{"id":602157,"date":"2019-03-20T03:44:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T03:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/03\/20\/what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-03-20T03:44:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T03:44:15","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/03\/20\/what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 20 March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s interest rate day in the US of A. <\/b>Expect the Fed to leave rates on hold, much to the relief of emerging and frontier markets. The key element of the Fed\u2019s statement (from where we sit in EM) is the central bank\u2019s outlook, where analysts will be parsing chairman Jay Powell\u2019s words for any sign there is \u201cdeep concern lurking behind [his] patient approach,\u201d the FT writes<\/a> in its rundown of the four things to look for when Powell speaks this evening (CLT).<\/p>\n

The bond market will be paying close attention this evening to<\/b> Powell\u2019s statement<\/a> on how the bank will proceed with unwinding its asset portfolio. The Fed began reducing its USD 4.5 tn portfolio in 2017 \u2014 mainly made up of long-term Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities purchased post-2008 \u2014 and has signaled that it will end later this year. Some commentators say the run-down has increased market volatility, and Fed economists now face a \u201ccrucial decision\u201d about how they will balance the bank\u2019s Treasury portfolio going forward. The Wall Street Journal has more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a> The House of Representatives will begin hearings today on proposed amendments to the country\u2019s 2014 constitution.<\/b> The hearings will continue tomorrow and then resume next week. The domestic press reports that more than 100 people will participate today, among them academics, students, media personalities, members of civil society, and clerics from both Al Azhar and the Coptic Church. Ahram Online<\/a> has the rundown.<\/p>\n

Dame Minouche Shafik speaks this evening at AUC\u2019s Tahrir Square campus. <\/b>A former deputy governor of the Bank of England and once the youngest-ever vice president at the World Bank, Shafik is the serving director of the London School of Economics and will give the Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture<\/a> at Ewart Memorial Hall tonight. Speaking on \u201cglobal leadership in a changing world,\u201d Shafik will \u201cshare reflections from her career spanning global finance, development economics and academia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trade show:<\/b> The Trade Ministry will open a trade show today featuring products from countries including Sudan, Kuwait, Uganda, and Burkina Faso.<\/p>\n

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Your morning dose of doom and gloom, courtesy of FedEx and Samsung: <\/b>FedEx flagged \u201cserious concerns in the global economy\u201d as the company reported weaker-than-expected 3Q earnings yesterday \u2014 and cut its full-year guidance. \u201cThe multinational package delivery service reported declining international revenue as a result of unfavorable exchange rates and the negative effects of trade battles,\u201d CNBC<\/a> notes. Samsung\u2019s co-CEO, meanwhile, is quoted in a separate story<\/a> as saying: \u201cWe are expecting many difficulties this year such as slowing growth in major economies<\/b> and risks over global trade conflicts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hong Kong brokerage CLSA is losing its three top people amid a \u201cgrowing culture clash <\/b>between a western-style investment banking culture and a state-owned financial conglomerate,\u201d the FT<\/a> reports. CSLA has nibbled at Egypt on a couple of occasions through partnerships with local brokerages.<\/p>\n

Can Bitcoin recover? <\/b>The Wall Street Journal<\/a> asks what it would take to turn winter to spring with the cryptocurrency having fallen 80% from its trading high of USD 19,800 in December 2017 to USD 4,000 today.<\/p>\n

Random note: One of the lead builders of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has designed an underwater restaurant <\/b>in Norway, the Wall Street Journal<\/a> notes this morning. The first seating is on 2 April and is sold out for the next six months.<\/p>\n

In international news worth knowing this morning:<\/b><\/p>\n