Hello, everyone, and welcome to a brisk Wednesday in which domestic business news takes second seat to the latest from Eastern Europe.

THE BIG STORY everywhere today remains Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Egypt is uniquely impacted as a country that has long had strong ties to both countries, who together account for up to 80% of our wheat supply and a third of our inbound tourism market. Ukrainian companies invest here and are working on transport projects. Russia has plans to build an industrial zone and a nuclear power plant.

Russia-Ukraine coverage dominates this morning’s edition, from the latest on disruptions to the global energy and commodities markets to the Madbouly government’s warning it could move to temper rising bread prices — and a suggestion from JPMorgan that it’s not impossible we’ll be talking again with our friends at the International Monetary Fund for a new assistance package if the fallout continues. The Madbouly government has so far done a very solid job of leading us through a dicey situation that was not of our making; it makes eminently good sense for us to explore options now to hedge against a day when the global environment could become even more challenging. As the hoary old adage goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

An ominous warning: Nato boss Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia against attacking the supply lines of member states who are supplying Ukraine with weapons and material, saying that to do so would be a “dangerous escalation of the war raging in eastern Europe,” Canada’s CBC reports.

MEANWHILE- IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT FOR Apple nerds, who got a glimpse of the future with the Mac Studio — and for the first time in years (and years and years) were rewarded with a stand-alone display. The all-new super-powered desktop computer targets creators, scientists, designers and others with crazy compute needs and has (mercifully) tons of ports. It also runs quiet and cool thanks to the M1 Ultra processor, which makes its debut in the Mac Studio.

The company’s first product event of the year also saw it unveil a new iPhone SE that includes a 4.7-inch display and support for 5G, a new iPad Air with M1 chip (plus 5G in the wifi + LTE version), and new colors for the iPhone 13 (green and alpine green). You can watch a replay of the event here or check out the Verge’s rundown on everything that Apple announced here.

One more thing? The Mac Studio is even more powerful than then Mac Pro, which tops Apple’s Mac line, but it won’t be for long — a top Apple exec teased last night that a new Mac Pro is in the works.

PSA #1- The weather is starting to cool today, with the mercury set to ease to 24°C in the capital city before hitting 20°C tomorrow and then slipping into the high teens from Friday through Monday.

PSA #2- Our fellow coffee nerds may wish to attend the three-day 2022 National Barista Championship, which gets underway tomorrow at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. Hit up IG for more.

KUDOS- With the pre-Ramadan silly season at its apex for folks in the ad industry, our friends at Tarek Nour Communications have launched a wellness program with Singapore’s MindNation. You can learn more about it here (pdf) and as you read, ask yourself: Is there anything you can do as a leader at your company to make life better for your team? TNC’s year-round program will walk the company’s people through issues including work-life balance and goals for their mental health and physical well-being.

MARKET WATCH-

It was another day of volatility in the financial markets yesterday as investors reacted to Washington’s decision to go ahead with a ban on Russian energy imports. Following a heavy sell-off on Monday, US stocks whipsawed through the session, eventually closing slightly in the red. The S&P 500 ended almost 1% down after being up 2% earlier in the session, leaving it in correction territory. Bloomberg has more.

Volatility in the commodities markets also continued following the oil ban, which we recap in this morning’s news well, below.

Shares in Asia are mounting a slight recovery in early trading this morning, with most indexes in the region in the green. Oil and gold are continuing where they left off yesterday and are seeing early albeit gains. Stock futures in Europe and the US indicate that shares will open in the green later today.

THIS WEEK + BEYOND-

Turkish and Israeli heads of state will meet today for the first time in over a decade. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is in Ankara for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is hoping to mend bridges with a longtime foe, Reuters reports.

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will be in town for two days this week starting tomorrow. Sherman will meet with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and “other senior officials,” including National Council for Human Rights chief Moushira Khattab.

Inflation figures for February will be released tomorrow: Annual urban inflation hit its highest level in almost two and a half years in January due to rising food prices and an unfavorable base effect.

Contemporary art and culture center Darb1718 is hosting its 3031 Art Festival until this Saturday, 12 March on its premises in Fustat, Old Cairo.

Green energy forum: The German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce is hosting the Egyptian German Green Energy Forum on Tuesday, 22 March. Planning Minister Hala El Said, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk and German Ambassador Frank Hartmann are among those slated to attend. The even runs 5:30-9:00pm CLT at the InterContinental Cairo Semiramis.

Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt will hold its next monetary policy meeting on Thursday, 24 March.

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

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: Think Cairo’s traffic is bad? There are 40 cities in the world worse than us.