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FTX Chaos Prompts Reckoning on Dubai’s Embrace of Crypto Giants – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– While some financial centers tightened regulations, many UAE officials promoted virtual assets as a gold mine for economic growth and pivotal in the nation’s diversification strategy beyond fossil fuels.
– That helped the Gulf state position itself as a crypto hub, attracting industry heavyweights while also prompting bankers, lawyers and tech executives to switch jobs. Property brokers were reporting an infusion of crypto funds into luxury real estate.
– The Dubai virtual assets regulator’s structure is aimed at opening the doors for the biggest firms to operate but initial licenses only allow a narrow range of services.
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EGP/USD: Egypt’s Devalued Pound and Rescue Funds Trigger Stock Frenzy – Bloomberg
– Agreements with the IMF and other international partners to help finance Egypt’s external funding gap have fueled investor confidence in the nation’s equities.
– Investments from Persian Gulf nations could also be supporting the market. Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ is snapping up stakes in key listed Egyptian companies. Also, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has started a company that will invest in swathes of Egypt’s economy.
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EGP/USD: Egypt Pound Makeover Still Untested, But That May Change Soon – Bloomberg
– Among developing peers, Egypt is the economy most vulnerable to a currency crisis over the next 12 months.
– At stake is the willingness of foreign investors to plow money back into the one-time darling of emerging markets.
– Right now, there is a lot of confusion as to whether we are in a truly flexible regime,” said Farouk Soussa, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London.
– The North African nation devalued the pound by 18% in late October and signalled it’s shifting to a more flexible foreign-exchange regime.
– The central bank plans by end-December to remove a requirement for importers to acquire letters of credit to buy some goods abroad.
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US Navy AI Drone Fleet Protects Persian Gulf Arabs From Iran – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– The 1980 Doctrine held that the US would intervene to prevent any outside force from gaining control of the region. It was understood this included repelling any assaults on Gulf Arab states, such as the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
– President Joe Biden’s administration seems to be taking its security role in the Gulf more seriously. This month, after Saudi Arabia discovered credible threats of an imminent Iranian missile and/or drone attack, US fighter jets were scrambled and flew near Iran in an aggressive show of deterrence.
– To secure the flow of energy and commercial shipping, as well as for general maritime security, the US is developing and deploying a cutting-edge surveillance system known as Digital Ocean.
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US, Russia Urge Turkey to De-Escalate Fighting in Northern Syria – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
– President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, accusing the US and Russia of not fulfilling their promises to force the militants to withdraw from the Turkish border as mandated under deals reached in 2019.
– Over the weekend, Turkey bombed bases of the outlawed Kurdish PKK group in northern Iraq, as well as positions of US-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
– Erdogan’s threat of a new assault may help him consolidate nationalist support ahead of elections next year.
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