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Sunday, 5 June 2016

What we’re tracking today: Investment Act, PMIs, Ramadan looms, EGX hours

The Markit / Emirates NBD purchasing managers’ indexes for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are due out today at 7:30 am CLT. Tap here to see the releases when they’re out.

Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid will meet with the House Economics Committee today to discuss new amendments to the Investment Act and the ministry’s agenda, Al Mal reports.

Tonight may very well be the official start of Ramadan, meaning our moms were right and you may have to do without your usual caffeine jolt as early as tomorrow (Monday, 6 June). There is still a chance we start fasting on Tuesday, 7 June. When can we eat? For the observant: You’ll be breaking the fast at 6:54pm CLT. Fajr is at 3:09am CLT, according to Islamic Finder (totally old-school in its design, but always accurate).

Shortened hours: Commercial banks’ working hours will be restricted to 9:00 am until 1:30 pm during Ramadan, the Central Bank of Egypt has decided. The EGX is also cutting trading hours during the holy month, restricting them to 10:00 am until 01:3 0pm. Worth noting: Some analysts figure Egypt loses about 8% of the month’s GDP during Ramadan, The Economist wrote back in 2012.

This weekend’s heat wave will continue for most of this week, with highs fluctuating between 39°C and 42°C through Thursday.

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