Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the first full week of September. How is it already the fifth of the month? We’ve always loved the back-to-school, plan-for-the-new-year vibe of the ninth month of the year — and we love it doubly because we’re going back to the office three days a week starting today.

We hope all of you had a fantastic last weekend of summer, that the kids’ transition back to school this week and next is smooth, and that 2022 planning and budgeting is kind to you all.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s PMI day: August’s purchasing managers’ indexes for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be released here at 6:15am CLT — shortly after we hit “send” this morning. Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector has mostly been in contraction since covid hit, only expanding for two months in September and October last year. After rising close to the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction in June, the gauge deteriorated again in July as output and new orders fell.

EgyptAir will resume direct flights to Kuwait today, the national flag carrier announced in a statement Friday. This comes two weeks after Kuwait eased covid travel rules with Egypt and allowed direct commercial flights to resume between the two countries. EgyptAir will run two weekly flights.

Travelling to Abu Dhabi? Vaccinated travellers will no longer need to quarantine on arrival, but everyone (jabbed and non-jabbed) will need to show a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure, the Manpower Ministry said yesterday.

We really want to make sure Russian holiday-makers are happy: The Tourism Ministry has launched a hotline dedicated to answering Russian tourists’ questions about vacationing in Egypt, the Egyptian embassy in Moscow announced. The launch follows the return of Russian tourists to Egyptian resorts last month.

SMART POLICY- The Central Bank of Egypt has issued a directive (pdf) to local banks to up their resilience, giving banks 90 days from the end of FY2021-2022 to submit their plans to improve their ability to withstand economic shocks.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It’s a mixed bag in the pages of the foreign press this morning:

• Afghanistan is still getting attention, with Reuters reporting on clashes between the Taliban and opposition fighters.
• The New York Times and the Washington Post are both covering the aftermath of last week’s Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Wall Street Journal is running an exclusive report that Boeing’s delivery of its new 787 Dreamliners will be delayed for another two months.

The 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States is this coming Saturday, and the anniversary coverage has already begun: The Wall Street Journal has a three-story package on the front page, including a feature on “the children of 9/11,” a profile of a couple who “lost their fathers on September 11” but who have now “found each other,” and a discussion of “what 9/11 taught us about trauma and resilience.” Reuters and AP both have a look at Joe Biden’s plans to visit all three attack sites this week.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT-

• For the techies: September is shaping up to be a busy month for new devices.
• Egypt beat Angola 1-0 in the first game of the World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday night. The Pharaohs play Gabon in the second game of the international break tonight.
• Pandemic realism on TV gets mixed reviews: A string of TV shows have incorporated covid-19 into storylines, a decision that has generated mixed responses from audiences eager for escapism from the pandemic.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

It’s Labor Day weekend in the United States and Canada, so markets will be closed tomorrow, including the New York and Toronto stock exchanges and the Nasdaq.

Key news triggers remaining in the first two weeks of September:

• Foreign reserves: The central bank will release foreign reserves figures for August sometime this week.
• Inflation: Inflation data for August will drop this week.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt will meet to review interest rates on Thursday, 16 September.

International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) CEO Hani Sonbol will visit Cairo in the coming days to discuss financing Egyptian development projects, the cabinet said in a statement. Egypt is waiting on the disbursal of around USD 1.1 bn in financing from the corporation which was signed in January

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.