A bit of good news to start your day: Hurghada and Marsa Alam were the big winners of the German package holiday market last month, FVW reports. “Bookings to Hurghada were up by 112%, following on from a 102% rise in May. Marsa Alam soared by 129%, and entered the top ten destination airports ranking.” More to come as we have had reports of German tour operators intending an increase in traffic to the two destinations.

Fake news: It’s not just for The Donald: The UAE has ordered Arabian Business to shut down its print and online editions for a month after accusing the outlet of publishing “false news.” Business information service Bloomberg figures the flap had to do with a piece that “recently reported that courts in Dubai were in the process of liquidating dozens of failed real estate projects in the boomtown, which weathered a severe property slump as part of the global financial crisis in 2009. It soon deleted the online article and posted an apology online Friday. It said the piece was an ‘oversight’ and related to projects dating from 2010 that are ‘now outdated.’”

Fed board nominee could look to amend US banking laws: With all the fuss about potential amendments to our banking laws, the US may follow suit. President Donald Trump’s first nominee to join the board of the Federal Reserve, Randal Quarles, told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that US banking laws are in need "some refinement," Reuters reports. He was unclear what that would mean in terms of concrete policy during his confirmation hearings. Quarle, a former executive at private equity firm Carlyle Group and current chief of Cynosure Group, had worked as a Wall Street lawyer and U.S. Treasury official under President George W. Bush.

Broadly speaking, we’re both tree-huggers and gearheads around here, so imagine our inner turmoil upon learning this morning that the United Kingdom will join France in banning the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars by 2040. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have the story.

It is otherwise a slow news morning on a sleepy, pre-earnings season summer day in which one’s fancy more naturally turns to Sahel than to one’s P&L. We hope you manage to unplug with family and friends this weekend.

Oh, and one more thing: Cairo weather will be horrid today and tomorrow, with humidity in the capital city hitting 90% in the early AM and a forecast high for Thursday and Friday of 41°C, according to our two favorite weather apps. If that’s not sufficient impetus to head for the coast, we don’t know what is. The mercury will cool to a comparatively merciful 36°C on Saturday and Sunday.