Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We’re just hours away from a very well-deserved weekend after a mad rush of a week — with today being no exception.

ALSO- It’s your last day to tell us how you’re feeling about your business and the wider economy. We’ll have the results for mid-month — just in time to give you a sense of what everyone else is thinking heading into budget season. Make your voice heard in our Fall Reader Survey. It won’t take more than a few minutes to complete.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Inflation hits four-year high: Annual urban inflation accelerated again in August on the back of higher food and beverage prices, according to figures state statistics agency Capmas released today. Consumer prices in urban areas rose to 14.6% y-o-y in August, up from 13.6% in July. Urban inflation rose 0.9% m-o-m, marking a slower pace of increase from July, when it recorded 1.3%.

#2- Expedition ups its Domty offer: Expedition Investments has (marginally) revised upwards its offer to acquire a 34% in cheesemaker Domty, the Financial Regulatory Authority said in a disclosure (pdf) today. A consortium led by Expedition is now offering EGP 5.50 per share — up from its previous offer of EGP 5.00 per share — in its mandatory tender offer to purchase up to 96.2 mn shares in Domty. The EGP 5.50 offer is still below the EGP 6.90 fair value determined by BDO earlier this week.

^^We’ll have more on these stories and others in Sunday’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There’s no big business story capturing the attention of the international press, but Queen Elizabeth’s “concerning” health is getting some digital ink this afternoon. Doctors are “concerned” about the queen’s health “and have recommended she remain under medical supervision,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier today. The queen has remained at her summer home at Balmoral Castle, where outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson and his successor Liz Truss visited the queen this week. The story is getting coverage in Reuters, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Chimera to take stake in GB Lease? GB Auto subsidiary GB Capital is in talks with our friends at Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Chimera Investments to sell a 45% stake in its leasing arm, GB Lease.
• More and more M&A: Crédit Agricole will purchase a 4.8% stake in Crédit Agricole Egypt today, taking its holdings in its local unit to around 65%; Banque du Caire has acquired a 10% stake in Western Union’s local representative, International Business Associates Group; and EGX-listed Egypt Aluminum (Egyptalum) will fund two-thirds of its USD 300 mn overhaul by offering fresh stakes through a capital increase.
• Egypt could land funding worth up to USD 1.3 bn from the EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is ready to provide as much as USD 1.3 bn in funding to support clean energy projects in Egypt, President Odile Renaud-Basso said yesterday.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Consoleya and Cairo Angels will host a business meet-up on Monday, 12 September focusing on Nigeria’s tech ecosystem and how it compares with Egypt’s startup scene. Tarek Shahin (CI Capital’s chief investment officer), Biola Alabi Media CEO Biola Alabi, and Ibrahim Sagna (Afreximbank’s global head of advisory and capital markets) and take part in a panel discussion moderated by Aly El Shalakany, CEO of the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund.

Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 September to review interest rates.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will rise to 38°C on Friday and Saturday while nighttime lows will be in the 22-23°C range during the weekend, our favorite weather app tells us.