News Summary: Egypt’s stocks rise despite unrest

By Associated Press,

STOCKS PERFORM: Egypt’s stock market rallied in 2013 despite serious security issues, nearly 13 percent unemployment, rising prices and ongoing unrest.
PERSISTENCE: In mid-December, Egypt’s main stock index closed at the highest point since Jan. 24, 2011, the eve of the uprising that deposed former President Hosni Mubarak. A military-backed interim government came to power after a coup deposed former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July.
HOPEFUL SIGNS: Promises of $8 billion from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after Morsi’s ouster helped bolster the country’s foreign reserves, which are needed to pay for vital imports, and the Egyptian pound. The government also is backing a development project planned along the Suez Canal.