Walmart is expecting terrible earnings ⁠— and that’s not great news for the US economy: The company’s share price fell as much as 10% in after-hours trading yesterday after it cut its profit outlook for the year due to the impact of surging food and energy costs on consumer demand. The retailer, which will publish its 2Q earnings in three weeks time, is now predicting earnings per share to fall 11-13% for the year, just two months after forecasting a 1% drop. (CNBC | FT | Reuters | Wall Street Journal)

A strong USD has been bad news for some American corporations: The surging greenback has been one of the culprits behind the slowdown in earnings at US multinationals in 2Q, the Financial Times writes. With the greenback at a 20-year high, American companies with large global operations are facing lower international revenues and slowing demand abroad, prompting many to lower their earnings forecasts for the rest of the year. “Even if the rise of the USD was to stop here, the strengthening we’ve seen over the past 12 months would be enough to prompt further downgrades to earnings estimates just because of the foreign exchange headwinds,” said an HSBC strategist.

The 60/40 portfolio split isn’t dead yet? A common portfolio strategy where investments are split 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds is losing its appeal amid market turmoil that has seen both stocks and bonds plunge amid rising interest rates and rampant inflation. But Morgan Stanley thinks it’s a matter of time before the split pays off once again: according to its chief cross-asset strategist, Michael Sheets, the approach could provide some of the highest long-term returns in the US and Europe seen in recent years, Bloomberg reports.

	EGX30	9,238	-0.4% (YTD: -22.7%)
	USD (CBE)	Buy 18.89	Sell 18.97
	USD at CIB	Buy 18.91	Sell 18.97
	Interest rates CBE	11.25% deposit	12.25% lending
	Tadawul	11,874	-0.8% (YTD: +5.3%)
	ADX	9,589	-0.8% (YTD: +13.0%)
	DFM	3,236	-0.7% (YTD: +1.3%)
	S&P 500	3,967	+0.1% (YTD: -16.8%)
	FTSE 100	7,306	+0.4% (YTD: -1.1%)
	Euro Stoxx 50	3,604	+0.2% (YTD: -16.2%)
	Brent crude	USD 104.92	+1.7%
	Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 8.73	+5.2%
	Gold	USD 1,737.10	-0.5%
	BTC	USD 22,026	-3.3% (YTD: -52.2%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.4% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 842 mn (2% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 22.7% YTD.

In the green: MM Group (+13.8%), Ibn Sina Pharma (+6.5%) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt (+2.9%).

In the red: CIRA (-3.9%), GB Auto (-3.3%) and Ezz Steel (-2.9%).