{"id":598378,"date":"2019-05-23T03:44:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T03:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/05\/23\/what-were-tracking-on-23-may-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-05-23T03:44:46","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T03:44:46","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-23-may-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/05\/23\/what-were-tracking-on-23-may-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 23 May 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s interest rate day<\/b> and the consensus<\/a> among 12 economists we polled is that the central bank will leave rates on hold, while three of the 14 Reuters<\/a> polled are calling rate cuts of 50-100 bps. The central bank left rates unchanged<\/a> at its last meeting in March, after cutting the overnight deposit and lending rates<\/a> to 15.75% and 16.75% in February.<\/p>\n

Across the pond, the Fed is looking set to hold off on easing \u201cfor some time,\u201d <\/b>according to minutes released yesterday of the last meeting of the FOMC, Reuters reports<\/a>. That position could come under pressure if The Donald appoints Judy Shelton to US Federal Reserve\u2019s board. Shelton is a conservative economist and former Trump campaign advisor who has been a consistent critic of the Fed. The WSJ<\/a> and the New York Times<\/a> have the story.<\/p>\n

\n

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is embarking on a tour of several African countries tomorrow<\/b>, Al Ahram reports<\/a>. The president is set to visit South Africa, Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n

\n

KUDOS #1- Lifesaving healthcare tech.<\/b> UNAIDS has recognized Retrago, a needle made locally by the Arab Medical Equipment Company<\/a>, as a top 20 global healthcare innovation. AMECO CEO Omar El Fata presented Retrago in Geneva yesterday to 100 ministers of health meeting for the World Health Organization\u2019s assembly. After a single use, Retrago automatically retracts the exposed needle to prevent re-usage and the spread of diseases like HIV-AIDS and hepatitis C. See it in action here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

KUDOS #2- CIB is the top Egyptian company on African Business\u2019 list of top 250 companies<\/b>, which ranks the continent\u2019s publicly listed businesses<\/a> by market capitalization. CIB was 27th on the list this year, up from 35th last year. In total, 39 Egyptian companies made the 2019 list, five more than last year. Among the Egyptian companies new to the list this year include Cleopatra Hospitals<\/b> (#161), Samcrete<\/b> (184), MM Group<\/b> (244) and Egypt Chemical Industries<\/b> (or Kima, as it\u2019s better known, 248). A snapshot of CIB\u2019s ranking is here (jpg)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

KUDOS #3- The Egyptian Junior Business Association recognized 33 members of the business community<\/b> at its annual suhour on Monday night. Among those honored were our friends Qalaa Holdings Managing Director Hisham El Khazindar<\/b>, Edita Chairman Hani Berzi<\/b> and Elsewedy Electric Chairman Ahmed Elsewedy<\/b> as well as Al Ahly Real Estate Development Chairman Hussein Sabbour<\/b> and Bishara Textile Company Founding Partner and designer Marie-Louis Bishara<\/b>. Also in the spotlight were the founders of startups including Halan, Vezeeta and Wuzzuf, among others. Full details in this emailed statement (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RANDOM NOTE- \u201cEgyptian-born and Canada-raised actor Mena Massoud\u201d has the as Aladdin in the eponymous Disney live action flick<\/b> starring Will Smith as Genie. The film opens today in Egypt<\/a> and tomorrow in the United States<\/a>. Catch the trailer here (watch, runtime: 2:15<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence could destroy almost a fifth of jobs across global capital markets<\/b> as AI, data analytics and automation render them obsolete, research by Opimas has found<\/a>. The consultancy firm expects the sector\u2019s employee headcount to fall by around 400k to 1.7 mn by 2030. Fund managers will be among the hardest-hit companies, Opimas says, predicting that a third of jobs will be lost in the industry.<\/p>\n

Trade-war refugees could find a haven in emerging markets: <\/b>It wasn\u2019t this way the last time blood ran in the streets, Bloomberg Opinion<\/a>\u2019s Nir Kaissar argues, but emerging markets could outperform US equities during the next downturn. Why? \u201cThe longer-term outlook favors emerging markets \u2026 <\/b>The drivers of future stock returns \u2014 earnings growth, dividend yield and change in valuation \u2014 all point to higher returns from emerging markets than the US.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do boutique firms have it in them to challenge the bulge bracket for tech IPOs? <\/b>There\u2019s blood in the water and opportunity in the air as tech companies (a) opt for direct listings<\/a> (see Slack, Spotify) and (b) question, along with their VC backers, the basic competence of the big boys at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan. What\u2019s prompted the handwringing? IPO flops from Uber and Lyft. The Financial Times<\/a> has more on the shifting sands.<\/p>\n

Want more? <\/b>Go read one of the most-clicked links in Enterprise this week as Vanity Fair<\/a> argues that the underwriters were the only ones who made out like bandits on Uber's IPO flop.<\/p>\n

\n

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