US Fed signaling slowdown on 2019 rate hikes? Meanwhile, US Federal Reserve boss Jay Powell gave markets a shot in the arm when he suggested yesterday that US interest rates are “just below … neutral” levels. Analysts have interpreted his remarks (transcript here) as a sign that the Fed may not need to lift interest rates much further. That signal could be good news for emerging markets coming out of a battering in 2018. As we noted yesterday, Morgan Stanley sees a slower rate hikes as being crucial to the prospects for EM this next year.

Powell’s remarks sparked a rally on Wall Street yesterday, helping the Dow “erase its November tumble,” the WSJ reports.

Is the bull run for global stocks entering its finale? That’s the suggestion from a Reuters poll that suggests “a broad cut to forecasts for next year on concerns over global growth and tightening financial conditions.”

The most-clicked stories in Enterprise last week included:

• The impact on banks of proposed changes to the income tax act (Enterprise and follow-up story)
• Sweden’s central bank governor on why a state-issued e-currency is necessary in a cashless society. (Sveriges Riksbank, pdf)
• An Egyptian executioner explains what it’s like to legally kill people. (Vice)
• Egyptian celebs take a stand against [redacted] harassment in new national campaign. (Facebook video)
• The very interesting life of an Egypt-born former US spook (ABC | NYT)