Egypt is collapsing!

[BRVoice]

Link to Al-jazeera live coverage - http://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish

Just scroll down and you will find it in the right side

[BRVoice]

Update on journalists in Egypt: 3 Al Jazeera reporters arrested, the TV station says; 2 New York Times reporters arrested, according to Associated Press

[American Patriot]

Rick, did you see that a number of senior members of new cabinet has resigned?

No had not seen or heard that. I might have missed it in your posts though. There's a lot to go through and I am at work so only doing a quick read when I have a minute here and there.

[BRVoice]

OK Rick. There is anything you want to add?

[BRVoice]

# Kasey156: RT @raafatology: The police ugly faces are back in Alexandria #Egypt #jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:04:35 AM

# Waseem_Arsany: @seksek @waelabbas this s beyond crazy, the country will explode #jan25 #egypt
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:05:35 AM

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi BREAKING Al Arabiya: Algeria lifts 19 year old State of Emergency Law half a minute ago via web

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi Breaking Al Arabiya: Mubarak supporters are storming Cairo hotels looking for journalists

# AndersInNon: RT @ShawkattRaghib: Call for #FF MultiMillion March to seize Presidential Palace, StateTV & Parliament. #Egypt #Tahrir #Jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:07:50 AM

# DailyNewsEgypt Vice President Omar Suliman: Gamal Mubarak resigned from the ruling National Democratic Party #jan25 #fb 2 minutes ago via web

[American Patriot]

Nope. Just following the story as I can. I don't have anything new here.

[BRVoice]

ReThePeople: RT @ArabVoicesSpeak: Ops!no break! Algeria raised its emergency laws to highest level since 1992 #jan25 #Egypt
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:11:58 AM

# ajimran #Egypt: Diplomatic language: GERMANY'S MERKEL SAYS EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT RESPONSIBLE FOR LETTING PEOPLE HAVE PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS.
about 1 minute ago · reply

# sooos23: RT @mand0z: When they start arresting human rights activists and lawyers, you know mass arrests are underway. #Jan25 #Egypt
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:16:32 AM

# sarahraslan: RT @marwame: Magdy Hussein of Kefaya movement: "I was arrested 3 times today." Only in Mubarak's #Egypt! #jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:17:09 AM

# TruthSeeker10: RT @iyad_elbaghdadi: Confirmed: #Tahrir Square has more demonstrators today than yesterday #Egypt #Jan25 #Mubarak
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:17:33 AM

# Geraldanthro: US state dept warning leave now, all foreigners leave SQ, be inside to night,arrests of reporters means violent night planed G #egypt #jan25Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:26:40 AM

# SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera breaking: Egypt Central bank sets withdrawal limit of $10,000 on all banks. (This is to prevent a run on the banks) 4 minutes ago via web

# srudat: Don't tweet ur location or with ur pic if u r tweeting from #Egypt. Mubarak's thugs are following you all. Retweet #Jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:31:30 AM

# AJELive AJELive Video shot by #AlJazeera when pro-democracy protesters completely broke through the Mubarak loyalists- http://aje.me/fPg6lW #Egypt #Jan25 half a minute ago via web

# Nicholas Kristof NickKristof Govt is trying to round up journalists. I worry about what it is they're planning that they don't want us to see. #Egypt. half a minute ago via web

# Mona Eltahawy monaeltahawy Thanks to all who confirmed that Amnesty Intl rep in #Egypt has indeed been arrested. 2 minutes ago via web

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera breaking: AFP: Foreigner dies in Meydan Tahrir 3 minutes ago via web

[BRVoice]

Anyone knows about the stock market? They are being affected?

[American Patriot]

Arresting Amnesty International, Newsies....

Oh man, the crap is about to hit the fan there. There's going to be an unprecedented attack on the protesters soon. Probably when it gets late enough and they are all sleeping.

[American Patriot]

I am seeing that the markets are holding steady....

Basically, unless Suez is shut down, oil is still getting through as are supplies. If the Army sides with Mubarak and all hell breaks loose there the world won't see much of it if they are taking out reporters.

Ollie North was just on TV and said that right now this was a 50/50 proposition. This could go one way, or it could go the way of Iran in 1979.

I'm seeing it leaning toward a remake of Iran.

[American Patriot]

Close

• FEBRUARY 3, 2011, 9:26 A.M. ET

OIL FUTURES: Crude Aims Higher As Markets Focus On Egypt




By Jerry A. DiColo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures marched higher Thursday, rising in step with escalating violence in Egypt that traders fear could disrupt oil supply routes or spread to neighboring states.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery recently traded 36 cents, or 0.4%, higher at $91.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 32 cents higher at $102.66 a barrel.
Clashes in Egypt between supporters of President Hosni Mubarak and protesters against the regime turned increasingly violent Wednesday. Egypt isn't an important oil exporter, but both the Suez Canal and Sumed pipeline are key transit routes from the Middle East to markets in Europe.
While unrest hasn't directly threatened canal or pipeline operations, oil markets are concerned that instability could spread throughout the region, affecting major oil-producing nations.
The President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, said he won't run for re-election or attempt to pass the presidency to his son amid mass protests in the country. Separately, unrest in Jordan spurred King Abdullah II to remove his prime minister and begin the formation of a new government.
"The energy markets seem to be holding steady right now at relatively high levels while waiting for the drama to play out," said Edward Meir, an analyst with MF Global, in a client note. "Anything could happen in Egypt in a matter of hours, if not days."
Growing turmoil in the Middle East has lifted both Nymex-traded West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, and Brent crude, used as the benchmark in Europe and Asia. But WTI continues to trade at a sharp discount to Brent, which rose above $100 a barrel for the first time in two years on Monday.
U.S. oil stockpiles have risen in recent weeks, and storage at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for Nymex-traded futures, is at record levels. The growing supply has kept a lid on prices in the U.S. despite signs that the U.S. economy is improving.
The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, falling 42,000 to 415,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, a sign of better conditions in the jobs market ahead of the monthly unemployment report due Friday.
Gasoline demand is tied closely to improvements in U.S. employment. But a string of winter storms in January have kept many drivers off the roads. U.S. stockpiles of gasoline rose by 5.2 million barrels last week.
"We're not seeing gasoline numbers that strong this time of year. It could be weather related, but right now it's an interesting anomaly," said Carl Larry, an analyst with Oil Outlooks and Opinions.
Front-month March reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded 1.55 cents higher at $2.5140 a gallon. March heating oil recently traded 1.44 cents, or 0.5%, higher at $2.7951 a gallon.
-By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2155; jerry.dicolo@dowjones.com

[BRVoice]

To all. Do you believe that the govt of Egypt could be toppled if they commit a bloodshed against the demonstrators?

[American Patriot]

Foreign investors in Egypt await market reopening



Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.
ORTE.CA
£3.57
+0.00+0.00%
01/27/2011


Commercial International Bank (Egypt)
COMI.CA
£36.47
+0.00+0.00%
01/27/2011









Thu Feb 3, 2011 8:41am EST

* Stock market due to reopen on Monday * Egyptian share prices down 21 percent this year

By Dinesh Nair DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab fund managers who only weeks ago were predicting Egypt would be the top regional performer in 2011 are now caught in the country's political upheaval as the local financial markets remain shut. The main Egyptian share market index has dropped more than 21 percent .EGX30 since the start of the year and financial markets have now been shut for the last five working days as protesters demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule camp in Cairo's streets,
Fund managers are now hoping they can cut losses once the market reopens. Egypt's stock exchange is due to reopen on Monday provided banks are operating smoothly, its chairman was quoted as saying. [ID:nWEB6771]


"The markets did not give us a fair chance to exit and we did not want to add to the panic selling last week," said Nadi Burgatti, head of asset management at Shuaa Capital, whose Middle East, North Africa (MENA) fund has an exposure to Egypt.


In last week's panic selling by both international and local investors, Egyptian stock prices fell 16 percent in two sessions but asset managers were left with little time to bale out, even if they had wanted to.


"Most institutions are still sitting on these positions. The selling was mainly retail driven," said Eric Swats, head of asset management at Rasmala Investments.


Egyptian stocks make up less than 1 percent of the MSCI emerging markets index .MSCIEF but an off-budget economic stimulus plan announced in December and prospects for strong economic growth had boosted share prices in the early weeks of January.



The index rose 6.5 percent in December and extended gains into the New Year, hitting an eight-month high on Jan 5.


"We have not been actively selling in Egypt because the markets are closed. We are positioning our portfolios for markets to open," Daniel Broby, chief investment officer for London-based frontier asset manager Silk Invest said.


The asset manager has between 10 percent to 15 percent exposure in Egypt across its four funds that manage around $150 million in assets.


<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^
For all stories on the crisis: [ID:nLDE70O2DA]
For a column on the effect on stocks [ID:nLDE70U1ME] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^>

MANAGING PANIC


With the crisis taking a more violent turn as protesters clash, market operators must be prepared to manage the risk of another round of panic selling when they re-open.


"There is going to be a gigantic order imbalance when they (markets) restart. It is not going to be a fair price discovery when there is order imbalance of that magnitude," Broby said.


But some managers may need to cut their exposure to adapt to changes in the country's poitical and economic risk profile.


"Definitely more investors will be trying to reduce their exposure once market reopens to re-rate the risks," said Tariq Qaqish, fund manager for Dubai-based Al Mal Capital's MENA fund said.


However, some managers see stock prices as having bottomed out and expect some buying to resume when markets re-open.


"Historically, political tensions tend to be buying opportunities," said Swats.


"Its not that Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) won't operate anymore or CIB (Commercial International Bank) (COMI.CA) won't be lending. They would be attractive at prices down 20 percent."


Egypt may follow the path of smaller peer Tunisia, which re-opened its stock market on Monday after a two-week suspension in the wake of political upheaval that led to the departure of its longtime president, Silk Invest's Broby said.


Tunisia did not allow continuous trading when the bourse opened but followed a system where it matched buy and sell orders in order to avoid panic selling.


"You have price discovery and you have volumes but you don't have rumour driving the market (under the Tunisia method) and I suspect Egypt will go the same route," Braby said.


Egypt's stock exchange will cut trading hours to three from the normal four when it reopens next week, the official state news agency MENA said on Thursday.


A spokeswoman for Egypt's market regulator was not immediately available for comment. (Editing by Greg Mahlich)

[BRVoice]

# SchoolmarmDE: RT @fustat: R @washingtonpost Our #Cairo bureau chief and photographer have reportedly been arrested http://wapo.st/ef5hWR #Egypt #Jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:46:01 AM

# AzizaSami: RT @sunnysingh_sw6: Wow! Alexandria protest is HUGE today. #jan25 #Egypt
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:46:42 AM

# alaskaRP: RT @raafatology: 60, 000 people in Mansoura city are protesting in support for their freinds in Tahrir Sq #Egypt #jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:47:05 AM

# Jan25 Voices Jan25voices Amnesty issues statement about arrested staff: http://tinyurl.com/6gltcnt 2 minutes ago via web

# The Daily News Egypt DailyNewsEgypt Pro-democracy protesters have reached the 6 Oct Bridge, which was dominated earlier by pro-Mubarak group throwing rocks. #jan25 2 minutes ago via web

# lyse doucet bbclysedoucet Egypt State TV Anchor and Senior Corr Shahira Amin resigns..she will be live on @BBCWorld @BBCNews 16G #jan25 #egypt 2 minutes ago via web

# Arunatt: RT @bencnn: On aje: Iraqis in #egypt fleeing home in search of safety. Who would have ever imagined. #ta

# Dima_Khatib I cannot keep up with news.. Attacks on journalists seem too frequent.. I am hearing about so many #jan25 half a minute ago via web

# Hossam عمو حسام 3arabawy renewed attacks by Mubarak's thugs near 6 oct bridge. The shabab r heading there now. #jan25 1 minute ago via Mobile Web

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi Tweet from @acarvin of NPR regarding the stabbed Greek journalist: Released from Hospital 2 minutes ago via web

# Dan Nolan nolanjazeera Thanks to a state media campaign blaming aljazeera for trying to spark a revolution, those pro-mubarak thugs are now hunting jazeera staff! 2 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone

# avinunu Al Jazeera: tens of thousands demonstrating in Alexandria demanding downfall of Mubarak. #jan25 3 minutes ago via Twitter for Mac

# Mona Eltahawy monaeltahawy RT MariGriffin The Amnesty staff member taken, along w Ahmed Seif Al Islam, Khaled Ali, a Human Rights Watch delegate, and others. #Jan25 1 minute ago via web

[Ryan Ruck]

BRV,
I went ahead and combined several of your Twitter posts to improve thread readability.

[BRVoice]

# JinanAlrawi: RT @globalfreemedia: #Egypt: Cyril Louis, a journalist from Figaro arrested #cairo #Jan25 http://ht.ly/3PDnq
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:59:18 AM

# RubyYass: RT @ArabVoicesSpeak: news from source in #Egypt: super market owner told by 100 employees that Ahmed Ezz gave them each 100 pounds to set things in fire #jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 10:59:39 AM

# Sam_Wolfgang: RT @FourYawkeyWay: "If we lose the battle, each of us will be arrested, harassed, tortured" -#Tahrir protesters. #egypt #jan25 #Mubarak must fall! not Tahrir!
Thursday, February 03, 2011 11:00:14 AM

# Ambitionissta: @nolanjazeera Every foreigner or foreign looking humanbeing is at risk! Stay safe first worry about reporting later! #Jan25 #Egypt
Thursday, February 03, 2011 11:00:37 AM

[BRVoice]

BRV,
I went ahead and combined several of your Twitter posts to improve thread readability.

Thanks!

[American Patriot]

3 Feb, 2011, 08.38PM IST,AGENCIES
US stocks fall slightly on Egypt fears



WASHINGTON: US stock markets fell slightly in early trade Thursday despite fairly positive news on jobs and retail sales , as Egyptian protesters kept up pressure on Hosni Mubarak's government.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.29 points (0.09 percent) to 12,037.00, while the broader S&P 500 was off 0.66 points (0.05 percent) to 1,303.37.

The Nasdaq Composite index dropped a bare 0.01 points (0.0 percent) to 2,749.55.

Analysts at Briefing.com said the ongoing turbulence in Egypt was behind the bearish sentiment.

"Concerns about conditions in Egypt have been rekindled as reports indicate that protests have become more violent than peaceful," they said.

[BRVoice]

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera speaking to prominent Egyptian blogger Nawara Negm "The thug attacks are still continuing. Give us back our martyrs" 2 minutes ago via web

# JinanAlrawi: So Mubarak arresting journalists? It will NOT stop the people reporting here or by phone or email telling us what's happening #egypt #jan25
Thursday, February 03, 2011 11:06:07 AM

# Sultan Al Qassemi SultanAlQassemi Al Jazeera: Vice President Omar Suleiman confirms that all articles in the constitution are open to amendment & not just articles 76 & 77 less than a minute ago via web

# weddady Mr Mustapha here is a top blogger from Lebanon RT @Beirutspring: it's the same in all foreign media. I noticed that in BBC and Euronews too less than 20 seconds ago via Tweetie for Mac

# SultanAlQassemi Read the Egyptian constitution here including the controversial articles 76 & 77 that the NDP used to stay in power http://bit.ly/fGhtt2 less than 10 seconds ago via web

[American Patriot]

* FEBRUARY 3, 2011, 10:56 A.M. ET

UPDATE: Egyptian Pound Seen Slumping When Market Re-Opens

-- Egyptian pound to fall when markets re-open Monday

-- Currency depreciation caused by capital outflows

-- Higher inflation will force central bank to hike

By Jessica Mead

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The Egyptian pound could weaken sharply when stock markets reopen Monday as foreign investors seek to withdraw capital from the unstable country--a shift that may force the central bank to raise interest rates by one percentage point, currency strategists say.

The extended closure of the Egypt's stock markets--which have been closed since Jan. 28 due to political unrest--has begun to raise concerns about the potential for deposit runs and extensive demand for foreign currencies, once the markets do eventually open, said Alastair Newton and Ann Wyman, fixed income analysts at Nomura in London.

"And the risk of the imposition of capital controls, at least temporarily, has increased," they added.

The currency can be traded even when stock markets are shut, but strategists are forecasting sizeable capital outflows when markets are back in business. "If we see a liquidation of a similar magnitude to that which occurred during the heights of the global financial crisis, we could see the currency weaken to the EGP6.10 area when markets re-open," said Dina Ahmad, emerging market currency strategist at BNP Paribas in London. This would represent a depreciation of about 4%. But she thinks the central bank will step in to halt the decline at EGP6.00.

The extended market closure has forced overseas holders of short-term T-Bills to hedge their positions in the non-deliverable forwards market for the Egyptian pound, driving the currency's forward rate lower against the dollar.

John Sfakianakis, chief economist at BSF Cr??dit Agricole Group in Saudi Arabia, says he expects the Egyptian pound to fall by 20% over the short term, caused primarily by the decline in capital inflows and rise in outflows. This would require the central bank to intervene on several occasions, he adds.

BNP Paribas' Ahmad sees a weaker Egyptian pound as having a significant effect on inflation. The bank's analysis shows that a 1% depreciation in the currency against an equally-weighted basket of euros and dollars adds approximately 0.3-0.4 percentage points to headline inflation. "This would need to be addressed by the central bank either by defending the currency or by hiking rates," Ahmad said.

Fitch Ratings, which downgraded Egypt to BB Thursday, highlighted the risk of rising inflation, saying: "The economic impact could be more severe in the event of material capital flight or deposit withdrawal from banks."

The bank's next rate-setting meeting is set for March 10, but BNP Paribas expects an emergency meeting before then, predicting a hike of 100 basis points in response to the expected rise in inflation. Egyptian interest rates have been held at 8% since September 2009, with the central bank last voting for no change on Jan. 27.

-By Jessica Mead, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9256; jessica.mead@dowjones.com