Bread riots or bankruptcy

[Pete]

Bread riots or bankruptcy: Egypt faces stark economic choices

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0403/Bread-riots-or-bankruptcy-Egypt-faces-stark-economic-choices?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonitor

'It was a perilous time for Egypt. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was demanding subsidy cuts in exchange for a loan Egypt's leaders desperately wanted. So they complied, cutting subsidies on the bread, cooking fuel, and gasoline average citizens relied on to live............................."

Worth a slow read.

[Flagg]

Bread riots or bankruptcy: Egypt faces stark economic choices

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2013/0403/Bread-riots-or-bankruptcy-Egypt-faces-stark-economic-choices?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonitor

'It was a perilous time for Egypt. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was demanding subsidy cuts in exchange for a loan Egypt's leaders desperately wanted. So they complied, cutting subsidies on the bread, cooking fuel, and gasoline average citizens relied on to live............................."

Worth a slow read.

Here's an interested article to add to the queue:

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130322/qatar-abandoning-egypt

Qatar has been supporting Egypt financially, but now appears to be backing off substantially.

Here's a scary set of stats on Egypt's economy, specifically the tourism sector:

12 million visitors(or so at peak)

$12 billion in foreign currency "export income"

12% of Egypt's workforce

A nice, but rough relationship with those 3 stats.

Unfortunately, the numbers have since declined by well over a third.

So that's roughly $4 billion in foreign currency "exports" and 4% additional unemployment.

Lots of folks worried about Syria.....not too many worried about Egypt.

I reckon Egypt is the centre of gravity for much of the Middle East in some ways....particularly Arab language TV/Film/Mass Media.

I reckon Egypt collapses by Xmas.

Those boring Sinai deployments may not be so boring in the near future.

Just my amateur 0.02c

[The Reaper]

Maybe they can trade their buddies, the Iranians, some nice low-mileage M1 Abrams and F-16s we thought they needed.

TR

[Pete]

A country that has to import it's food and money doesn't have a very bright future.