New White House occupants, media coverage of Egypt, Wall Street banks in the black and RIP Larry King
18 - 24 January 2021
Hello and welcome. Let’s get to it!
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
The White House welcomed new residents on Wednesday, marking the official start of the Biden administration.
Following a heartfelt and sombre inauguration ceremony, President Biden and Vice President Harris headed to the West Wing to get the ball rolling on #BuildBackBetter.
No. 46 has already signed dozens of executive orders, ranging from the US-Mexico border wall (pausing construction) to multilateral agreements (rejoining the Paris climate accord) to face masks (made compulsory on federal property).
But while Biden has outlined his domestic vision, many questions remain about his foreign agenda. Comments from his incoming aides suggest the president is likely to continue with several of his predecessor’s policies, albeit in a more diplomatic manner. This could be tricky for China - Beijing says damaged bridges “need to be repaired” so that “kind angels can triumph over evil forces”. For now, the CCP is waiting for stronger clues on Biden’s stance before issuing any bold statements.
Over on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is navigating choppy waters to help Biden heal a fractured America. The upper house of Congress is split 50-50 with VP Harris acting as tie-breaker. This means passing any daring legislation will require impressive negotiation skills (the Democratic Party itself needs to unite progressive liberals and moderates).
Then there’s the matter of the Senate’s impeachment trial of Donald Trump, which is scheduled for the week of 8 February. Unless Mitch McConnell lobbies Republicans to convict the former Commander-in-Chief, Trump will walk away scot-free and be allowed to run again in 2024.
Either way, conservative populism is alive and kicking in the form of Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley et al. Additionally, if the rumour mill is to be believed, Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump are both considering their own careers in politics.
Deep Dive will be keeping an eye on campaigns for the 2022 midterms.
LOOKING THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS
Egypt is undoubtedly an influential player in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It occupies a strategic location, boasts a sizeable population and Arab entertainment industry, and has a large civil society alongside a powerful army.
Yet international news coverage of the country is intermittent, and often lacks nuance when it comes to Egypt’s diverse communities and culture. Independent media outlet Egyptian Streets aims to address some of those problems by focusing on the grassroots level. I spoke to founder Mohamed Khairat about the project.
Q. What inspired you to launch Egyptian Streets, and what do you hope it will achieve?
I founded Egyptian Streets in July 2012 as a blog to share views and perspectives on Egypt, particularly as an Egyptian living abroad during what was one of the most important times in the country's modern history.
I hadn't actually visited Egypt in more than three years, but when I went in November 2012, I noticed there were so many 'daily occurrences' and stories that were not portrayed by the media in an effective manner, especially to Egyptians living abroad (who amount to more than 10 million people). On the BBCs of the world, we'd see the big headlines but not the everyday context, the everyday stories and the everyday social, economic, political and cultural issues that impact Egyptians.
For example, during my visit in 2012, I would often drive by a school where classrooms had no windows to keep the cold winter chill out. I wanted to start capturing this - not only to raise awareness of the issue and (hopefully) get it addressed, but to show people how they can help make a difference in the community.
Today, our focus is on the 'stories that matter'. We aim to engage with the community to encourage meaningful and engaging conversations and to hopefully shift perspectives, instigate social and cultural change and, where possible, lobby those in decision-making circles to take action.
Q. What does the international media frequently misunderstand or get wrong when covering Egypt?
That there's only one Egypt. A lot of foreign reporters often rely on social media - and usually Twitter - to get the pulse of what's happening in Egypt. However, the Egypt on Twitter is different to the Egypt on Facebook and different to the Egypt on Instagram - and all three don't necessarily reflect realities on the ground, which can vary between towns and cities.
That's not to say Egyptian Streets covers all issues or the perspectives of all Egyptians - but we don't claim to do so either (plus Egyptian Streets is entirely in English, not Arabic).
Q. What big story or issue do you expect to emerge out of the country this year?
Beyond the pandemic, I think the women's movement defined Egypt in 2020. I expect to see this movement and conversations surrounding it continue to grow in 2021.
Importantly, with a new Egyptian parliament, the time is right to begin conversations about real legal change – a number of Egyptian laws with respect to women's rights are arguably dated. I also expect, or hope, that the focus on women's rights within this recent women's movement starts to include people from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have access to the same tools as others.
CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?
The Covid-19 outbreak has pushed economies into recession, forced thousands of businesses to close and caused mass unemployment. But the experience over on Wall Street last year wasn’t exactly doom and gloom.
Although the global spread of the virus triggered a sharp sell-off in March, US equity markets defied expectations and recovered quickly. The Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq marched onwards and upwards - weathering bouts of volatility - to eventually end 2020 on a glorious high (record highs for the Dow and S&P in fact).
What drove this spectacular rally? Investors were buoyed by the Fed’s unprecedented stimulus measures, Washington’s mega relief package and numerous IPOs. Plus, stay-at-home orders gave a huge boost to the FAANG stocks (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google) as well as the likes of Zoom, Peloton and Etsy.
The surge in trading activity and financial advisory work laid the foundations for bumper earnings for the US’s largest banks. JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America all recently reported results that smashed estimates.
Morgan Stanley, in particular, clocked its best ever annual performance, prompting the board to increase CEO James Gorman’s total compensation by 22% to US$33 million.
However, the Wall Street titans are being “frugal” with the rest of their workforce, according to Bloomberg. At Goldman Sachs, for instance, revenue generated per employee rose 15% but the firm “spent an average of just 2% more on each person”. Analysts say the lenders are taking “optics” into account given the pandemic, and the bosses also want to avoid provoking President Biden’s new regulators.
GOODBYE TO A TV LEGEND
Veteran broadcaster Larry King died at age 87 in Los Angeles on Saturday.
King was an iconic on-air personality, known for his thoughtful and lively discussions with heads of state, pioneers, activists, athletes, musicians, actors and criminals.
I grew up watching King - with his trademark glasses and suspenders - on CNN International in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was always attentive and seemed genuinely curious about his guests.
King interviewed a who’s who of notable figures over the past six decades. Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Prince, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and many others appeared on his award-winning show.
RIP Larry
Thanks for reading! Till next time x