Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s rates on hold as balance of payments troubles persist The decision by Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) to keep interest rates on hold was unsurprising. Although the economy is weak and inflationary pressures subdued, political instability will keep pressure on... 26th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s new Prime Minister won’t ease market fears The surprising appointment of Dr. Hisham Kandil as Egypt’s new Prime Minister is unlikely to calm nerves in the financial markets. For a start, he lacks the economic credentials that some were hoping... 24th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: economy could make or break the new president’s tenure The election of Dr. Mohamed Mursi as Egypt’s first democratically-elected president last month represented a significant step in the country’s transition. But as we expected, tensions between the new... 11th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Data Response Egypt Consumer Prices (Jun.) Egyptian inflation fell to a nine-month low in June on the back of weaker food inflation. Nonetheless, this is unlikely to pave the way for looser monetary policy – at least until the political... 10th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Pressures on the Egyptian pound mount Provisional data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) showing no improvement in foreign currency reserves in June – as had been hoped – will keep pressure on the pound. With political conditions still... 9th July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt: Investors too complacent on political risks Investor concerns over the risk of a disorderly devaluation of the pound are beginning to fade on the back of fresh hopes that the new Egyptian president will pursue an agreement with the IMF. However... 2nd July 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Focus Oil-poor countries could still outperform in the long term The economic prospects for some of the resource-poor Arab countries are brighter than their current conditions suggest. Although political transitions are proving difficult, we still think that they... 28th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egyptian markets rally, but political conditions are still fragile Egypt made a significant step in its transition yesterday following the announcement that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi has won the presidential election run-off. Even so, we remain cautious... 25th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Chart Pack Oil prices in freefall Fears for the health of the global economy have sent Brent crude prices down by more than $30 per barrel in the past month, raising fresh concerns over the sustainability of the recent fiscal packages... 22nd June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Outlook darkens for Egypt as political conditions deteriorate The Egyptian military is tightening its grip over political life in the country, casting doubts over the authority of the new president. Investors should therefore be concerned that recent... 18th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt’s rates on hold as political conditions worsen The decision by Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) to keep interest rates on hold was understandably overshadowed by rising tensions following today’s recommendation by the constitutional court that... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Middle East Markets Monitor (Jun.) The escalation in the euro-zone crisis and recent falls in the oil price have weighed heavily on the Arab region’s equity markets over the past month. Indeed, even if Dubai and Qatar are upgraded to... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Banks in the Gulf are well placed to weather the storm One of the main channels through which the euro-zone debt crisis could affect the oil-rich Gulf economies is via a drop in foreign capital inflows due to heightened global risk aversion. In particular... 13th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Egypt inflation down, but little chance of rate cut The fall in Egyptian inflation to a seven-month low in May is good news but does not provide sufficient grounds for the central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate on Thursday. 11th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economic Outlook Euro crisis clouds the outlook The combination of a deep recession in the euro-zone and the Arab world’s own political turmoil will act as a drag on the region’s economies in the near term. The North African countries are likely to... 7th June 2012 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update How will troubles in the euro-zone affect the Arab region? The primary channels through which a recession in the euro-zone will impact the Arab region are a deterioration in world trade, lower remittances, a drop in capital flows and falls in commodity prices... 7th June 2012 · 1 min read
