Egypt’s EFG Hermes plans expansion

Egypt’s EFG Hermes is considering expanding into the insurance and mortgage sectors after obtaining regulatory approval, the investment bank’s CEO said.

Hermes is also looking to enter a new market in Asia or Africa within a year, Karim Awad said in an interview.

Hermes, the Middle East’s largest investment bank, operates in countries including Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan and Jordan. Hermes “will study the practices (of non-banking financial services) after obtaining the necessary regulatory permissions”, he added.

Italy may cut next year’s deficit target

Italy’s governing coalition may reduce next year’s budget deficit target to as low as 2 per cent of gross domestic product to avoid a disciplinary procedure from Brussels, two government sources said on Monday.

The goal in the draft budget is now 2.4 per cent of GDP, much higher than the 0.8 per cent set by the previous government, prompting European partners to first threaten a formal rebuke and fine on October 23.

German business morale plunges

German business morale fell by more than expected in November as the country’s exporters get caught up in a trade dispute between China and the United States.

Economists expressed concern about the drop in the Ifo economic institute’s business climate index, which followed the first quarterly contraction in German GDP since 2015.

Munich-based Ifo said on Monday the index fell for the third month in a row to 102.0. This was lower than a consensus forecast of 102.3 in a Reuters poll of economists.

Bitcoin’s crash nears worst bear markets

Bitcoin extended its tumble on Monday after breaking below the $4,000 level over the weekend, putting the 2018 crash within striking distance of the cryptocurrency’s worst bear markets.

The virtual currency, conceived just over a decade ago, slid 7.8 per cent from Friday to $3,931, Bitstamp prices showed as of 6:51am in New York.

All nine of its largest peers tracked in real time by Bloomberg fell, with drops ranging as high as 14 per cent for Monero.