D. I. VINITSKY In-house correspondent for Asia and Africa Today magazine in Egypt Egypt Keywords: "Arab spring", economy, finance, crisis At the end of 2011, on November 24, the Central Bank of Egypt, in order to keep the financial and economic situation under control, was forced to take extreme measures, raising its key interest rate for the first time in three years. At the same time, the Central Bank acknowledged that intervention justified by the need to reduce inflation risks may not be sufficient, since the political crisis in the country continues to affect purchasing power and the investment climate. The reason for such unpopular and even dangerous steps in the current economic situation in the country was a new wave of anti-government protests, the scale of which, according to many local and foreign observers, could exceed the critical mass and result in a second, now "November revolution". Cairo's At-Tahrir Square, which has become famous all over the world over the past year, was once again filled with protesting masses, tear gas, the screams of the wounded, and the wailing of ambulance sirens. The picture would seem familiar enough for recent months in the Egyptian capital, if we do not take into account that the wave of violence swept it a week before the start of parliamentary elections, which were pinned with great hopes of ending the "time of troubles". Hazem Beblaoui, former finance Minister of Egypt in the transitional government of Issam Sharaf, said that the recent demonstrations in Al-Tahrir Square pose a real threat to the Egyptian economy, which cannot afford such negative manifestations.1 Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that Egypt's battered economy and the officials trying to keep it afloat have succumbed to the full weight of instability, falling incomes and rising costs, fears of foreign investors, and the relentless global financial and economic squeeze. Despite expectations, Egypt's Financial Policy Committee raised the d ... Read more