Is it really that time of year again, ladies and gents? We wish all of our American readers a Happy Thanksgiving today — as well as everyone else turning “American” for the day to get involved with the good food and the good vibes.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

The Egyptian Businessmen’s Association is meeting today to discuss how to keep that central bank money flowing: The industry body’s industrial, agricultural and tourism committees will hold an emergency meeting today to decide how to respond to the government’s decision this week to end the Central Bank of Egypt’s role in providing low-interest loans to key sectors of the economy. The EBA, which is also in talks with the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the Chambers of Commerce, plans to appeal to the president to water down the decision.

^^ We have more on this story in this morning’s news well, below.

Emigration Minister Soha Gendy is in Riyadh to open the Nile Property Expo, according to a ministry statement.

It’s day five of the World Cup: Teams in groups G and H play their openers today (all times CLT):

• Switzerland v Cameroon (12pm)
• Uruguay v South Korea (3pm)
• Portugal v Ghana (6pm)
• Brazil v Serbia (9pm)

The big story out of Doha on day four: Japan did a Saudi Arabia yesterday, coming from behind to beat Germany. An impressive late comeback handed the Japanese a famous 2-1 victory against the four-time winners.

Could Germany be heading out of the competition after just 180 minutes? Yesterday’s loss means Germany will likely have to win their next game against Spain to have a chance of making it to the knockouts. But with the Germans looking toothless in front of goal and the Spanish thrashing Costa Rica 7-0 yesterday, the smart money is now on them making a shock exit from the competition in the group stage.

Germany’s pre-game protest is getting almost as much attention in the press as their shock defeat: Before kickoff, Germany’s players covered their mouths with their hands in a jab at Fifa’s decision to ban team captains from wearing the OneLove armband.

In yesterday’s other games:

• Belgium snatched a 1-0 win against a lively Canadian team;
• Morocco and Croatia played out a goalless draw.

GROUP E

	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
???????? Spain	1	1	0	0	7	3
???????? Japan	1	1	0	0	1	3
???????? Germany	1	0	0	1	-1	0
???????? Costa Rica	1	0	0	1	-7	0

GROUP F

	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
???????? Belgium	1	1	0	0	1	3
???????? Croatia	1	0	1	0	0	1
???????? Morocco	1	0	1	0	0	1
???????? Canada	1	0	0	1	-1	0

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PSA #1- Egyptian companies and nonprofits can now apply for funding from KfW to undertake projects that will create jobs, the German development bank announced (pdf) yesterday. Projects will receive between EUR 1 mn and EUR 10 mn to deliver projects that “contribute to sustainable job creation in the private sector,” it said. Applicants have until Thursday 22 December to submit their concept notes.

PSA #2- Flat6Labs have partnered with SIAC and Dar El Handasah to launch ‘Makers’, a construction-tech focused innovation program to support startups operating in construction technology solutions, it said in a press release (pdf) yesterday. The program includes a pre-accelerator for early-stage businesses and an accelerator program for more advanced startups. Head here for more information and to apply for the program.

PSA #3- Rice race: Cabinet is reminding rice producers, sellers and distributors to notify the Supply Ministry directorates of their stockpiled rice and storage areas by the end of a one-week notice period on Sunday. Rice has been designated as a “strategic commodity” for at least three months under efforts to deter traders who try to exploit the opportunity to hoard rice amid a global shortage of commodities.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Leading in the global business press this morning: The Fed just gave its clearest indication yet that it plans to ease rate hikes. A majority of Federal Reserve officials came out in support of slowing the pace of interest rate hikes at its policy meeting earlier this month, according to minutes released yesterday. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

There’s still room for disappointment, though: “A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” the minutes read, meaning that a fifth straight 75-bps hike is by no means off the table when officials meet next month.

All will depend on November’s inflation data: US inflation has been on a downward trend in recent months, raising optimism in the markets that the central bank could soon start to take its foot off the gas.

The markets greeted the news with a cheer: US stocks extended gains on the news yesterday with the S&P 500 rising 0.6% to reach its highest level since mid-September, and the Nasdaq rising 1.0. The USD continued to fall back while bonds rose.

The rally is continuing in Asia: Shares across the region are in the green in early trading this morning, while markets in Europe are poised for gains later today. The US markets are closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday, and will close early tomorrow for Black Friday.

MEANWHILE- Russia sends Ukraine into darkness: A barrage of Russian airstrikes have knocked out most of Ukraine’s energy grid, cutting off power in many cities and sending much of the country into darkness. Yesterday’s strikes are the latest in a weeks-long Russian offensive targeting the war-torn country’s power infrastructure. The story’s getting ink from: AP | Reuters | BBC | NYT.

MARKET WATCH-

Europe can’t agree on Russia oil price cap: EU members aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on how to implement the proposed price cap on Russian crude, with negotiations on where to set the cap set to continue today or tomorrow. The EU Commission has proposed setting the cap at USD 65 a barrel, a price dismissed by the Baltics and Poland for being too high and rejected by others with large shipping industries — Greece, Cyprus and Malta — for being too high. “Poland say they can't go above $30 per barrel. Cyprus wants compensation. Greece wants more time. It is not going to happen tonight,” one diplomat told Reuters. The price cap on Russia’s seaborne crude is expected to come into force on 5 December. Bloomberg also covered the talks.

Oil prices plunged by over 3% yesterday on the back of a proposed Russian oil price cap and a build-up of US gasoline stocks, according to the newswire. Brent futures for January were down 3.3% to close at USD 85.41 per barrel, while US crude fell 3.7% to USD 77.94. US gasoline inventories were up by 3.1 mn barrels, exceeding analysts predictions of a 383k barrel build.

The Enterprise Climate X Forum is fast approaching, and we’re incredibly excited to meet with some of you in Cairo at the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, 6 December 2022. We get underway with a networking breakfast at 8am CLT.

What’s on the table? CEOs, execs, bankers and development finance folks will mull over a variety of topics, including:

• What’s this green hydrogen mumbo-jumbo you speak of?
• How are leaders building green businesses — from scratch, or as retrofits to decades-old family enterprises?
• How do we pay for it all?
• What do you really think of the green economy?

With that in mind, we’ll be dropping little notices in stories and topics we intend to explore more of at the forum. Study up if you’re coming.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, climate professional, DFI staff, investor or banker, please email us at climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work. You can learn more on our conference website here.

*** YOU MUST REGISTER TO ATTEND by clicking the link on your registration email. Attendance is by invitation only. You’ll need a special QR code to gain access to the GEM on event day.

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna is Sunday, 27 November. The two-week program, which kicks off in March 2023, offers executives from Egyptian public and private sector the skills to help them “become a better leader for your organization and support Egypt’s growth in the years ahead.”

Payment and fintech conference Pafix will be held as part of Cairo ICT 2022 from 27-30 November at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo.

The US and Russia will hold nuclear talks in Cairo next week: Washington and Moscow will discuss resuming mutual nuclear inspections during week-long talks from Tuesday, 29 November through to 6 December, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to CNN.

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