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Wednesday, 31 October 2018

What we’re tracking on 31 October: Halloween, ACWA Power’s 2.25 GW plant, oil prices and the end of US citizenship by birthright

Happy Halloween, ladies and gentlemen. We’re celebrating with a game (or two) of Stranger Things Monopoly with the family tonight — and hope you have something similarly enjoyable planned. We love holidays — of all nations, religions and persuasions — but Halloween really appeals to the kid in each of us. Because chocolate.

Power purchase agreement for USD 2.3 bn plant today? The Electricity Ministry is set to sign a power purchase agreement today with Saudi’s ACWA Power, and its partner Hassan Allam Holding, for its USD 2.3 bn power plant in Luxor, Minister Mohamed Shaker said, according to Al Masry Al Youm. Talks on the 2.25 GW plant had previously stalled after it was pushed to the ministry’s 2022-2027 five-year plan from the 2017-2022 plan due to a current production surplus. The facility is expected to go live in four years’ time.

** #7 Planning to have your kid in Amreeka? You may be in a tight spot. US President Donald Trump wants to abolish citizenship by birthright, a process by which nearly anyone born on American soil can claim US citizenship. The Donald made his plan public yesterday in an exclusive interview with Axios in which he said he would “sign an executive order that would remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on US soil.”

Why you may need to worry: The move would call into question a booming bicoastal cottage industry that helps Egyptians of a certain walk of life obtain US citizenship for their kids. MDs on each coast have built thriving “birth tourism” practices bundling together the cost of prenatal care in the final months of pregnancy and the actual delivery together with an apartment, a nanny and other services.

Why you may not (yet) need to freak out: First, there seems to be consensus that the executive order would be forward-looking — if you or your kid were born in the US to parents who were not American citizens, you’re not likely to lose your passport. Second, The Donald is in for a court challenge — the right to citizenship by birthright is enshrined in the fourteenth amendment to the US constitution, which guarantees a pretty blue passport to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” The New York Times has more.

Where is oil headed? Down, think the hedgies, who may be “losing confidence” in the “once hot” oil market after crude prices tumbled 13% this month from a four-year high, the Wall Street Journal writes. That comes as oil prices climbed yesterday for the first time in three days, Reuters adds.

But oil may not be sinking on the trade fears that Reuters cites: Saudi Arabia and Russia decided to “set aside” OPEC’s pact to reduce oil output in September and began ramping up their oil production to fill the void left by other countries, according to Bloomberg. “That increase has been offset by a freefall in Venezuela, where an economic crisis has dragged output to record lows. The South American nation’s production was 58 percent of what it was in October 2016, the reference month for supply cuts.” The spike in output from KSA and Russia has balanced out declining supply from other oil exporters.

Caveat lector: All of this speculation is moot until next week, when US sanctions on Iran will take Iranian crude off the (legal) import menu.

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