Deepening Egyptian political instability – driven partly by increasingly graphic reports of violent crackdowns conducted by security forces on behalf of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked government – may soon be exacerbated by economic turmoil. The government has been unable to implement austerity measures demanded by the IMF in exchange for a critical $4.8 billion loan. Cairo needs the loan in order to stem a decline in investor confidence and a concomitant drop in foreign currency reserves. Debt rating agency Fitch recently declared that Egypt was not likely to secure the loan earlier than the country’s parliamentary elections, for which no date has yet been set.