Happy Valentine’s Day, ladies and gentlemen. The news cycle is still taking a breather this afternoon, but we expect this is the calm before some sort of storm.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY SO FAR-

#1- Importers need letters of credit to buy goods starting March: Banks have begun informing importers of a Central Bank of Egypt decision taken over the weekend that will restrict an importer’s bank to only using letters of credit to facilitate the purchase imports starting from March. Invoices from exporters will no longer be accepted by banks to transfer over purchases once the decision comes into effect next month.

#2- The Unified Budget Act is now the law of the land, after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ratified the legislation, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette (pdf).

HAPPENING NOW-

The Egypt Petroleum Show (Egyps) is underway, after President Abel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated the event this morning at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The event runs through Wednesday.

El Sisi capitalized on the energy event to stress the importance of prioritizing supporting Africa’s green transition at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh this November, according to Bloomberg. International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat has said that COP27 is a chance to emphasize that emerging markets need financial support to meet climate commitments, and to bring innovative financing such as concessional lending.

ALSO: Egypt is now officially a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Executive Director Fatih Birol said at Egyps, according to CNBC. Birol praised Egypt’s recent energy developments, particularly capitalizing on its natural gas assets and growing its solar industry.

… but more oil production is necessary to ease price rises: Birol called on OPEC+ members to increase oil production to balance markets, as oil prices continue to jump, reaching a seven-year high today. Birol also criticized the “politicization” of European gas markets.

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

• Rising tensions in the tug-of-war between Russia and Ukraine are causing “uncertainty” in the wheat market, and could lead Egypt to start hedging wheat, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy said.
• Minimum paternity leave in Labor Act draws critics: The Senate approved an article in the draft Labor Act that would give new fathers one day of paternity leave for the day of birth, after it had earlier struck down the initial proposal to allow them seven days of leave. Employers can expand the minimum requirement on a case by case basis
• How higher inflation is affecting our private schools: With inflation running close to two-and-a-half-year highs, spending is being impacted across private and international schools, with rising capex costs putting particular pressure on companies in the sector.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- The global business press is broadly leading with the economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis, as equities, stock futures, and bond yields across the world fell on concerns of an imminent armed conflict. Futures for the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Dow Jones all slipped today, while bourses in France, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China are all in the red as of dispatch. (Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | CNBC)

Are you unsure of where this whole crisis started, but have been scared to ask? We’ve got you covered in today’s Enterprise Explains, below.

FOR TOMORROW- The Industrial Development Authority will receive offers from companies for licenses to manufacture iron products tomorrow.

Orange Ventures’ deadline to receive applications from seed-stage fintech startups for its seed challenge is also tomorrow.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

It’s day two of the three-day Arab sustainable development week. Some 400 participants including the EU, World Bank and other institutions are chewing over how to tackle in a sustainable way the development challenges of the Arab world.

Public universities begin the second term of their 2021-2022 academic year this Saturday, 19 February.

The Nebu Expo for Gold and Jewelry 2022 kicks off this Saturday, 19 February and wraps on Monday, 21 February.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is finally moving above the 20°C mark: Tomorrow will see a daytime high of 21°C and a nighttime low of 8°C, our favorite weather app tells us.