THIS MORNING: The kids are staying home again today. Plus: It’s all about Omicron abroad.
Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to another chilly morning. It’s a reasonably quiet news morning at home (by 2020 / 2021 standards) and the omicron strain of the bug that causes covid-19 still tops front pages globally.
PSA- School’s out (again) in seven governorates, including Cairo, Giza, Damietta, Alexandria, Matrouh, Beheira and Kafr El Sheikh. All have shuttered classes for the day as the national weather service expects rainfall, wind, and exceptionally cold temperatures across most of the country today, Youm7 reports. Expect a daytime high of just 15°C in the capital city, according to our favourite weather app.
*** Tell us what you expect for the year ahead — and get a chance to have breakfast with us in 2022: Every year, we ask our readers to weigh in on what you expect for the year ahead in our Enterprise Reader Poll. Take a few minutes to tell us your take on the outlook for your business and industry, whether you’re planning fresh investments and new hires, and how your business fared in the year past. We’ll share the results with the entire community in early January to help you shape your view of the year.
We’ll be inviting eight readers who take the poll to breakfast in 2022 and another dozen of you will get your own Enterprise mug to enjoy your morning beverage of choice.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD on this reasonably chilly morning: Omicron, omicron and still more omicron. We’re not going to see March 2020-style lockdowns again, but:
- Canadian provinces and European countries are reimposing restrictions including quarantines and limits on travel. They’re also ordering stores, bars and gyms to close and postponing sports matches;
- Officials are warning omicron will strain hospitals in the United States and Canada;
- Prominent CEOs and US senators are coming down with the bug;
- The virus is both starting to hit businesses in the west and stoke fears among central banks that it could sustain inflation;
- And there are signs that at least some elite universities in the US will be going back to remote learning for a period after the Christmas break.
In second place this morning: A so-called “moderate” Democrat appears to have single-handedly torpedoed US President Joe Biden’s USD 1.75 tn Build Back Better spending initiative in a story that is everywhere in the US press and getting lots of ink in Europe and on the wires.
The nutter in Ankara just can’t help himself: Erdogan has sent the TRY into another spiral after promising still more rate cuts. Markets sage Mohamed El Erian has been left to simply shake his head, warning the country risks going from a currency crisis to a full-blown economic meltdown.
MORNING MUST READS from the dumpster fire that is our social media:
- Spider-Man has restored box office hopes with a massive opening weekend for Spider-Man: No Way Home in what is the third-best opening haul in the history of cinema. Ticket lines in Egypt match those globally.
- What does 2022 have in store for EM, US and European equities? Have a look through the FT’s crystal ball.
- A headline presented without comment: Property values in the metaverse are surging. A landlord who owns land in Decentraland and The Sandbox explains how to pick a location, and shares the top 7 metaverses to consider for the best appreciation value.
ALSO- He bombed the Nazis, outwitted the Soviets and modernized Christmas — meet the remarkable Jewish-American dude who invented the artificial tree.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
PSA- EgyptAir resumes direct service to Toronto from Cairo tomorrow after briefling shelving the flight when Canada included us in a (heavily criticized) ban on entry for folks from 10 African countries, including Omm El Donia.
Swvl and Magalix are holding a virtual fireside chat titled Stories of Women in the Tech Field tomorrow, 21 December, at 7pm. Connect to the event here.
PSA- Property owners have until Friday, 31 December to pay the second installment of their annual real estate taxes without incurring a late fee, Tax Authority boss Anwar Fawzy said in a statement yesterday. The first installment was due between 1 January and 30 June. Homeowners whose primary residence is valued at less than EGP 2 mn are exempt from paying the tax, Fawzy noted.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.
*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed. Blackboard appears every Monday in Enterprise in the place of our traditional industry news roundups.
In today’s issue: Egypt shifted towards more edtech and innovation in 2021: After spending large swathes of 2020 and early 2021 either learning online, or using a blended model, Egypt’s K-12 and university students returned to in-person classroom learning in 2H 2021. But interest in edtech didn’t wane — in fact, covid seemed to accelerate the demand for particular kinds of tech-based learning, like learning to code. Consequently, pre-covid education goals — like fostering innovation and teaching STEM skills — are, once again, high priorities for institutions and education leaders.