Good afternoon, wonderful people. We hope Tuesday is treating you well — and that you’re as excited as we are by the prospect of a Thursday-Saturday long weekend. It’s another busy newsday, so let’s jump right in:

THE BIG STORY TODAY- Consumer prices rose in July at the fastest pace so far this year, advancing to 5.4% last month from 4.9% in June as electricity and food prices rose. We have chapter and verse in this afternoon’s Speed Round, below.

WHAT WE’RE ACTUALLY CHEERING: The EGX30 is in the green year-to-date for what we are pretty sure is the first time in 2021. The benchmark index is now up 0.1% YTD (0.08% if you want to get picky about it) after closing up 0.5% today in heavy trading. Shares worth EGP 1.91 bn changed hands today — nearly 32% above the trailing 90-day average.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• NIB to be liquidated: The heavily indebted National Investment Bank (NIB) — which is actually a development bank — is preparing for its liquidation over the coming 18 months or so. The plan to shutter the institution was agreed with the International Monetary Fund.
• Is Damietta about to become Israel’s natgas terminal? Both countries’ oil ministers were in talks yesterday about using Damietta’s liquefied natural gas facilities to receive, process and export Israel’s natural gas bonanza.
• Egyptian fintech startup Dopay will offer its services to Bank ABC corporate clients: Dopay has landed a CBE-regulated agent banking license that will allow the startup to provide payroll and other banking services in partnership with Bank ABC.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD? Dear God, it’s a slow newsday. SoftBank’s move to cut investment in China until the Great Capitalist / Tech Smackdown cools leads the front page of the Financial Times. The Wall Street Journal is also banging on about SoftBank, reporting that the value of the company’s tech investments sank alongside its profitability in the quarter ending June. Does anybody in Egypt really care about SoftBank — other than as a reminder of what happens to private investment when governments deliver a smack to the heads of high-profile corporations?

More interesting: The Economist’s lead story, which asks What tech does China want? as it argues that “the contours of the Communist Party’s masterplan for its technology industry are emerging.” The answer: The country aims to become a “techno-utopia” — with a ton of state control and much thinner margins for the private sector.

???? FOR YOUR COMMUTE-

WARNING- Companies are going to dock your wages if you WFH. Case in point: Google employees who work from home could be paid less than folks who commute into the office, Reuters reports in an exclusive.

Is it rank socialism or, frankly, justice? Publicly traded corporate mega-landlords in Berlin with more than 3k apartments each could see their properties confiscated if a local referendum passes next month. The landlords are accused of “squeezing out lower income, long-term residents through shoddy maintenance and jacked-up rents” and could now see as many as 240k units taken over by the state. The Financial Times suggests that a majority of Berlin voters — more than half of whom are renters — support the measure, which would force the companies to sell their units to the city government at a fair price.

Are we the only ones gnashing our teeth that Stranger Things won’t be back until 2022? Or willing to complain loudly that the latest “sneak peek” (which confirmed that season four won’t air until next year) left us … unfulfilled? Watch and decide for yourself, runtime: 0:30.

Gold bugs, delight: Naguib — who has absolutely no vested interest in the price of the precious metal — thinks gold should account for 20-30% of everyone’s portfolio, CNBC reports after interviewing the celebrity bn’aire on Capital Connection. “Let’s say the inflation comes in and there is a crash in the stock market for any reason or the other, you know, then you will be very happy that … you have a position in gold.” Does that mean Naguib is waiting for the market to crash? Kinda. “He said prices have been high for a ‘very long while’ and will ‘inevitably’ fall at some point,” adding that global “political uncertainties … and the ‘never ending saga’” of covid are keeping him up at night.”

You know who else is being kept up at night by covid? Schools in the west and the corporate world … everywhere? Amazon is the latest to join the ranks of major corporates who are delaying their return to the office from fall to — in the Everything Store’s case — 2022.

Lionel Messi is very close to becoming a PSG player: In potentially the most significant transfer of the century so far, Barcelona legend Lionel Messi will join Paris St. Germain on a two-year contract worth EUR 35 mn a year, according to the Associated Press. The 34-year-old Argentinian has finalized his contract with the French club and is today flying to Paris to seal the move, the newswire says.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT- (all times CLT)

What happens on a yacht stays on a yacht … unless you’re watching Below Deck. Next up in our reality TV week is a show that follows the crews of massive yachts that are home to some of the biggest and most scandalous parties and events — or just a bn’aire going on a marine adventure. The guests expect every cent of what they’re paying to be worth it, with some of the most random and over-the-top requests to the crew that they have to follow through on. The show also keeps an eye on the dynamics between crew members, with workplace romances popping up every once in a while. Every episode features a new group of passengers, a new destination, and new drama.

⚽ El Zamalek are playing Al Ittihad at 9pm today in the Egyptian Premier League. Earlier on in the day at 7pm, Misr Lel Mekassa is going up against Ceramica Cleopatra while Ghazl El Mahalla play Wadi Degla.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

From the heart of Beirut to Cairo: Loris first opened in 2015 on the gorgeous Pasteur Street in Beirut. Today, Raya Restaurants has brought Loris to our neck of the woods, introducing the brand to Sheikh Zayed’s Galleria40. The restaurant is a great place for family gatherings and business meetings (as long as they’re back on our calendars), whether that’s for dinner, breakfast or happy hour. The menu has the Lebanese savory dishes and flavorful desserts we all love. Although we usually start with savory, at Loris their sweet goulash bel gebna is king. Otherwise, go for a platters with a variety of grilled meats and sausages as well as shawarma. Of course we don’t need to tell you the importance of mezzet at a Lebanese restaurant — we often have to stop ourselves from just going for fattoush, sawda djej, hummus, and makanek and calling it a full meal.

Raya Restaurants plans to invest EGP 50 mn in the F&B sector over the next five years. The company’s brand portfolio also includes Ovio, the Lebanese Bakery, and Jones the Grocer, according to a press release (pdf).

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

Nour Khan & Tafaqum are part of The Room New Cairo’s acoustic music night today at 9pm.

Underground rock band Massar Egbari are performing at the Cairo Opera House tomorrow at 8pm.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is a big fan of this book: Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World looks at how AI-centric businesses have introduced a new “operating architecture” (????) redefining how they “create, capture, share, and deliver value.” Authors Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani argue that AI is more scalable, posing theoretical scenarios of what would happen if large firms, such as Ikea, decided to adopt AI. The book looks at what AI has become and what it potentially could become in well-versed and detailed explanations that call for rethinking business and operating models. This transition is not without risks, and tech business leaders have a new scope of responsibilities and ethics to keep in mind as they further encompass the digital age.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- More 41°C weather in the coming three days for those of us stuck in the capital city, with the mercury set to fall to 25-26°C at night, according to our favorite weather app. It’s much cooler in Sahel, with daytime high tomorrow of 33°C and an overnight low of 24°C.