Economy features

Cooking with economy in Ard al-Lewa

22 Nov 2012
Um Islam, of the informal Ard al-Lewa neighborhood in northwest Giza, knows just where to find the cheap and good-sized eggplants in her local market.  After making her way past a series of stalls offering baskets of the oblong...
Yes

Sealing the deal: Egypt closest it’s been to securing IMF loan

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (R) leaves after her meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil al-Araby (L) at his office in Cairo in 2011. The International Monetary Fund said Thursday an IMF team had fruitful talks with authorities in Egypt this week that could lead to an IMF loan.
20 Nov 2012
Egypt reached a preliminary agreement with an International Monetary Fund delegation Tuesday, putting into action the disbursement process for a US$4.8 billion loan from the fund that has been more than a year in the making. The...
Yes

Making financial literacy fun, in a largely unbanked Egypt

16 Nov 2012
The comic book begins much as would be expected: Marvel comics’ the Avengers and Spiderman assemble to battle a villain intent on destroying humankind. But there’s a twist.   Set in a modern bank, the superheroes battle a...
Yes

In lifting 95-octane subsidy, government takes small bite out of deficit

Dozens of vehicles lining up to fill up tanks at a petrol station, Cairo, March 23, 2012. A fuel shortage in the country, that has hit the Egyptian capital the hardest, is leading to traffic congestion at petrol stations as motorists queue up to put fuel in their vehicles.
14 Nov 2012
The Egyptian government has announced that it will lift the subsidy on 95-octane gasoline in the coming week, taking the first step toward implementing an International Monetary Fund-approved economic reform plan. Officials are trying to...
Yes

In anti-IMF march, austerity fears and economic disillusion

Dozens of political activists taking part in protest against IMF loan, in front of Stock Exchange, Cairo, 29 August 2012.
13 Nov 2012
Several hundred protesters gathered on Monday evening outside the stock exchange building in downtown Cairo and marched to the headquarters of the Cabinet to protest the government’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund...
Yes

In Centamin case, allegations of a golden contract gone bad

09 Nov 2012
    The shares of the London-based mining giant Centamin tumbled last week, wiping about 40 percent off its share price, after an Egyptian court ruled void the company’s rights to operate the lucrative Sukari Gold Mine....
Yes

Salafis to back Sharia-friendly business

08 Nov 2012
Egypt’s Salafis are branching out into business, bringing their ultraconservative teaching of Islam into the world of modern finance.   The Salafi Dawah, the largest organization of ultraconservative Islamists in Egypt, founded...
Yes

IMF loan does not mean return of foreign investment, experts say

07 Nov 2012
Egypt's leaders continued negotiations with an IMF delegation for a US$4.8 billion loan this week, sorting out the details of a large-scale economic reform program aimed at reducing the country's growing deficit. The loan, which...
Yes

Recent graduates hit hardest by persistent unemployment

03 Nov 2012
For the thousands of young men and women who filled Tahrir Square nearly two years ago, youth unemployment was a huge issue. For many, their main demand was simple: an economy that would employ them. But throughout the transition period,...
Yes

Economists see folly in postponed shop closing law

A banner of al-Karama Party campaign against government's decision to close shops early, in Downtown Cairo, 31 October 2012. The decision of closing shops early at 10 pm was postponed indefinitely, according to Local Development Minister Ahmed Zaki Abdeen.
02 Nov 2012
The Wednesday decision by Local Development Minister Ahmed Zaki Abdeen to postpone indefinitely the law that would close shops at 10pm put a halt to a growing controversy over the government's lights-out policy. Multiple political...
Yes

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