Egypt continues to set records, and not at all in a good way.
Food prices, the biggest and most pressing expense for most families, are up a whopping 71.4% (!) over the past year alone. The annual inflation rate reached almost 40% last month, up from 38.2% recorded in July, according to the state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics. The Egyptian pound has lost more than 50% of its value against the dollar since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine in February last year. This has obviously added a massive burden on millions of Egyptians, who have seen their savings cut in half as the cost of living surges.
Egypt, with a population over 105 million people, also happens to be the world’s largest wheat importer, with most of its imports traditionally coming from Ukraine and Russia. With interest rates deeply in the negative, Egypt can't attract any foreign capital and continues to devalue its own currency. This process of hustling backwards can only go on for so long.
Side Items
Moroccan Earthquake Update: The country is still reeling from Friday’s quake that has killed more than 2,000 people, a number that’s expected to rise over the coming days. The UN estimates that 300,000 people were directly affected, and many of the same areas were shaken again this morning by a magnitude 3.9 aftershock. It wasn’t immediately clear if it caused more damage or casualties, but it’s likely strong enough to scare residents where damage has destroyed buildings and left many homeless
Cuckoo for Coco Gauff: Coco Gauff, the 19 year old American tennis sensation, won her first major title yesterday at the US Open with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 come from behind victory over Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff captured her first Grand Slam title in front of a crowd that couldn’t have been more supportive and used her victory speech to thank her haters
New Musk Unleashed: An upcoming biography of Elon Musk reveals that he’s actually had an 11th (?) child, and a third with the musician Grimes. The three children the musician and the Muskrat share are named, and I’m being totally serious, Exa, X Æ A-12, and Techno Mechanicus. This man has run out of normal names and has resorted to digging deep into his bag of Transformers-themed names. The guy is one very small step away from making the most unbearable Cheaper By the Dozen sequel imaginable