{"id":600937,"date":"2019-02-14T04:04:38","date_gmt":"2019-02-14T04:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/02\/14\/what-were-tracking-on-14-february-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-02-14T04:04:38","modified_gmt":"2019-02-14T04:04:38","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-14-february-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/02\/14\/what-were-tracking-on-14-february-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 14 February 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> It is interest rate day, and the consensus is clear: Expect rates to be left on hold.<\/b> The central bank\u2019s monetary policy committee meets today to decide on interest rates. Nine of 11 economists we polled on Monday<\/a> believe that the Central Bank of Egypt will leave rates on hold. Fitch Solutions<\/a> thinks the same, saying it sees scope for the bank kick off a rate-cutting cycle in 2H2019 as price pressures cool. \u201cThat said, the pace of easing will likely be gradual amid more challenging external conditions and persistent risks of capital flight.\u201d Economists polled by Reuters yesterday<\/a> held the same view.<\/p>\n

(Speaking of interest rates: El Erian sees the Fed, too, leaving rates on hold \u2014 possibly for the rest of the year. <\/b>The US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates this year and may even cut them in 2020, Bloomberg columnist and Allianz chief economic adviser Mohamed El Erian told Bloomberg (watch, runtime: 4:56)<\/a>. \u201cEven though the US economy will continue to do well, the Fed is likely to stay on hold for this year, and the balance of risk is towards a cut for next year,\u201d he said. Why the dramatic policy reversal? <\/b>The Fed\u2019s hand may be forced by a deteriorating European economy and ineffectual stimulus measures in China, rather than a recession in the US, El Erian said.)<\/p>\n

The House of Representatives will vote \u201cin principle\u201d on a motion to amend the constitution today,<\/b> House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal said<\/a>. The House began a guided debate yesterday on whether to approve the amendments in principle and, if so, why, Ahram Online suggested. If approved in a roll-call vote (which requires each MP to vote publicly, one-by-one), the amendments will be referred to the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee and then put to a final vote at the House\u2019s general assembly. Abdel Aal suggested the committee may not be allowed to add additional amendments to the package<\/b>. We have coverage of international reaction to the proposed amendments in this morning\u2019s Egypt in the News section, below.<\/p>\n

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Two stories dominate the global business press <\/b>this morning:<\/p>\n