Bread prices could be about to rise as three of the world’s biggest wheat exporters face shortages and quality concerns, Bloomberg reports. Wheat prices are already at multi-year highs, and with drought threatening harvests in Canada and the US and a harsh winter hurting the Russian crop, analysts expect consumer prices to rise further in the coming weeks, heaping pressure on poorer nations and wheat importers.

Egypt is the world’s biggest wheat importer, and the news comes as President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said yesterday the government will be “restructuring” subsidies for basic commodities. He had earlier warned that the price of subsidized bread would need to rise for the first time in a generation.

Mubadala is deepening ties with the world’s largest asset manager: BlackRock and other institutional investors have invested USD 1.1 bn in private equity ventures managed by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund. The commitment includes a USD 700 mn to a PE portfolio managed by the SWF’s investment arm, Mubadala Capital, as well as a USD 400 mn investment in its third private equity fund.

Wall Street analysts’ are the most optimistic on stocks in two-decades after a better-than-expected US earnings season, with the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq Composite both reaching record levels last month, Bloomberg reports. “It’s not just financial conditions and low rates fueling the appetite for risk assets — tremendous fundamental improvement is forecast into 2022,” one analyst says. Analysts see scope for even more gains, with businesses in the travel and hospitality industry still down, leaving room for a rebound second act.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.3% at Wednesday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.74 bn (24% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 0.4% YTD.

In the green: Heliopolis Housing (+3.0%), Fawry (+1.6%) and Speed Medical (+1.4%).

In the red: Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (-4.5%), Raya Holding (-3.1%) and Ezz Steel (-2.3%).