Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer plant to extend a management reshuffling aimed at adding senior product executives with an engineering background, two people with knowledge of the decision said. Last month, Ballmer pushed out server division president and 23 year company veteran. Bob Muglia saying the company needed new leadership that could focus on areas such as cloud software.

In web services, smartphones and tablet computers. Frank Shaw, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington based Microsoft declined to comment.

Cloud Computing. The CEO wants to rectify Microsoft’s misfires in mobile phones and tablet computers, as well as ensure that the company doesn’t behind in cloud software. Shuffling the management team also would let Ballmer re exert his influence amid mounting crticism from investors, the people said. Microsoft’s stock price is little chaged over the past year, compared with an 80 percent gain at Apple and 16 percent at Google.

Tablet Threat. Microsoft’s board has voiced concerns about Ballmer’s leadership as well, citting the company’s performance in mobile phones and new types of computing devices, according to a September regulatory filling.

Stephen Elop, who left to run Nokia Ovi in September, was replaced by engineering chief Kurt DelBene, rather than marketing executive Chris Capossela. Elop had run Microsoft’s business unit, its biggest source of sales.

It has been a month o fknee jerk reactions, as Tunisia and then Egypt provided a reason for investors to sell shares, largely in Middle Eastern markets but globally as well.

Kuwait closed down 1.76% and the Qatar exchange closed 2.95% down. Saudi Arabia the region’s biggest stock market, had one bad 6% fall but has crawled back.

Bull Market. Further afield markets had their moments of panic, followed by recovery. On Thursday, Vice President Omar Suleiman said one million foreign tourists had fled the country over the past nine days, costing $1bn in lost revenues. BA/Iberia airline group IAG was also affected.

Oil Issues. The most dramatic economic knock on effect from the Egyptian crisis to the rest of the world has been in the price of oil. Tje anxiety about the security of the Suez Canal as a channel for five million barrels of oil a day ( including oil pumped through the SuMed pipeline ) has apparently sent Brent crude above $103 a barrel. It would be catastrophic to Egypt’s economy. It is one of the country’s biggest foreign exchange earners.

Oil Expenditure.  IEA Deputy Executive Director Richard Jones instead put the rise down to more prosaic issues of supply and demand : “unseasonal weather patterns and better than expected global economic growth”. In short we can’t afford a recovery.

Currency Markets. For now the markets appear to be in a better mood about Egypt. On Friday Egyptian dollar denominated bonds started to climb once more and the cost of insuring against a default on its debt through credit default swaps started to fall. On the currency markets the Egyptian pound has fallen little more than 1%, it’s thought largely because of central bank support.

Shares in high street menswear retailer Moss Bros surged more than 14% after the company announche its was selling its 15 Hugo Boss stores.

Moss Bros will sell the stores back to Hugo Boss for L16.5m, ending a 16 year fracnchise deal. Brian Brick, Moss Bros chief executive called the deal ” transformational “.

Moss Bros said it wants to use the Hugo Boss money to revamp core stores and finance new initiatives, such as the roll out of its Moss Bespoke tailoring services. Moss Bros, formed in 1851 and which also trades as Sovoy Taylors Guild and Cecil Gee, has operated Hugo Boss stores under franchise since 1995.

Moss Bros shares rose 14.7% ri 27.25p in morning trading. After the sale completes on 1 April, Hugo Boss will directly control 35 outlets. The acquisition includes the flagship Regent Street store in central London.

Mobile phone firm Vodafone has accused the Egyptian authorities of using its network to sen unattributed text messages supporting the goverment.

Vodafone was told to switch off services last week when protests against President Hosni Mubarak began. But the authorities then ordered Vodafone to switch the network back on, in order to send messages under Egypt’s emergency laws, the firm said. In a statement, Vodafone described the messages as “unacceptable”.

Likely Cost. In another development, the credit ratings agency Fitch has downgraded the Egypt’s debt grade by one notch to BB from BB+, citing the consequences of the continuing political unrest on the economy.