PM — LimeWire’s back, y’all

Happy Thursday, wonderful people. We hope the howling winds and thoroughly brown view from our windows aren’t putting too much of a damper on this final day of the workweek.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

Annual urban inflation rose in February to 8.8% — its highest since mid-2019 — from 7.3% in January, according to figures released today by statistics agency Capmas. The acceleration was driven primarily by surging food prices. On a monthly basis, inflation was up 1.6%. The inflation uptick came before the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war hit commodity prices.

As food inflation bites, the Trade Ministry is banning exports of key food commodities: The Trade Ministry introduced a three-month export ban on six key commodities, according to a copy of the decision carried by Ahram Gate, as the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to roil global commodity markets. The ban, which comes into effect today, covers exports of wheat, lentils, flour, pasta, and whole and crushed fava beans.

We’ll have more on these and other stories in Sunday’s EnterpriseAM.

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

• The government will try to absorb the shock of spiraling commodity prices “as much as possible,” Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said yesterday.
• Banks now have until 14 September to comply with the new capital requirements in the 2020 Banking Act after the central bank agreed to extend the deadline by a year.
• EFG Hermes Corp-Solutions has signed a EGP 600 mn sale and leaseback agreement with real estate developer LMD to finance its multi-purpose 3’Sixty project in New Cairo:

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Remember those hopes everyone had this morning for an imminent Russia-Ukraine ceasefire? They’ve been all but dashed, after the two countries’ foreign ministers failed to make any progress during talks today. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not commit to setting up a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee Ukraine’s Mariupol, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after the two officials met in Turkey, according to Reuters.

Lavrov rejected Ukraine’s proposal of enshrining its neutrality in its constitution in exchange for a ceasefire and to maintain its territory, the Financial Times reports.

What Russia might be willing to entertain: A direct sit-down between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Lavrov told reporters following his meeting with Kuleba.

Meanwhile, UK sanctions have finally hit Russian b’naire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, after the UK government introduced asset freezes, travel bans, and transport sanctions on Abramovich and six other Russian oligarchs, according to a statement.

ON THE HUMANITARIAN FRONT- The US is fast-tracking the disbursal of a USD 13.6 bn aid package to Ukraine, with the House of Representatives signing off on the bill last night and shipping it off to the Senate for approval before midnight tomorrow.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Contemporary art and culture center Darb1718 is hosting its 3031 Art Festival until this Saturday, 12 March on its premises in Fustat, Old Cairo.

Green energy forum: The German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce is hosting the Egyptian German Green Energy Forum on Tuesday, 22 March. Planning Minister Hala El Said, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk and German Ambassador Frank Hartmann are among those slated to attend. The event runs 5:30-9pm CLT at the InterContinental Cairo Semiramis.

Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt will hold its next monetary policy meeting on Thursday, 24 March.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- You’ll want to keep your bataneya close: Temperatures over the weekend will reach 18°C during the day before falling to 7-8°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Trading in NFTs soared 21k% y-o-y in 2021 with total sales reaching USD 17.6 bn as the tokens entered the mainstream last year, co-founder of Nonfungible.com Gauthier Zuppinger told CNBC. These estimates — as large as they are — may be even smaller than reality, with blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis putting the figure north of USD 40 bn. The number of NFT buyers rose to 2.3 mn from 75k as people became more skilled at making a buck from the digital assets, Zuppinger added. The most popular category of NFTs was collectibles, with USD 8.4 bn spent on them during 2021, followed by Gaming NFTs (USD 5.2 bn). Later on in the year as the metaverse gained traction, sales of digital land and other projects in the space grew quickly to reach USD 514 mn.

Will 2022 see just as much growth? Probably not, Zuppinger believes. While the NFT platform does expect some level of growth, the eye-watering figures of 2021 might have been the peak due to “ speculation and a loss of interest in collectibles,” he said. The NFT market will instead see more large companies and financial institutions enter, while more speculative assets start to disappear, Zuppinger predicts.

The millennial / Gen Z crossover we didn’t know we needed: LimeWire is back — and it’s also jumping on the NFT bandwagon. For the uninitiated, LimeWire was the 90s and early 2000s’ version of Spotify, wherein users downloaded music (and typically a host of viruses that slowly killed your family desktop computer). After years of being a must-have for millennials, LimeWire faded from existence after the emergence and adoption of streaming services. However, the platform is now making a return with an emphasis on music-based NFTs as it attempts to enter the crypto market. The new Austria-based owners, brothers Paul and Julian Zehetmayr, are looking to bank on LimeWire’s name recognition. In comments to Bloomberg, Julian explains that the name still inspires nostalgia in the hearts of music lovers. “Everybody connects it with music and we’re launching initially a very music-focused marketplace, so the brand was really the perfect fit for that with its legacy,” he said.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

(all times CLT)

The Andy Warhol Diaries is a biopic created partly through the artist’s own writings: Andrew Warhola, the son of Austro-Hungarian immigrants, reinvented himself as Andy Warhol as he grew up in Pittsburgh. Tagged an outsider, but always wishing to be part of the mainstream, Warhol documented his thoughts and feelings of his art, religion, and self-image. The new Netflix biopic uses these writings as well as interviews with friends and acquaintances to paint a picture of the artist who rose to fame for his depictions of others. Several celebrities and big names emerge throughout the story and the curtain behind which Warhol hid his life is somewhat raised in celebration of the late artist. The Guardian and CNN are out with reviews.

⚽ We’ve got two big games we’re excited about in the UEFA Europa League’s Round of 16 tonight: Sevilla v West Ham at 7:45pm and Barcelona v Galatasaray at 10pm.

Over in the Premier League, Week 28 wraps today, with three games at 9:30pm: Norwich City v Chelsea, Southampton v Newcastle, and Wolves v Watford. Leeds United will also play against Aston Villa at 9:45pm.

La Liga has one game tomorrow: Atletico Madrid v Cádiz at 10pm.

Moving to the CAF Champions League, Zamalek will clash with Wydad at 6pm in the CAF Champions League’s group stages. Rival Al Ahly will meet with Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday at 3pm.

European leagues will begin new rounds on Saturday, with the EPL seeing Brighton v Liverpool at 2:30pm, Brentford v Burnley at 5pm, and Manchester United v Tottenham at 7:30pm.

Happening in La Liga on Saturday: Levante v Espanyol at 3pm, Granada v Elche at 5:15pm, Villarreal v Celta Vigo at 7:30pm and Getafe v Valencia at 10pm.

In Serie A, we’ll be watching Sampdoria v Juventus at 7pm and Milan v Empoli at 9:45pm on Saturday.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Zamalek’s Sapori di Carlo takes Italian food to a new level: The restaurant is perfect for an outing with friends or a date night, with its fancy interiors and dim lighting. The menu has a selection of antipasti, pizza, and pasta that are made in the open kitchen in front of you (there’s nothing better than seeing your pizza rise in the oven). We loved their carbonara and seafood pastas as well as their pasta burrata — even though it’s a bit on the too-cheesy side (if such a thing exists). For pizzas, we suggest opting for their pepperoni, salamino, or their fresh mussels covered pizza, testa rossa. Finish off your meal with a lemon tart or tiramisu.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

SceneNoise and Cairo Jazz Club 610 are back again, this time giving a platform to the underground Sudanese rap scene, with a debut by Sudanese star Soulja on Saturday, along with Sudanese rapper Walgz and Egyptian rappers Uzu and Swani with K-Laff DJ-ing.

You can still get that Mother’s Day gift, with Bazarna holding their Mother’s day POP-UP Market tomorrow at New Cairo’s Downtown from 12pm to 10pm. The pop-up market will be home to various collaborations of brands to pamper your mom.

???? EARS TO THE GROUND-

Masters of Scale features guests who have been involved in the key inflection points of their businesses: Host Reid Hoffman — the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn — is a pro at bringing on an interesting flow of CEOs and entrepreneurs who have achieved massive growth for their company, sometimes from basically nothing. Through his off-the-cuff questioning style, Hoffman coaxes the guests to delve into the not-so-shiny story of scaling, looking at the challenges and obstacles these businesses faced along the way. Most episodes feature a main guest alongside one or two cameo appearances, and the show has a 50-50 gender balance commitment in place which helps showcase successful entrepreneurs from both genders and tell different perspectives. Recent episodes brought on General Motors CEO Gerald Johnson, Unilever CEO Paul Polman, Huffington Post Co-founder Arianna Huffington, and Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, the CEO of Mercy Corps, an NGO on the front lines of the Ukrainian crisis.

The podcast is a favorite of some of our My Morning Routine interviewees, such as Falak Startups CEO Ahmed Hazem and Tagaddod CEO and co-founder Nour El Assal.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Egyptian writer Alya Mooro writes about her experience as a “Middle Eastern woman outside the stereotypes”: The Greater Freedom explores what it means to be from two cultures but feel like you don’t belong to either (popularly known as being “third culture”). Mooro is Egyptian-born and London-raised and the book acts as both a memoir and social commentary to her experience growing up and the “myth” of needing to define her identity as either Arab or Western. She also brings in research and other voices of Middle Eastern women who don’t fit the mold. Together they detail how it feels to be pushed to conform to a culture and lifestyle while every move they make feels like picking a side. Through all the difficulties, these women eventually realized that “the greater freedom is to be who you actually are; to be able to live your life in the way you deem best.”

The EGX30 rose 0.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 996 mn (6.3% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up/down 12.5% YTD.

In the green: Heliopolis Housing (+4.2%), Fawry (+2.8%) and Ezz Steel (+2.6%).

In the red: Cleopatra Hospital (-3.0%), CIRA (-2.9%) and Sidi Kerir Petrochem (-2.4%).