We finally have some corporate news today, with a rare case of M&A in the legal industry, interest from Blackstone in running Egypt’s largest power plants, and Edita inaugurating a new investment. This at the same time as EGX boss Mohamed Farid tells us that a tax on capital gains made in the stock market could be back on the agenda for next year. We have chapter and verse in this morning’s Speed Round, below.

Still, it’s a slow morning as western markets return from holiday long weekends and as Cairo slips quietly into the final days of Ramadan. Conventional wisdom is that Eid El Fitr starts next Tuesday, though Wednesday isn’t out of the question.

It’s day two of UK International Trade Secretary Liam Fox’s visit to Cairo. Fox will meet Investment Minister Sahar Nasr and Trade and Industry Minister Amr Nassar, according to an embassy statement picked up by Ahram Online.

Also happening today:

• Saudi becomes an emerging market: 30 Saudi stocks will be included in the MSCI EM Equities index at the close of play today.
• AmCham will hold its annual general meeting and iftar tonight.

Take that, robots: Stock-picking is (allegedly) making a comeback in the US. Market volatility is driving some investors to exit index-tracking funds in favor of picking individual stocks, according to the WSJ. Analysts point to equities’ poor 1Q performance, a less hawkish Federal Reserve and strong economic indicators as factors tempting investors into choosing individual names to own. The move could gain momentum as escalating trade tensions between the US and China see stocks trading more independently of each other.

Fiat Chrysler wants to merge with Renault: Italian-American auto giant Fiat Chrysler has proposed a EUR 32.6 bn merger with Renault to form what would be the third-largest car manufacturer in the world. The companies would have combined annual sales of 8.7 mn vehicles, putting it behind only Volkswagen and Toyota. The FT and Bloomberg have the story.

Is Riyadh holding an olive branch out to Doha? Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has received an invitation from the Saudis to attend the upcoming emergency summit in Mecca, the New York Times reports. The letter is reportedly the highest-level direct communication between the two countries since Riyadh severed diplomatic and economic ties in 2017.

Get up to speed on the 2020 elections in the US of A. We figure most of you (like most of us) need to start keeping an occasional eye on the race to choose a Democratic challenger to The Donald (presuming, of course, he wins his party’s nomination). Essential primers on the current state of a very crowded race for the Democratic nomination are here in the NYT and here in Politico. Then bookmark Politico’s 2020 Elections feed, which pulls together all of the site’s coverage of the presidential, House and Senate contests.

Crypto-winter is over, contends the Financial Times, writing that the asset class is back after bitcoin rose yesterday to a new 52-week high, taking its gains so far this year to about 140%.

What We’re Tracking Today, the Ramadan edition:

Is it okay to be good instead of great?From Outside last fall and squirreled away in our files: “Research shows that sustainable progress, in everything from diet to fitness to creativity, isn’t about being consistently great; it’s about being great at being consistent. It’s about being good enough over and over again.”

It’s a play on Good to Great, by Jim Collins— a book which we confess to having irrationally resented for years because a certain type of business striver aggressively quoted it at us (over and over and over again) as if it came down from Gabal Moussa engraved on stone tablets. We’re softening on Collins after listening to this awesome interview with the incomparable Kara Swisher (podcast here, along with transcript if you prefer to read it).

A pre-iftar reading list to kill time between your post-workout shower and the breaking of the fast:

• She’s the coolheaded, one-legged spy who changed the course of World War II. Read the New York Times’ review of Sonia Purnell’s A Woman of No Importance, which just made our to-be-read list.
• The CEO and COO of a software company each took three months of paternity leave — at the same time. The world apparently did not end. Read The bosses who walk the walk on paternity leave. (WSJ)

RAMADAN PSA- Bank hours are at 9am-2pm for employees; doors are open from 9:30am until 1:30pm for customers. The trading day at the EGX runs 10:00am until 1:30pm.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib is at 6:49pm CLT today in Cairo. You’ll have until 3:13am tomorrow morning to caffeinate / finish your sohour.

Meet our newest staff member. Her name is Luna and, like all Enterprise staffers, she is smart, has a sense of humor, and lives in the office. Come join us as our next writer-reporter and you get to play with her, too.

We’re looking for ambitious journalists who aren’t afraid of business, finance and economics. We’re particularly interested in someone with the right mix of print, audio and / or video skills + great English and the ability to read and speak Arabic at a native-speaker level.

Interested? Send your CV along with 2-3 writing samples and a solid cover letter telling us a bit about who you are and why you think you’d be a great fit with us. Email us at jobs@enterprisemea.com.

** Thinking of getting your own Luna? We point you once more to There’s no such thing as a good dog in Outside magazine.