Investment Minister Sahar flew to Washington, DC, yesterday to attend the IMF and World Bank annual fall meetings, which run until 15 October. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy arrived there on Tuesday with a stacked agenda that includes meetings with IMF officials (among them IMF boss Christine Lagarde), sit-downs with ratings agencies and international banks, as well as meetings on the G20’s African initiative.

Also in DC is Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority boss Mohamed Omran, who met yesterday with officials from international banks and funding institutions, Al Masry Al Youm reports. His agenda included talks with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to discuss ways to develop short-term debt instruments in the Egyptian capital market; a meeting with the German Technical Cooperation Agency to discuss an SME funding agreement signed during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Germany earlier this year; a meeting with the IFC to discuss technical support for the launch of green bonds in Egypt; and a meeting with the African Development Bank to discuss economic legislative reforms and the third and last USD 500 mn tranche of its USD 1.5 bn loan to Egypt, which will be disbursed in January 2018.

Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer gave a speech about economic reforms at the Institute of International Finance, according to Youm7, and EGX boss Mohamed Farid is also in Washington for the get-together.

Moushira Khattab placed third again yesterday in the third round of balloting for UNESCO’s top job, earning a total of 13 votes, Al Masry Al Youm reports. France’s Audrey Azoulay caught up with former Qatari culture minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari, with each of them earning 18 votes. The secret ballot will continue for the rest of this week, and Khattab’s campaign manager Mohamed El Oraby said the Egyptian candidate is expected to reel in 17 votes during tomorrow’s round, Ahram Gate reports. According to Oraby, Qatar reached the “maximum” number of votes it will be able to earn, hinting that Egypt’s aggressive diplomatic efforts will bear some fruit. AMAY says that UNESCO announced Vietnam’s candidate has withdrawn, but that’s yet to be confirmed by any other outlet.

Back home, the House wants to do its part to help Khattab: House Human Rights Committee Chairman Alaa Abed issued a statement calling for the prosecution of NGOs and civil society members that opposed Khattab’s candidacy, AMAY reports. The MP suggested that naysayers should be charged with “being unpatriotic” and “adopting stances similar to … Human Rights Watch” — clear infractions of the criminal code, if ever there was one. The human rights set had spoken out against Khattab’s candidacy to draw attention to the nation’s rights record.

The source of Smiley Face’s superpowers is up for debate today: The House Economics Committee will continue today to debate amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, which the Ismail Cabinet had signed off on in June. Debate yesterday centered around protection of user data in industries including telecoms, as well as consumers’ right to compensation, which MP Medhat El Sherif said should be handled by the Consumer Protection Authority rather than the judiciary, according to Al Mal.

US financial industry on edge over EU’s MiFID II rules on unbundling of research and commissions: The US financial industry is waking up to the regulatory quagmire it will face when the European Union implements the new MiFID II financial regulations in 2018, a number of which conflict with US regulations. Chief among them: MiFID’s provisions that demand the unbundling of payment for research and trading. “While many asset managers reluctantly agree with the aim, it runs counter to US regulations that require any institution that sells research for ‘hard’ USDs — as opposed to ‘soft,’ indirect payment through trading commissions — to register as an investment adviser,” Robin Wigglesworth writes for the Financial Times. Financial services lobbyists complain that the Securities and Exchange Commission has been slow to clarify how US firms should integrate with MiFID come January.

And for your viewing pleasure this morning as we slide into the weekend: The Donald says “Bns and bns” — over and over and over and over again. Watch (runtime: 2:03).