Liquidators for defunct crypto exchange FTX asked a judge to approve the sale of its interest in a fund of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital to an Abu Dhabi state-backed investment firm, in a deal valued at $45 million, Bloomberg News reported. FTX agreed to sell the interest in the Sequoia Capital Fund, which previously belonged to its sister trading outfit Alameda Research’s venture arm, to Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited on Wednesday, its estate said in a filing to Delaware’s bankruptcy court late that same day.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, has pushed up food and energy prices worldwide, adding another layer to Egypt’s economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. Soaring inflation, a severely weakened currency and other problems have followed decades of government mismanagement and broader disruptions, starting with the turmoil from the 2011 Arab Spring popular uprising, then years of militant attacks, followed by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Egypt looked to raise $1.5 billion through the sale of its first Islamic debt, as the North African nation wrestles with a foreign-currency crunch, Bloomberg News reported. The wheat importer’s $400 billion economy is exposed to the shockwaves of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has devalued its currency three times since March and sought aid from the International Monetary Fund. The final guidance price for the three-year dollar sukuk was at 11.125% area (+/- 1/8th) on Tuesday, according to a term sheet seen by Bloomberg.

Bank of Israel Deputy Governor Andrew Abir suggested on Monday that more interest rate increases were possible as inflation remains "sticky" above a 5% rate, Reuters reported. He was speaking to Reuters the central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by a half a percentage point to 4.25%, its highest level since late 2008.

Egypt’s monthly food prices soared at the fastest pace on record, sending inflation in urban parts of the country sharply higher in January and adding to the urgency for the central bank to resume interest-rate hikes, Bloomberg News reported. The surge in cost increases was a surprise to many economists even after last month’s steep currency devaluation heaped more pressures on consumers in the Middle East’s most populous nation.

Tunisia's government on Wednesday began discussions on a new foreign exchange bill it says will help to make international business dealings easier, following calls from Tunisian firms for reform, Reuters reported. "Tunisia looks to modernise the exchange system and to gradual liberalisation of financial relations toward a full liberalisation with the outside world," the government said on Wednesday in a statement following talks on the bill. Investors have to get central bank approval to access hard currency to fund operations abroad, or obtain credit letters to import goods.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has shut its Abu Dhabi office less than a year after securing a license in the region, a spokesperson said on Thursday, as the company seeks to sharpen its focus after FTX's bankruptcy shook the digital assets sector, Reuters reported. The U.S.-based company had said last year it would reduce its workforce by 30%, or about 1,100 employees, as rising rates and worries of an economic downturn soured the sentiment on crypto.

The Saudi Central Bank said on Wednesday it increased its key interest rates by 25 basis points, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's move as the Saudi riyal is pegged to the dollar, Reuters reported. The Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, lifted its repo and reverse repo rates by 25 bps each to 5.25% and 4.75%, respectively, it said in a statement. Read more.

The central bank of Kuwait raised its discount rate to 4% from 3.50% effective Jan. 26, it said in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The decision is in line with "recent developments in the local and international economic conditions, local monitory and banking indicators and movements on KWD interest rate in the local market considering changes to the interest rates on the other major currencies," Governor Basel Al-Haroon said in the statement. Read more.