Breaking News Today – Friday 13 March 2026

Business News Today 

Sasol Shares Spike on Oil Disruptions

South African oil producer Sasol (SOL.JO on the JSE) closed up strongly yesterday (March 12, 2026), jumping +5.88% to R17,200 (from R16,245 on 11 March close), with a solid trading volume of over 7.5 million shares. Their listing in New York – NYSE ADR (SSL) mirrored that momentum, closing at around $10.60 (+5.47% from $10.05), hitting a fresh multi-year high in the process.

The main driver of the spike is the continued oil price strength tied to the ongoing Iran-US war and the Strait of Hormuz supply disruptions in global oil markets. Brent crude remains volatile but elevated (hovering around $90–$100+ recently, with spikes above $110 earlier in the week before some softening on partial shipment resumption discussions). Sasol, as a major synthetic fuels and chemicals producer heavily linked to oil (via its coal-to-liquids model and global pricing exposure), benefits directly from higher crude, with every $1 increase in Brent typically adding around R642 million to its EBITA

Australian Airline Punished for Non-Refunds of Tickets

Qantas Airways has settled a class action lawsuit and agreed to pay around $74m over claims that it should have issued cash refunds for cancelled flights during the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit was instituted on behalf of passengers whose flights were cancelled by the carrier between 2020 and 2022, who were given travel credits from the airline instead of cash. The settlement is a severe blow for the international airline and is close to double the amount that Qantas had reserved in anticipation of a potential settlement it would have to pay, according to its financial results published in February this year.The Australian national flag carrier said today that it has agreed to pay the sum “with no admission of liability”. The Quantas share price has dipped by over 16% in the last month.

Data-Centre Reset For OpenAi and Oracle

Oracle and OpenAI have scrapped plans to expand their flagship AI data centre campus in Abilene, Texas, which is part of their high-profile Stargate project. While this isn’t a full retreat from AI infrastructure, it is a notable scaling-back of one specific site amid rising costs and shifting priorities. The data campus in question is a 1,000-acre site in Abilene developed by Crusoe. It’s already partially live with two buildings currently operational. In September 2025, the companies had outlined an additional 600 MW (pushing the site toward a 2 GW total).

That lease deal is now dead. Oracle and OpenAI have a separate 4.5 GW agreement that remains on track, with new sites already announced. Sam Altman’s team revised demand forecasts and shifted strategy. They apparently want newer-generation chips (beyond Blackwell — possibly Nvidia’s Vera Rubin or alternatives) at fresh sites rather than overloading Abilene. Oracle’s stock dipped on the news (down around2.5% intraday when the story hit), but it has since stabilised. Investors are viewing it as reallocation, not abandonment.

Glencore Raises Hopes of Renewed Rio Tinto Deal

Gary Nagle, Glencore’s CEO is hoping a recent surge in coal prices will bring Rio Tinto back to the negotiation table for a new attempt at creating the world’s ​biggest mining company, according to a Reuters report this morning. This was raised as a possibilty by investors, after a meeting with leaders of both companies in Australia this week.The two were locked in talks earlier this ‌year to forge a $240  billion company that would tie together Glencore’s marketing business and copper assets with Rio Tinto’s operational expertise to serve fast-growing demand for the red metal. Discussions ended with no deal in February due to disagreements on the company’s valuation, the parties stated at the time. Under UK rules, Rio Tinto can’t restart talks with Glencore for six months. Glencore CEO Gary Nagle was optimistic about the prospect of another ​opportunity to agree a deal, according to the investors.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• Adobe beat Q1 earnings estimates overnight, and also announced their long-time CEO Shantanu Narayen is stepping down after 18 years. Adobe has not named a replacement for Narayen yet, and he plans to transition out of the CEO role once a successor is appointed. Narayen will stay on as Chair of the Board to help with the handover and support the next leader.
• AI agent startup Wonderful has raised $150 million in a Series B funding round that values it at $2 billion, coming just four months after the company raised a $100 million Series A. The new round was led by Insight Partners and saw participation from existing investors.
• The Japanese yen traded around 159.4 per dollar on Friday, falling to near its weakest level since July 2024, raising concerns of possible intervention by authorities. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said they are preapred to take all necessary steps in currency markets amid surging oil prices. 
• NASA has finally cleared its ArtemisII moon rocket on Thursday for an early April launch with a crew of four astronaughts. launch attempt as early as April 1. It will mark humanity’s first trip to the moon in more than 50 years. The Artemis II crew should have blasted off earlier this year, but several fuel leaks on testing and other problems with the Space Launch System rocket delayed the mission.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar strengthening further against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.15034 while trading against the Pound at 1.33327. The Yen is currently trading at 159.36 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) continues to fall against the dollar, losing around -5% in the last month and currently trading at R16.79 against the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are fairly even this morning, and currently trading slightly lower at around $5099.72 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending -1.1% lower today, with prices currently around $5.7658 per pound
• Silver futures are trending over -0.7% lower today, and currently trading at around $83.300 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are trending -2.5% lower this morning, and currently trading at $2109.90, While Palladium prices are trending -0.7 lower this morning, and currently trading around $1637.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are dropping steadily, down by around -0.3% this morning to just below the $100 mark, with prices currently at $95.07 with WTI trading at $94.76 – up by over 8% today.
• Cocoa futures are -3.3% lower this morning, and currently trading around $3315 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending over 1.5% higher today, and trading at around $2.9190 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending around 1.48% higher this morning, and trading at around $71 550 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are around 1.7% higher today, and currently trading around $2108.38
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading higher at around $3.20

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H55 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• A well-known Eritrean satirical cartoonist has been freed from prison after spending 15 years in detention without charge, according to reports from his family and friends. Biniam Solomon, who is now in his early 60s, was arrested in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, in march of 2011. He was never placed on trial or charged for any specific crime. The reasons for his continued imprisonment nor his sudden release were not made clear by the Eritrean regime. During his 15 years in detention, Biniam had no contact with his family, and received only occasional medical treatment.
• Yesterday saw civilian protests in the eastern DRC over ongoing deadly drone strikes. Hundreds of protesters marched peacefully in Goma (North Kivu) yesterday (March 12, carrying into today) protesting FARDC drone strikes that killed civilians, including reports of a French aid worker among the dead. This ties into the escalating aerial warfare against M23 rebels around key mining areas like Rubaya
• Uganda has announced visa-free entry for nationals of 40 countries, excluding the United States and European Union nations from this list. This is a new measure.According to the Ugandan government, travellers from the targeted countries will no longer need to obtain a visa to travel to Uganda and can stay for up to three months for tourism or business purposes.The African countries that will not need to obtain a visa before traveling to Uganda are: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, Seychelles, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Comoros, Eritrea, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Eswatini.