Roundup: Egypt's economy feels pain of social unrest

Roundup: Egypt's economy feels pain of social unrest

CAIRO, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The violence in Egypt is seriouslyhurting the country's tourism industry, and its economy as a result,as massive protests against President Hosni Mubarak has entered itssecond week.

Trains stopped running on Monday. The internet remained shutdown. Banks, stock markets and most businesses were closed.

Storage racks for bread, milk, edible oil and local fruits werealmost empty in Cairo's supermarkets as people tried to replenishtheir stores for fear that the chaos could continue and prices couldrise.

Tourism, a crucial source of Egypt's revenue, was severely hit bythe protest as travelers canceled trips to Egypt and tour operatorsavoid the country.

EgyptAir has cancelled flights during the government-imposedcurfew, which was extended from 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) to 8 a.m. (0600GMT).

The timing of the violence could not be worse as winter is thehigh season for tourism in all parts of Egypt.

Standard & Poor's on Tuesday joined Moody's in cutting Egypt'sratings, the second such downgrade in as many days.

Mubarak said on Tuesday that he would step down after thecountry's elections in September.

But the announcement, a mixture of concession and defiance didnot seem to appease the protestors, as many insisted on hisimmediate exit.

Thousands were still camping out at the Tahrir Square to continuetheir demand for Mubarak's immediate exit as another eight months ofhis staying in power is simply unacceptable to them, who said hewould only use the time to consolidate the ground of his partisanand doubted his commitment to making the kind of constitutionalchanges which he has resisted since taking power in 1981.