Economy features

Looming devaluation of Egyptian pound may have lasting effects

Building of headquarters of Central Bank of Egypt in Downtown
13 Feb 2012
With a loan deal between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund still uncertain and foreign investors still wary of returning, Egypt’s Central Bank will likely have no choice but to devalue its currency in the coming months. But...
Yes

Informal economy presents challenges, but also opportunities

09 Feb 2012
With Egypt’s economy struggling over the past year, everyone from generals and government officials to presidential candidates and academics have jumped at the opportunity to offer their two-cents on how to avoid economic collapse,...
Yes

Government drags feet on fuel subsidy reform

A girl selling fuel publicly on street, Faysal, Giza, September 19, 2011. According to an investigative report by Al-Masry Al-Youm, fuel has been shown to be sold outside authorized fueling stations, where gasoline (a fuel high on demand) is filled into containers (bearing names of state companies authorized to sell specified fuels at subsidized prices) at 'black market' prices.
08 Feb 2012
For years, Egypt’s government has discussed the need to reform fuel subsidies that mainly benefit energy-intensive industries and the wealthy, who consume more fuel than the poor. But all the talk has resulted in little action. Fuel...
Yes

Consumers suffer from scarce butane as black market prices soar

Crisis of butane gas cylinders, Mansoura, Dakahliya, January 16,2012.
06 Feb 2012
Mona Farag stood quietly watching military and police beat some of the women around her, forcing them, with the sides of their batons, to stay in place. It’s a familiar scene in Cairo these days, but Mona was not standing in an anti-...
Yes

One year on, the labor revolution is stalling

Hundreds of Alexandria harbor's workers staging protest before gate 10, Alexandria, 15 January, 2012. Workers protest against retired military officials who still occupy leading aministrative positions in the harbor. They warned of going on an open-ended strike. They also demanded disbursing their bonuses.
22 Jan 2012
On 30 January, only five days into the revolution, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions was born, the first such federation to be established since the union movement was monopolized by the state-controlled Egyptian Trade...
Yes

Islamists look to shake up Egypt stock exchange

one of investors in Dubai stock exchange follow updates of indicator of stock exchange
19 Jan 2012
Last month, Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Salafi-led Nour Party, addressed newly elected members of Egypt's lower house of parliament and journalists in a conference at the Egyptian stock exchange, in an effort to reassure investors...
Yes

Egypt entrepreneurs see new dawn post-revolution

A small-business owner at his workplace, Alexandria, 9 November, 2010. Loaners give business loans to young Egyptians wishing to establish mini, small, or medium-sized business ventures, however these ventures are at the verge of being shut down due to the financial crisis and the reluctance of banks to finance such ventures, as well as the complexity of loan procedures and crippling interest rates.  
18 Jan 2012
Two months after mass protests ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last February, Ahmed Essam resigned from his job at a well-established software company to set up a six-person venture developing applications for smart phones. The...
Yes

As Egypt returns to IMF, transparency still lacking

International Monetary Fund
15 Jan 2012
Though largely billed as the country’s best and last hope to balance a growing budget deficit and to alleviate a currency crisis, the Egyptian government’s re-initiated talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remain...
Yes

A year in review: After a tough year, Egypt's economic future still uncertain

Stock exchange
31 Dec 2011
In 2011, the Egyptian economy took a pummeling from the revolution. In 2012, it looks like it will be coming to terms with a new political reality. Over the past 12 months, the economy has suffered in the face of camel charges through...
Yes

Activists challenge European Investment Bank’s ties to EFG Hermes

European Investment Bank building in Luxembourg
29 Dec 2011
The Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes had Gamal Mubarak, once considered the next heir to Egypt’s presidency and now on trial for corruption, as a shareholder. So why was the European Union’s financing institution, the...
Yes

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