Egyptians get some relief from soaring prices as inflation eases

Egypt’s annual inflation rate dropped for the first time since March, offering a much needed respite from soaring prices as the country gears up for weakening its currency to secure a US$12 billion loan from the IMF.

Prices in urban parts of Egypt rose by 14.1 per cent in September compared with a year earlier, according to data from the state-run statistics agency Capmas. The rate was 15.5 per cent in August, the highest in at least seven years. Food and beverage prices, which account for the largest component of the basket of goods and services, climbed 14.8 per cent in September versus 19.3 in August.

The September inflation rate rose 1.2 per cent month-on-month, compared to 1.9 per cent in August.

Some economists expect the inflation rate to rise to as much as 20 per cent by year-end, as the government implements reforms including devaluing the currency and curbing subsidies in a bid to trim one of the Mena region’s’s highest deficits. Weakening the currency is key to helping ending a foreign crunch crunch that has hammered business activity and kept foreign investors at bay.

The concern has been that reform will send prices rocketing, squeezing an already struggling lower income bracket in the nation of nearly 92 million. Officials have been urging food companies to cut prices to ease any potential shock to consumers, particularly after the introduction of a value-added tax last month. The president Abdel Fattah El Sisi has also ordered the government to make available necessary staples to guard against shortages and price gouging by traders.

The moves are part of reforms to which the government has committed in order to secure the IMF loan.

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Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

India squads

Test squad against Afghanistan: Rahane (c), Dhawan, Vijay, Rahul, Pujara, Karun, Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Umesh, Shami, Pandya, Ishant, Thakur.

T20 squad against Ireland and England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Raina, Pandey, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh.

ODI squad against England: Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rohit, Rahul, Shreyas, Rayudu, Dhoni, Karthik, Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Pandya, Kaul, Umesh

The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km

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Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

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US households add $601bn of debt in 2019

American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.

Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.

In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.

The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.

"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.