Not a lot happened over the Eid vacation, and it’s just as well: Plenty of us here at Enterprise are still grumbling over having been trolled on what conventional wisdom (and basic astronomy) had penciled in as the last day of Ramadan.

Get ready for a busy news cycle: We have barely three weeks left until schools let out and Sahel season begins.

The expected release tomorrow of inflation figures for May will be driving the conversation this week. May figures will be the last in the current fiscal year before the next round of electricity and fuel subsidy cuts next month, setting up the debate over whether the central bank will get back to cutting interest rates in the final quarter of the year. Annual headline inflation cooled unexpectedly in April to 13% from 14.2% in March.

Be on the lookout for the purchasing managers’ index for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, which are due out tomorrow at 6:15am CLT.

Wait, there’s more in what looks set to be a very busy June. Among the stories vying for your attention:

• The House of Representatives will wrap its debate of the FY2019-2020 budget this month. Expect more haggling over health and education funding from grandstanding MPs, which could push final approval of the budget into early July.
• The US-backed conference on the ‘economic dimension’ of Trump’s Mideast peace plan — where he reportedly is presuming Egypt will give up part of Sinai — is expected to take place in Manama, Bahrain on 25-26 June.
• The US Federal will review interest rates 18-19 June under pressure to get back to cutting rates to mitigate the impact of Trump’s ongoing trade war with China. Egypt’s central bank won’t follow suit until 11 July.

It’s the final push for the first-half conference season at home and abroad. Among the highlights:

• Our friends at Pharos Holding are holding their annual investor conference in El Gouna on 19-20 June;
• Cairo Technology Week runs next week at the Hilton Heliopolis;
• OPEC and non-OPEC countries will hold a ministerial meeting in Vienna on 25-26 June;
• The G20 global economic summit will take place on 28-29 June in Osaka.

Oh, and then there’s the African Cup of Nations, which Egypt is hosting from 21 June through 19 July. We have all you need to know about the competition, including tickets, teams, matches, and nostalgia in this month’s edition of Your Wealth.

Peugeot and Arabia Investment Holding are set to face off in court today as AIH subsidiary CDCM seeks damages after Peugeot awarded franchise rights to a rival group. The case has already been postponed multiple times. The plaintiffs are seeking EUR 150 mn in damages.

Pension increases are back on the House’s agenda as MPs resume today debate of a proposal that could see minimum monthly pensions for civil servants rise to EGP 900 and payouts by 15%, Al Shorouk reports. The increases, which President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced in March, are expected to take effect at the start of the fiscal year on 1 July.

Sign of the times #1: We’re looking at the worst year for M&A since before the global financial crisis, according to data provided to Axios by Dealogic, but there’s still a chance of a pickup in the second half of the year. Case in point: United Technologies is said to be nearing an agreement to merge its aerospace division with Raytheon, Reuters reports. News of the possible USD 100 mn transaction comes after Renault rebuffed Fiat Chrysler’s proposed merger.

Sign of the times #2: What’s up with global markets? “Opposing signals from stocks and bonds are getting even more extreme, Bloomberg writes in the aptly headlined Two epic bull markets are dueling over the fate of global growth.

Sign of the times #3: The IMF is freaking out over Big Tech: The financial system faces “significant disruption” as the world’s biggest tech companies increase their influence on the financial sector, IMF head Christina Lagarde said during a seminar at the G20 meeting of finance ministers in Japan yesterday. Tech companies will in the future use data and AI to offer new financial products — and increase their control of global payment and settlement systems. Lagarde warned that the concentration of power within the hands of a few large businesses will present a “unique systemic challenge to financial stability.”

Sign of the times #4: Crypto startups are raising money again, this time with a twist, the Wall Street Journal writes. This time around, it’s not about “initial coin offerings” direct from startups, but “initial exchange offerings,” with crypto exchanges acting as investment banker, research house and bourse all in one by “researching currencies and deciding whether they are worthy of being listed” and offered to investors.

International headlines worth knowing about as your workweek gets underway:

• US President Donald Trump has taken the prospect of tariffs on Mexican goods off the table after Mexico agreed to clamp down on illegal immigration, Reuters reports. It’s the latest in the “unprecedented weaponization” of the US economy, Atlantic Council boss Fred Kempe says.
• Israel has the right to annex part of the West Bank, America’s ambassador to Israel said in an interview with the New York Times.
• Over 100 protestors were killed by military forces in Sudan during a week of violence, The Guardian reports. The African Union has since suspended Sudan until civilian rule is established.
• Oman will impose a 100% tax on cigarettes,alcohol, energy drinks and porc meat and products as of 15 June. Carbonated beverages will be hit by a 50% tax at the same time. (Bloomberg)
• Uber undergoes major reshuffle: Uber’s COO and chief marketing officer are on their way out of the company, allowing CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to increase his control over the day-to-day operations. (CNBC)
• Former US Vice-President Joe Biden still “leads the Democratic pack of presidential contenders” in a poll of Iowa voters. All jockeying for second place: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg. (Reuters)

PSA #1- Three stations in phase 4A of the Cairo Metro’s third line will open to passengers for trial runs on Saturday,Cabinet announced in a statement. Harun, Alf Maskan, and Shams Club stations have completed operational trials, and their soft opening is scheduled to come ahead of AFCON.

PSA #2- Holiday planning. We have a three-day weekend heading into Sunday, 30 June to mark the start of the summer holiday season. Then it’s a straight shot to Tuesday, 23 July and then Eid Al Adha, which will effectively blot out the week of 11 August.