Good morning, friends, and welcome to another busy news day. The usual end of year news slowdown? Ain’t happening this year, even though we were bombarded by a record number of “out of office” replies Monday and yesterday.

SOUND SMART- You’re not “OOO” you’re “out of the office.” And you really, truly don’t have “limited access” to your mail — it’s on your phone. So copy and paste this: “Thanks for writing. I’m out of office until [xx date] and won’t be checking email during that period. I’ll get back to you when I return to the office, or you can contact [xx foulan] in the meantime if you need urgent assistance.” Don’t offer them your mobile number. You don’t want to hear from them. And if you _do_ want to hear from them (and / or if it’s really, actually, fantastically urgent) odds are good they already have your mobile number saved.

THE BIG STORIES here at home this morning are typical of the stuff that’s kept us all busy in 2021: M&A and investment are at the top of the issue.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD is (what else?) omicron after the US Centers for Disease Control halved to five days its recommended period of isolation for folks who have covid-19. The story leads everything from Reuters and the Financial Times to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times this morning.

PSA- The long-range forecast is still calling for a lot of rain, but our favourite weather app now sees the downpour starting a bit later and is predicting total rainfall will be significantly less than we’d previously thought. There’s a chance of rain on Thursday, and you can now expect showers and periods of heavy rain Friday through Monday, with up to 3 mm on Saturday and 5 mm on Sunday to start the first workweek of 2022. Rain will be heavier in Alexandria and along the North Coats, and the national weather service is warning of the potential for flash floods in Sinai.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Unified Budget Act is up for discussion at the House of Representatives today, according to parliament’s schedule. The legislation would require the government to be more transparent in how it plans public finances, forcing it to present an annual medium-term budgetary and fiscal strategy to the House and set spending limits for each ministry.

Also at the House: Education Minister Tarek Shawki will be in the building to respond to dozens of MPs’ inquiries about his decision to merge the science and math specializations in Thanaweya Amma into one pathway.

***WANT TO HAVE BREAKFAST WITH US? 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 give 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 — and will invite eight of you to break bread with us. Another dozen of you who complete the poll will also get special Enterprise mugs to enjoy your morning beverage of choice.

MORNING MUST READ-

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Blockchain startups from Egypt and Zimbabwe have until 31 January to apply for the Africa Blockchain Incubation Programme via this link. The four-month program, run by the Africa Blockchain Institute, will include workshops, training, development, mentoring sessions and community events with investors and experts in the field.

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

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: 2021 was the year Egypt saw climate change get real — and, in return, started getting real about tackling climate change. We saw soaring temperatures and what felt like a very delayed start to the winter season, and different factors ended up severely affecting agricultural crops like mangoes and olives.