{"id":623003,"date":"2018-10-18T03:43:23","date_gmt":"2018-10-18T03:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-october-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-10-18T03:43:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T03:43:23","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-18-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-october-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 18 October 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a slow news morning in Egypt and global markets alike. <\/strong>The biggest news here at home as we slide into the weekend is the prospect of better terms on oil and gas contracts. Globally, the conversation is dominated by the Khashoggi affair and Canada becoming yesterday the second country in the world to legalize pot.<\/p>\n

<\/a> ** #5 A search committee is vetting potential CEOs to lead Egypt\u2019s first sovereign wealth fund and will soon have a short list<\/strong>, a source close to the search tells us. \u201cThe position needs careful consideration to guarantee that the CEO builds and leads a strong independent institution\u201d that helps Egypt make the best of its assets and resources, the source said. Meanwhile, the executive regulations for the law governing the SWF are being finalized and should be ready for cabinet review by the beginning of November, we\u2019re told.<\/p>\n

A ray of sunshine for EM as earnings season in American unfolds: <\/strong>A better-than-expected earnings season in the US drove global equity markets yesterday, Reuters reports<\/a>. Asian and European shares each recorded gains throughout the day, with easing Saudi-US tensions and the improvement of Turkey\u2019s currency situation improving sentiment. \u201cThe more cheerful mood also favored emerging-market currencies and took steam out of the safe-haven yen. The latest investor survey by BofA Merrill Lynch found fund managers now considered emerging-market currencies the most undervalued ever<\/strong> against the USD.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Khashoggi Affair: Turkey isn\u2019t easing off the gas as it keeps pressure on Saudi Arabia \u2014 and <\/strong>mends fences<\/strong><\/a> with United States. <\/strong>Turkish intelligence officials leaked highlights of what they claim are audio recordings of dissident Saudi\u2019s journalist Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s final moments. The recordings reportedly reveal that Khashoggi \u201cwas dead within minutes, beheaded, dismembered, his fingers severed,\u201d an unnamed Turkish official tells the New York Times<\/a>. \u201cWithin two hours the killers were gone.\u201d US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in KSA to help contain the affair, and rumors had surfaced earlier this week<\/a>, suggesting Saudi was about to admit Khashoggi was killed during an interrogation gone wrong. President Donald Trump said the US has asked for a copy of the recording \u201cif it exists,\u201d according to the FT<\/a>. As we noted yesterday, an investigation<\/a> led by former NYT Cairo bureau chief David Kirkpatrick found that nine of the 15 suspects implicated by Turkey \u201cworked for the Saudi government, military or security services.\u201d<\/p>\n

IMF boss Christine Lagarde is the latest to pull out of a <\/strong>Saudi\u2019s \u201cDavos in the Desert,\u201d<\/strong><\/a> the Financial Times<\/a> reports. The Wall Street Journal<\/a> says Saudi Arabia is now \u201crelying on its regional allies to salvage\u201d the conference. Axios has an epic list<\/a> of the business leaders who have pulled out.<\/p>\n

Canada became only the second country in the world to legalize pot yesterday<\/strong>, where happy would-be tokers found long lines and supply chain kinks \u2014 and shares in cannabis producers closed down<\/a> as analysts said the likely upside of legalization had already been priced in. Heck, a former Canadian prime minister even joined the board of directors of a US weed grower, the Financial Times<\/a> reports. Read more in the Globe & Mail<\/a> or the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The best business advice we\u2019ve read in ages is encoded in a piece on artificial intelligence. <\/strong>It boils down to this:<\/p>\n