Are we going to get another snap CBE meeting à la 21 March? That was the question posed by Lamees El Hadidi last night (watch, runtime: 9:31), who noted reports in the domestic press that the central bank could bring forward its 19 May policy meeting in light of the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike rates last week.

State-owned Akhbar Elyom reported yesterday that the Monetary Policy Committee could hold an exceptional meeting as soon as today, citing an anonymous central bank source. But last night, the Kelma Akhira host cited a CBE source of her own who told her that there aren’t currently plans to hold an early meeting this month.

That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to feel the pinch from rising US interest rates here in Egypt. As El Hadidi and Nabil Zaki, professor of international economics and finance at New York University, noted last night, the Fed’s decision is going to raise the USD, push up the cost of borrowing, increase our import bill, and cause further portfolio outflows. Speaking to Salet Al Tahrir’s Azza Mostafa (watch, runtime: 5:34), Zaki said that the move will mean that Egypt, a major importer of wheat and commodities, will see its balance of payments and trade deficits widen and face higher inflation. El Hekaya’s Adib (watch, runtime: 4:46) also covered the topic.

Another rate rise here at home when the CBE meets later this month? Some analysts and economists are expecting the CBE to hike interest rates by another 100-200 bps this month, El Hadidi noted. The central bank increased rates by 100 bps when it last met in March — the first time rates have risen in five years.

Egypt’s airwaves were dominated by yesterday’s attack in Sinai which killed 11 troops and injured five others in what is seen as the deadliest attack on the armed forces in recent years. Condemnations by the presidency and state institutions led the airwaves, with the news picked up by Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 18:00), El Hekaya’s Amr Adib (watch, runtime: 1:39) , and Kelma Akhira’s Lamis El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 9:41), among others.

El Hekaya also shed light on the implementation of the amended Real Estate Registry Act which came into effect yesterday (watch, runtime: 3:21). The amendments, which received the greenlight from the House of Representatives in February, simplify the property registration process by reducing the volume of documentation needed, digitizing parts of the procedures, and putting a time limit on the process. Justice Minister Omar Marawan said registering property would provide guarantees against encroachment. The law would also allow the registration of any property, including vacant land, according to real estate registry official Ayman Awad (watch, runtime: 2:31).