
Egypt's parliament greenlights additional $1.7bln FY2024/25 budget allocation
The additional allocation comes in light of the urgent economic and financial changes during the current fiscal year.
The move aims to address the impact of a weaker Egyptian pound, which has depreciated to EGP 49.65 against the US dollar.
This exchange rate is compared to the originally assumed rate of EGP 45 under the approved budget.
The extra funding also takes into account higher-than-expected interest rates, which have pushed the average cost of borrowing on government debt instruments above the planned 25%.
As a result, additional interest expenses of EGP 57.1 billion have risen.
© 2020-2023 Arab Finance For Information Technology. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
8 hours ago
- The National
Trump administration begins mass layoffs at US State Department
The US State Department on Friday began laying off more than 1,300 diplomats and other employees, as part of an effort by President Donald Trump 's administration to slash government spending and shrink the federal workforce. The so-called reductions in force, or RIFs, include 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service employees based in the US, according to a State Department notice seen by The National. Including voluntary departures and retirements, nearly 3,000 members of the workforce would leave the department as part of the effort. "The objective from the start was clear: focus resources on policy priority and eliminate redundant functions, empowering our people while increasing accountability," deputy secretary of state Michael Rigas wrote in an email to State Department employees. Mr Rigas said the effort was the "largest reorganisation" effort in the State Department in decades. Until the layoffs, the department had a domestic workforce of about 18,000 people. A State Department employee who did not wish to be named said that farewell emails were pouring in on Friday. Diplomats-in-residence, many of them senior officers, have been let go, in addition to members of the Foreign Service Institute, the employee added. The employee said that they understood that staff at the office of global women's issues had been laid off as well. The layoffs come after the Supreme Court this week ruled in favour of the Trump administration's plans for the mass firings of federal workers. Mr Trump, who took office in January, campaigned on a promise to reduce the size of the federal government, a long-standing Republican goal. The Republican Party as a whole sees a large federal government as a wasteful and bloated bureaucracy. Some far-right Republicans also accuse federal employees of being part of a "deep state" conspiracy working to undermine Mr Trump's agenda. Representative Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, blasted the State Department's layoffs. 'The mass firing of civil service and foreign service employees at the State Department is a reckless and unilateral disarmament of our national security toolbox," he said in a statement. "Republicans claim to put 'America First,' but gutting our diplomatic and development corps does the opposite." Soon after taking office, Mr Trump enlisted the help of billionaire Elon Musk, his ally at the time, to slash federal jobs with the aim of reducing spending and eradicating alleged corruption in the federal government. Under the Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, thousands of government projects and jobs were cut. The US Agency for International Development was dissolved and folded into the State Department after the vast majority of its projects were cancelled.

Gulf Today
10 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Bitcoin reaches an all-time high, surpassing $118,000
Bitcoin has reached an all-time high, surpassing $118,000 as a flood of money moves into spot bitcoin ETFs, which have opened up cryptocurrency investing to millions. A soft US dollar and the digital currency friendliness of President Donald Trump's administration has also helped to push the price of bitcoin to unprecedented levels recently. Last month the Senate passed legislation that would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins, the first of what the industry hopes will be a wave of bills to bolster its legitimacy and reassure consumers. The fast-moving legislation comes on the heels of a 2024 campaign cycle in which the crypto industry ranked among the top political spenders in the country, underscoring its growing influence in Washington and beyond. Known as the GENIUS Act, the bill would establish guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the US dollar. The acronym stands for "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins.' Next week the House of Representatives will be considering the GENIUS Act as part of Congress' efforts to strengthen the country's crypto position. US-listed crypto stocks jumped on Friday as bitcoin surged to a record high in the run-up to a landmark week that could cement policy wins for the crypto industry. Starting July 14, the House of Representatives will debate three major crypto bills that are likely to provide the industry the regulatory framework in the US that it has long demanded. The lawmakers will discuss the Genius Act, the Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act during the "Crypto Week", amid growing bets that the industry's strained ties with Washington is beginning to thaw. This is a sharp reversal of fortune for a sector that had once threatened to flee offshore, citing a hostile environment and heavy-handed enforcement in the US "We expect capital that was previously sidelined due to regulatory uncertainty to re-enter," said Jag Kooner, head of derivatives at crypto exchange Bitfinex. "Even if final passage stalls, the optics of legislative engagement are bullish." Regulatory clarity could encourage more companies to adopt bitcoin in their treasury strategies, analysts said, similar to firms such as Strategy, which has accumulated the cryptocurrency as a long-term store of value. "We're seeing bitcoin treasury strategies proliferate across companies, which reflects growing institutional confidence in BTC as a balance-sheet asset," said Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen. Bitcoin's surge has triggered a broader rally in the crypto market, with strong and sustained inflows into the related spot exchange-traded funds driving prices higher, he said. The world's largest cryptocurrency was last up 4% at $118,071.19, taking its gains for the year to 26%. The digital asset has surged nearly 41% in the last three months. Bitcoin buyer and holder Strategy rose 3.8%, while crypto miners Riot Platforms, Hut 8 and Mara Holdings gained between 1.5% and 3%. "Investors are racing to take positions ahead of the extra publicity this event could attract," said Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, referring to the Crypto Week. Rising confidence in bitcoin is now resulting in investors chasing higher returns in smaller tokens. Ether, the second-largest token, was last up 6.5%, while XRP and Solana gained 12% and 2%, respectively. The sector's total market value has swelled to about $3.7 trillion, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin's sharp rally has also drawn caution from some corners of the market. As crypto gets embedded in the traditional financial system, some analysts warned the hype may be outpacing reality, as it starts to displace gold as the preferred hedge against equities. "The (regulatory) backdrop has supported prices and attention has turned to bitcoin's role in portfolios, with some likening the crypto-asset to 'digital gold'. This moniker is likely premature," said Dirk Willer, Citi's global head of macro, asset allocation and emerging market strategy. With likely volatility ahead, some analysts have cautioned investors to pause and weigh their time horizons before jumping in. "It's hard not to be optimistic about bitcoin at this moment in time, but the risk of a fall in price or short-term pullback still exists," said Simon Peters, crypto analyst at online brokerage eToro. Critics have argued the Trump administration is conceding too much to the crypto industry. "I'm concerned that what my Republican colleagues are aiming for is another industry handout that gives the crypto lobby exactly its wish list," Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said earlier this week. She urged Congress to bar public officials, including the President, from issuing, backing or profiting from crypto tokens. Trump has faced criticism from political rivals and ethics experts over potential for conflicts of interest regarding his family's crypto ventures. Reuters

Economy ME
13 hours ago
- Economy ME
Moody's upgrades Oman's credit rating to Baa3 with stable outlook, citing improved debt metrics
Moody's Ratings has elevated Oman's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Baa3 from Ba1, while also adjusting the outlook to stable from positive. This upgrade signals expectations that Oman's government debt metrics will stay robust, even if oil prices dip below Moody's medium-term assumption of $65 per barrel. The rating agency highlighted the significant reduction in the debt burden over recent years and the cumulative impact of spending restraint as key factors enhancing Oman's resilience to potential future declines in oil demand and prices. At the close of 2024, Oman's government debt burden fell to 35.5 percent of GDP, down from 37.5 percent at the end of 2023, marking a continuation of the improvement trend since 2020. Moody's anticipates that most of Oman's debt ratios will keep improving in the upcoming years, albeit at a more modest pace than observed over the past four years. A stronger debt position grants the government greater fiscal space and time to implement structural reforms aimed at reducing the country's heavy economic and fiscal reliance on the hydrocarbon sector. Balancing fiscal risks Government expenditure has decreased to less than 29 percent of GDP in 2024, down from an average of over 41 percent during the period from 2016 to 2020. This spending restraint has consequently lowered Oman's fiscal breakeven oil price to under $70 per barrel for 2024-2025, compared to an average exceeding $84 per barrel in 2016-2020. The stable outlook strikes a balance against fiscal risks across various oil price scenarios. Upside risks are primarily linked to regional geopolitical tensions that could push oil prices higher, while downside risks involve the potential for an accelerated global carbon transition, which may lead to weakened hydrocarbon revenue. Additionally, Moody's raised Oman's local currency and foreign currency country ceilings to A3 from Baa1 and to Baa1 from Baa2, respectively. The rating agency remarked that Oman's credit profile remains vulnerable to fluctuations in oil prices due to its economic and fiscal reliance on hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbon sector contributed, on average, around 34 percent of GDP, 56 percent of exports, and 76 percent of government revenue during the period from 2020 to 2024. Long-term economic reforms In terms of longer-term upside potential, ongoing fiscal and economic reforms are noteworthy, including plans to introduce a 5 percent personal income tax by 2028, develop a large green hydrogen sector, and expand liquefied natural gas production capacity by a third by 2030. Oman's economy exhibited a consistent growth rate of 2.5 percent in real GDP by the conclusion of Q1 2025, reaching OMR9.43 billion ($24.52 billion) at market prices—an increase from OMR9.2 billion during the same timeframe in 2024, as reported by Oman's National Centre for Statistics and Information. This uptick in GDP was primarily driven by robust performance in non-oil sectors, which experienced a 4.4 percent increase in added value, climbing to OMR6.92 billion compared to OMR6.63 billion in Q1 2024. Oil activities faced a slight decline of 0.4 percent, contributing OMR2.92 billion in Q1 2025, down from OMR2.94 billion the previous year. Crude oil production decreased by 2.2 percent to OMR2.45 billion, while natural gas production emerged as a positive factor, soaring by 9.5 percent to OMR475.3 million. Read more: Oman's tourism attracts $6.7 billion in investments from $7.8 billion target by end of 2025 Budget surplus and current account gains Oman recorded a budget surplus of 6.2 percent and a current account gain of 2.4 percent in 2024, attributed to prudent fiscal policies, elevated oil prices, and growth in nonhydrocarbon exports. In its 2024 Article IV consultation, the International Monetary Fund credited these outcomes to effective economic management. Despite increased social spending under a new protection law, the nonhydrocarbon primary deficit as a share of nonhydrocarbon gross domestic product remained stable, highlighting the government's commitment to financial discipline. Government debt as a percentage of GDP further declined, reaching 35 percent in 2024, reflecting ongoing improvements in Oman's economic fundamentals. The Sultanate of Oman experienced an average inflation rate of 0.81 percent during the initial five months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to the Consumer Price Index data released by the Ministry of Economy. The report underscored a 1.3 percent rise in the general import price index and a 4.1 percent increase in the producer price index by the end of the first quarter of 2025 compared to the corresponding period in 2024. Geographical distribution revealed varied inflation rates across governorates, with South Al Batinah recording a slight decline of 0.04 percent, while A'Dakhiliyah saw the highest rate at 1.58 percent, closely followed by Musandam at 1.51 percent and South A'Sharqiyah at 1.24 percent. More moderate increases were observed in North A'Sharqiyah (0.21 percent) and North Al Batinah (0.42 percent), with other governorates remaining below one percent.