CAIRO, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Egypt will invite the IMF on
Thursday to reopen negotiations on a $4.8 billion loan, state
newspaper al-Ahram reported, and the investment minister
expressed hope that a deal could be done by the end of April.

International Monetary Fund support is seen as crucial to
help ease an economic crisis rooted in two years of political
turmoil that has depleted foreign currency reserves to
critically low levels.

MADINAT ELSADAT, Egypt, Feb 27 (Reuters) – The blue steel
gates of Abu al-Makarim factory, once busy with staff carrying
Egyptian carpets for export, are now rust-encrusted and bolted
shut after worker strikes and financial problems forced the
plant out of business eight months ago.

The abandoned facility in Madinat Elsadat, near Cairo, is
one of thousands that have fallen victim to the instability of
post-revolution Egypt. Many that remain open are plagued by
power cuts, strikes, poor security, and difficulty securing
loans in credit markets where they are squeezed out by an
indebted government.

CAIRO, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Egypt will send a new economic
plan needed to secure a lifeline from the International Monetary
Fund to parliament within two days after releasing a summary
that makes no mention of cutting subsidies and other
politically-sensitive measures.

Cairo is trying to secure a $4.8 billion IMF loan to shore
up its finances as the economy faces a deep crisis rooted in two
years of political turmoil that have drained foreign currency
reserves to a critical level.

CAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Egypt plans to invite an IMF
mission to Cairo within a week, the government said on Thursday,
signalling an imminent resumption of negotiations over a $4.8
billion loan as it struggles with an acute foreign currency
shortage.

Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby said foreign investment in
Egypt had all but dried up and announced grim economic data,
exposing the depth of the country’s financial crisis before
elections expected in the spring.

CAIRO, Feb 20 (Reuters) – A deal that would see Bill Gates
and other U.S. investors inject $1 billion in fertilizer and
construction firm OCI NV has been hampered by Egyptian
regulators’ request for clarification of the deal.

The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) wanted
more information on an offer by Dutch-listed OCI NV to acquire
ordinary shares of its Egyptian-listed subsidiary Orascom
Construction Industries, OCI NV said.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of Islamists rallied in Cairo on Friday in support of Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood president who has been the target of protester rage in weeks of violent demonstrations.

Repeating the pattern of recent weeks, Mursi’s opponents rallied again on Friday, this time gathering outside El-Quba, one of the presidential palaces in the northern suburbs of Cairo. The activists dubbed it “Checkmate Friday”.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of Islamists protested in Cairo on Friday against violence that has marred anti-government demonstrations, showing support for President Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood politician elected head of state last year.

The “Together against Violence” rally was called by a hardline Salafi Islamist group that waged an armed revolt against the state in the 1990s.

CAIRO (Reuters) – A run on Egypt’s pound has left foreign currency in short supply and driven some dealers into the streets in search of people with U.S. dollars to sell, spawning a new black market.

The currency’s decline was triggered by a political uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011 and it has officially lost 8 percent of its value since December 30.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) – More than 100 Saudi clerics have signed a petition calling for fair hearings for prisoners held on security grounds in the conservative kingdom, which has arrested thousands of people in a campaign against Islamist militants.

The petition, prompted by the detention earlier this month of 11 women who staged a protest to demand the release of jailed relatives, also called on the authorities to treat women prisoners properly.