It’s a politics-heavy issue to start the week, ladies and gentlemen.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced this weekend that he will seek a second term in office. We have the full rundown in today’s Speed Round, below.

US Vice President Mike Pence was in town yesterday on the first leg of his Middle East tour to discuss security cooperation with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Troll-in-Chief Donald Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. As expected, Pence, whose hardline evangelical base supports the decision, defended the move. The veep called disagreement with Cairo over the move as a difference of opinion “between friends” and said the US “stands shoulder-to-shoulder” with Egypt in its war on terror. Again, more in Speed Round. Can’t wait? Reuters has all the best sound bites in its wrap-up.

Pence and El Sisi’s decision to seek a second term are dominating the conversation on Egypt in the international press this morning, and just about everyone appears to have forgotten that Ethiopia’s prime minister was in town late last week, prompting El Sisi to rightly express “extreme concern” at our upstream neighbor’s plans to dam the Nile.

Pence’s trip came as Trump opened his second year in office with a government shutdown after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on a funding bill that did not include protections for young immigrants, called “dreamers,” the FT reports. The issue may see Trump abandon plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos kicking off on Tuesday, where the press has been hoping for a showdown between him, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail officially returned to the head of the Cabinet table yesterday, but will have three-hour workdays as his health continues to improve, government sources tell Al Masry Al Youm. Sources had said last week that Ismail had begun working from home and that Acting Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly had been bringing him up to speed. Ismail made on Monday his his first public appearance since since returning from Germany when he attended the swearing-in ceremony for four new ministers.

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It’s a four-day work week, with Thursday a national holiday in observance of Police Day / Revolution Day. The message from the cops: Security will be tight, and there’s going to be no tolerance of unauthorized public protests, security sources told Al Masry Al Youm.

Frontier markets have begun to outpace emerging markets after their combined market value exceeded USD 700 bn for the first time in a decade — and after three years of underperformance. The MSCI Frontier Markets Index trades at 13.2x the 12-month estimated profits of its member companies, the richest valuation on record, according to data from Bloomberg. While rising oil prices have played a factor, reforms have been the biggest driver of investor interest. Argentina, which failed to make the upgrade into MSCI EM Index, is leading the pack as it undergoes tax reforms. Liberalization of currencies in Nigeria and Morocco, which are following in Egypt’s successful example, have also been major draws.

A new fund harnesses artificial intelligence to pick stocks to hold for the long term. While plenty of firms including Vanguard and BlackRock are using AI to help process data and look for patterns, the AI Powered Equity ETF “is different,” writes the New York Times. “It uses algorithms to go the last mile and select its holdings, usually 30 to 70 stocks.” The fund has underperformed the market since its October launch, the Times’ DealBook page writes, but that may not be the case for long — and the AI advantage will probably go to larger firms, it notes.

Are you a “fixer” boss, papering over the mistakes of staff you hire or moving slowly to address performance problems? You’re setting both yourself and the under-performer up for failure, suggests the Wall Street Journal in a piece from late last year that popped up on our radar over the weekend.