{"id":634234,"date":"2018-01-10T04:02:16","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T04:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/01\/10\/what-were-tracking-on-10-january-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-01-10T04:02:16","modified_gmt":"2018-01-10T04:02:16","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-10-january-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/01\/10\/what-were-tracking-on-10-january-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 10 January 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

The bull run continues: <\/strong>The EGX30 closed at an all-time high yesterday of 15,159 on decent volume of EGP 1.3 bn, or about 19% above the trailing 90-day average. Foreign institutions drove the run toward the record level.<\/p>\n

The central bank issued <\/strong>another warning (pdf)<\/strong><\/a> on Tuesday against trading or transacting in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.<\/strong> The CBE said cryptocurrencies were unstable as they were not backed by a government entity \u2014 and pointed to waves of speculation that late last year drove the value of a single Bitcoin to over USD 15,000. The value currently trades at USD 14,096 to the BTC 1. The CBE\u2019s move came as China moved to \u201ceradicate the country\u2019s bitcoin mining industry<\/strong> over concerns about excessive electricity consumption and financial risk,\u201d the Financial Times reports<\/a>, and as shares of one-time photography giant Eastman Kodak doubled after it said it would launch a cryptocurrency<\/strong> called \u201cKODAKCoin\u201d for photographers.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the central bank: Bloomberg is out with a nice piece that it\u2019s headlining <\/strong>A Guide to MENA Central Banks<\/strong><\/a>. Onur Ant and Cairo-based Ahmed Feteha note that, \u201cAfter a year of rising U.S. interest rates and political volatility that drove up borrowing costs in much of the Middle East and North Africa, the region\u2019s central banks have more divergent goals in 2018.\u201d They go on to outline expectations ranging from easing of interest rates in Egypt as early as Q1<\/strong> to political pressure in Turkey and a potential float in Morocco.<\/p>\n

The Federation of Egyptian Industries and the House Industrial Committee will discuss proposed amendments to the Public Procurement Law today.<\/strong> The law promotes local industry by granting Egyptian products preferential treatment in government contracts. The FEI is hoping to bring down the minimum quota for Egyptian products used in national projects, saying local producers just can\u2019t meet demand, members say.<\/p>\n

Our national attitude toward the Giza Pyramids gets nicely roasted by The Onion: <\/strong>\u201c\u2018Recently unearthed papyrus rolls dating from 2400 B.C. confirm that most Egyptians of the time went to the pyramids of Giza once as a kid and thought they were pretty cool, but seldom returned to the majestic tombs unless they had a buddy visiting who had never been there before,\u2019 said archaeology professor Sidney Colliver, adding that the lack of other fun things to do in Giza and the nuisance of traversing the Sahara Desert meant that most people who lived in the area only made it out to the pyramids once every four or five years, tops,\u201d a satirical piece in The Onion<\/a>, hitting so close to home, says.<\/p>\n

And today in miscellany:<\/p>\n

<\/a> The <\/strong>World Bank\u2019s 2018 global growth forecast<\/strong><\/a> is making headlines in the business press around the world<\/strong>, and what you take away from it depends largely on what you\u2019re looking for. The Financial Times<\/a> notes that the bank believes \u201cglobal growth appears to have peaked<\/strong>, with demographics, a lack of investment, a slowing in productivity gains and tightening monetary policy placing limits on economic expansion.\u201d Meanwhile, the Guardian<\/a> zeroes in on the idea that \u201cfinancial markets are complacent about the risks of sharply higher interest rates<\/strong> that could be triggered by better than expected growth in the global economy this year,\u201d while the AFP<\/a> highlights the idea that while growth this year will be strong, that just makes it all the more urgent for countries to prepare for the next major economic crisis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What the World Bank is forecasting<\/strong>, by the numbers:<\/p>\n