Good morning, friends — we’ve nearly made it through another workweek together and we hope you’re looking forward to a weekend with family and friends. With apologies to the Colonel (bless his Fenian soul) the top news story of the day looks set to the arrival in Cairo today of Prince Charles and Camilla for a two-day visit to Egypt — their first in over a decade. The pair will hold talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Ittihadiya Palace and meet Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb today before traveling to Alexandria tomorrow.

Expect environmental issues to be top of the agenda: The Prince of Wales will discuss with the president Egypt’s environmental initiatives and the country’s selection as host of next year’s COP27 climate conference. The prince will also plug his Sustainable Markets Initiative, which launched last year to channel investment into green businesses.

PSA- Our favourite weather app is still calling for showers on Saturday — and now Sunday, too. Don’t expect a torrential downpour, but we could see as much as 5mm of rain between the two days.

NEED TO GEEK OUT a bit this weekend? Head over to the Financial Times and hit this link for its 2021 best books of the year series. There are suggestions on everything from business to economics, climate, politics, tech and the arts.

ALSO- The FT is rethinking its homepage. We’re still digesting the slightly less-dense look and feel. If it doesn’t come up automatically for you, try typing in this URL: https://www.ft.com/home-beta.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Biden wants to investigate Big Oil for price fixing: The Biden administration is backing an investigation into whether the country’s biggest energy companies are engaging in “illegal conduct” to keep gas prices high. In a letter to the country’s competition watchdog, Biden claimed that there is “mounting evidence of anti-consumer behavior by oil-and-gas companies,” citing a gap between the prices of unfinished gasoline and the price at the pump. This comes as pressure rises on Biden to get a handle on surging inflation, which reached its highest level since 1990 last month. The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal both have the story.

Speaking of gas: European gas prices are once again on the rise after Berlin indicated that it would delay the opening of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline until March, Reuters writes. Yesterday the price of gas in the Netherlands — a benchmark for Europe — jumped 8% to EUR 101.60 euros per megawatt-hour. It has now risen 60% so far this month though remains far below the record EUR 155 price set in October.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

AUC and the Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) will host a panel on developments and regulatory changes in the stock market. The gathering takes place at the Tahrir campus in Downtown on Sunday, 21 November at 6pm, according to a press release (pdf). EGX Chairman Mohamed Farid, Sovereign Fund of Egypt Chief investment Officer Abdalla ElEbiary and managing director and chief investment officer at Nile Capital Holding Basel Roshdy will all make appearances.

Entrepreneurs aged 18-35 have until 23 December to register for TotalEnergies’ Startupper of the Year Challenge. The competition is open for a business creation project or startup under three years old in any sector. Candidates can apply here.

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