{"id":635020,"date":"2018-01-31T04:19:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T04:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/01\/31\/what-were-tracking-on-31-january-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-01-31T04:19:56","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T04:19:56","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-31-january-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/01\/31\/what-were-tracking-on-31-january-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 31 January 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Global markets closed in the red again yesterday<\/strong>, with US stocks falling to their lowest levels since May of 2016 \u201cas investors worry that a long winning streak has pushed valuations too far,\u201d the Financial Times<\/a> reported overnight. The selloff in US equities and a fall in US treasury prices comes ahead of the US Federal Reserve\u2019s Wednesday meeting. Investors are also warily looking ahead to earnings releases expected this week from Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google, the newspaper suggests. The Wall Street Journal<\/a>, meanwhile, notes that the selloff in US equities \u2014 largely echoed in markets globally, albeit on different drivers \u2014 was compounded by worries over rising oil production and an unusual announcement targeting the healthcare sector.<\/p>\n

Here at home, the EGX30 closed down 0.4% yesterday<\/strong> on moderate volumes, reversing gains made on Monday.<\/p>\n

That healthcare announcement that\u2019s roiling global markets? The global industry is watching very warily after Amazon, Warren Buffett\u2019s Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase said yesterday they\u2019re going to \u2018disrupt\u2019 the industry in the US. <\/strong>The three companies are partnering to find ways to lower healthcare costs and improve outcomes for their hundreds of thousands of employees by deploying tech and other tools. The not-for-profit venture will focus on delivering \u201csimplified, high-quality and transparent healthcare\u201d for more than 500k employees, they said. The news is all over the front pages of the global business press: Financial Times<\/a>, Reuters<\/a>, Bloomberg (news<\/a> | analysis<\/a>), Wall Street Journal<\/a> and New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Closer to home:<\/p>\n

Expect positive central bank reserves announcement: Egypt\u2019s foreign reserves are sufficient to cover eight-months\u2019 worth of imports<\/strong>, CBE Sub-governor Rami Aboul Naga said, according to Reuters<\/a>. The reserves figure stood at USD 37.02 bn in December, which is roughly equivalent to a 7.8-month import cover, implying at least stability in the reserves figure month-on-month.<\/p>\n

CI Capital\u2019s <\/strong>2018 MENA Investor Conference<\/strong><\/a> kicked off yesterday and will run until 1 Feb <\/strong>at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza. The conference brings together more than 200 investors from 75 regional and international organizations with an aggregate AUM of USD 10 tn, according to a statement carried by Al Masry Al Youm<\/a>. We stopped in for day one and have highlights in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

IMF boss Christine Lagarde thinks Arab nations need to take \u201curgent action\u201d to promote job growth <\/strong>and address \u201csimmering discontent\u201d among youth. \u201cThe private sector needs to step in and step up, and \u2026 government action could help [by] \u2026 combating corruption, increasing competition, and taking advantage of global trade and new technologies, the Financial Times reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The US Secretaries of state and defense wish we could all just get along. <\/strong>The two \u201ccalled on all sides in the dispute between Qatar\u201d and the Arab Quartet to \u201cwork to calm tensions, saying a united Gulf Cooperation Council bolstered regional stability,\u201d Reuters reports<\/a>. Rex Tillerson and Jim Mattis made their remarks in a joint appearances with the Qatari foreign and defense ministers.<\/p>\n

In business news, global M&A activity<\/strong> has been interesting so far this week:<\/p>\n

JAB, the folks who own the Keurig coffee pods brand, have snapped up Dr. Pepper, 7Up and Snapple <\/strong>in a USD 18.7 bn takeover that\u2019s getting plenty of attention in the US for the breadth of its ambition to \u201ccreate a food-and-coffee empire.\u201d See coverage and analysis in Reuters<\/a>, the New York Times<\/a> and the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. JAB already owns Peet\u2019s Coffee and Krispy Kreme.<\/p>\n

Blackstone is in \u201cadvanced talks\u201d to acquire a controlling 55% stake in the Thomson Reuters\u2019 Financial and Risk business<\/strong>, sources tell Reuters<\/a>. The unit, which \u201ccontributes more than half of Thomson Reuters\u2019 annual revenues,\u201d is valued at around USD 20 bn, they said. The board reportedly met yesterday to review Blackstone\u2019s offer. The F&R business unit \u201csupplies news, data and analytics to banks and investment houses around the world.\u201d Bloomberg Gadly wonders whether the transaction \u201cheralds an era of offbeat megabuyouts<\/a>,\u201d while the Financial Times notes that Blackstone is now going to be going head-to-head with Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump is delivering his <\/strong>\u201cstate of the nation\u201d address<\/strong><\/a> as we write these words.<\/p>\n

In miscellany today:<\/p>\n