan Edition:<\/b><\/p>\n

A pre-iftar reading list to kill time<\/b> between your post-workout shower and the breaking of the fast:<\/p>\n