Egypt's Economy Reels as Capital Flees

Just a few days before Egypt’s elections, Mohammed Mohsen threaded through the protesters in Tahrir Square as they fought with police. Briefcase in hand and a surgical mask on his face to ward off tear gas, Mohsen was trying to get to his job at a Cairo medical lab. “This paralyzes our lives,” he says, pointing to the protesters. “People will see these images playing out on satellite channels. Then the investors whom we’ve been pleading with to return will stay away.”

Despite the protests, Egypt went ahead with largely peaceful Parliamentary elections on Nov. 28, a positive step toward democracy. Ahead is a drawn-out handover of power from the army to civilians that could fuel more economic troubles.