Good morning, friends, and happy FRIDAY to you all. The banking sector and our ongoing FX crunch are the big story here at home as we prepare to slide into one of the final weekends of summer.

Central Bank of Egypt Governor Hassan Abdalla closed out his first full week on the job yesterday, holding a meeting with senior bankers. The gathering was more about sending the right message (essentially, “We’re all in the same boat, so let’s work together”) rather than to go deep on the current macro challenges, including the FX crunch, though the availability of foreign exchange featured prominently in the sit-down.

Abdalla also appointed two veteran private-sector bankers as top advisors, including former CIB Chairman and MD Hisham Ezz Al Arab.

The story is getting prominent coverage in the domestic press (here and here) and featured prominently on last night’s talk shows.

MEANWHILE- For importers, hope springs eternal: Abdalla’s meeting with bank bosses, an unconfirmed report about an banks conducting an “inventory” of FX needs for the coming 9 months, and a government statement have stoked expectations that import restrictions could be eased. We think the story is overblown.

^^ We have more detail and analysis on all of this in this morning’s news well, below.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

The second Egypt- and UN-led regional climate roundtable takes place in Bangkok: The one-day event will see climate negotiators from the Asia-Pacific region discuss climate finance with private- and public-sector stakeholders ahead of the COP27 summit in November. This is the second of five regional roundtables being organized by Egypt and the UN. The first took place in Ethiopia last month.

The Madbouly government will hold consultations with stakeholders in the water sector on its privatization strategy. The government is holding workshops and consultations with stakeholders from different industries every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday on its privatization plans. You can find more details on the schedule of the meetings here.

The big central bank meet at Jackson Hole starts: Fed chairman Jerome Powell will deliver a speech on Friday and investors will be keeping a close eye for hints about how far the central bank could raise rates when it next meets in September. Shares in Europe and the US ended a recent run of losses yesterday, ending yesterday’s trading session marginally in the green ahead of Powell’s speed.

Asian markets are mainly in the green this morning and futures suggest shares in Europe and the US will see early gains later today.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- On the front pages of the global press this morning:

#1- Biden’s latest play to salvage the midterms is everywhere in the US media this morning after the president yesterday pledged to forgive up to USD 20k in student debt for tens of mns of Americans. (Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | | Reuters | CNBC | Financial Times | New York Times | Washington Post)

#2- Ukraine latest: The war in Ukraine has been elevated back to the front pages this morning as the global press marks the 31st anniversary of Ukrainian independence. A Russian missile strike in Eastern Ukraine left 22 dead and dozens wounded yesterday. (Reuters | WSJ | NY Times | BBC | AP | The Guardian)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

iSHEEP, Assemble: The launch event for the iPhone 14 will take place on 7 September at 1pm ET (or 7pm CLT), Apple announced in invitations to journalists yesterday, according to the Verge. You can catch the event on livestream here.

PSA #1- Climate tech entrepreneurs have one month to apply to the global ClimaTech Run competition: Tech startups that address climate and environmental issues have until 22 September to apply for the competition, which offers startups a top award of USD 100k and the chance to present their product at COP27, according to a cabinet statement. The competition is hosted by USAID-backed Business Egypt and backed by the international cooperation, environment and communication ministries.

PSA #2- Your deadline to catch a 65% break off late payment fines for your taxes is coming up next Wednesday, 31 August. The waiver applies to late payment fees for customs tariffs, income, real estate, and sales taxes, VAT, and stamp duties among others. The remaining 35% of your due payments will need to be paid before next March.

FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD- Egypt and Tunisia could sign an MoU to cooperate on solar power projects in the next two months, when a Tunisian delegation is expected to visit Egypt, Al Borsa quotes sources in the know as saying.

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