This question on everyone's lips this afternoon (whisper it): Is it coming home? The Pharaohs could get their hands on the African Cup of Nations trophy for the eighth time tonight when they meet Senegal in the final of Afcon 2021. Egypt has taken home the African championship a record seven times, with our last victory coming in 2010. Senegal has never been crowned Afcon champions, making it to the final match on two separate occasions.

The spirit of ‘06: The last Afcon meeting between the Pharaohs and the Lions of Teranga was in a 2006 semi-final, when Egypt beat them 2-1 score thanks to a legendary goal from Amr Zaki shortly after he swapped in for Ahmed Hossam Mido.

Kick-off: 9pm tonight.

To mark the occasion: Goal.com takes a look at Mido’s “infamous moment of indiscipline” during our last face-off against Senegal.

CORRECTION- We incorrectly stated in this morning’s EnterpriseAM that the last time Egypt reached an Afcon final was in 2010. The Pharaohs of course made it through to the final in 2017, where they lost 2-1 to Cameroon. We have since updated the story on our website.

On the business front: Whoever said that sports and the postal service don’t go together? Egypt Post’s investment arm, Post for Investments (PFI), has acquired 20% of state-owned sports management company Estadat Holding, Youm7 reports. The transaction will see Egypt Post help raise Estadat’s capital to EGP 1 bn, according to a five-year strategy.

HAPPENING NOW-

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is participating in a meeting of African heads of state and government to discuss climate change at the African Union’s two-day summit in Addis Ababa, according to a ministry statement.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• The Central Bank of Egypt left interest rates on hold for the tenth consecutive meeting on Thursday, maintaining the overnight deposit rate at 8.25% and the lending rate at 9.25%, while the main operation and discount rates are still at 8.75%.
• Swvl receives funding boost ahead of Nasdaq SPAC merger + Anghami starts trading: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Teklas Ventures, the venture capital arm of auto parts maker Teklas, will invest USD 21.5 mn in a private placement backing Swvl. Meanwhile, Shares in Abu Dhabi-based music streaming platform Anghami rose as much as 82% on its Nasdaq trading debut on Friday following its merger with blank-check company Vistas Media Acquisition Company.
• The government’s fuel pricing committee hiked fuel prices for the fourth time in less than a year in response to rising oil prices, raising prices at the pump by another EGP 0.25 per liter for 95, 92 and 80 octane fuel at its latest meeting.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- A trio of stories on the front pages of the business press are signposting more market volatility ahead: CNBC thinks that US inflation data out this week could result in more misery for Wall Street, where shares last month suffered their worst January in 13 years ahead of what the market anticipates will be an aggressive tightening cycle by the Federal Reserve. The cost of living in the US is accelerating at a pace not seen since the early 1980s, putting pressure on the Fed to raise rates even faster.

It’s not just the Fed: In it’s summary of interest rate moves across the world in January, Bloomberg is proclaiming that “the end of easy money is upon us.” JPMorgan now expects rates to have risen in countries that account for half of the world’s GDP by April, which Bloomberg suggests is “the biggest tightening of monetary policy since the 1990s.”

And in another sign of deteriorating investor sentiment: The Financial Times reports that investors are rushing to ensure corporate debt ahead of a possible sell-off in the bond markets. Fresh data shows that trades of credit default swaps — derivatives that are used to hedge against default — rose 60% to USD 197 bn in January.

Inflation figures are due out this Thursday, 10 February. Annual urban inflation rose to 5.9% in December from 5.6% in November. The Central Bank of Egypt expects price stability in the medium term, it said last week following its monetary policy committee meeting. The government’s fuel pricing committee’s decision to raise fuel prices over the weekend is also expected to have a limited impact on inflation, analysts said.

The US will follow just a few hours later, with CPI data set to be released at 3:30pm CLT (8:30am EET). It’s expected that the data will show another jump in inflation figures last month, with the consumer price index expected to rise 7.3% in January after rising to a 40-year record 7% in December, according to Bloomberg.

FOR TOMORROW-

The deadline to apply for the Fortune Global Women's Mentoring Program is tomorrow. The program, which will take place from 8-28 May, aims to bring emerging women leaders from around the world to the US to meet and learn from the Fortune Most Powerful Women, which includes executives from Accenture, Johnson & Johnson, and Aetna. You can begin your application by signing up here.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Trading on Macro Group Pharma’s shares should start “on or around” this Thursday, 10 February, under the stock ticker MCRO.CA. The retail component of the company’s IPO was 6.49x oversubscribed at the close of Thursday’s trading session, and Macro wrapped up its private placement to institutional investors, which was 1.8x oversubscribed, last Wednesday.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re looking at a warmer Monday, with plenty of sun bringing tomorrow’s high to 23°C. The evening will see the mercury drop to a low of 9°C.