Breaking News Today – Friday 20 February 2026

Business News Today 

Moon Mission May be Possible in March

NASA’s giant moon rocket was put through a second fuelling test run yesterday, after leaks had halted the initial dress rehearsal and delayed the first moon landing attempt by astronauts in more than half a century. For the second time this month, launch teams pumped around 2.6 million litres of super-cold fuel into the rocket that was secured on its launch pad. The test run then counted down to the half-minute mark as planned with no notable leaks reported. The process then turned back the clocks to run through the final 10 minutes again. NASA declared the test complete late last night. This, according to experts is the most critical and challenging part of the two-day practice countdown. The outcome will determine whether a March 2026 launch is possible for the Artemis II moon mission that will see four astronauts heading for the lunar surface.

Amazon – the Biggest Global Company By Revenue

Amazon.com has become the global leader in business revenue terms after Walmart announced its annual sales data yesterday, revealing it achieved almost $4 billion less in revenue in 2025 than Amazon. Walmart sales revenue for 2025 totalled $713.2 billion for the 12 months ending January 31 while Amazon with their fiscal year ending in December, earlier this month reported 2025 sales of $717 billion. Amazon’s revenue has increased at almost 10 times the pace of Walmart’s, primarily as consumer spending has shifted physical in-store to e-commerce websites and home deliveries. Amazon has also seen big uptake of its web and cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services.

Walmart has recently expanded into the African retail space with the purchase of MassMart, owner of chains like Makro, Game, Builders Warehouse, and the opening of its first Walmart retail store in Johannesburg followed by a second one in the Fourways area. The business has faced headwinds and the group may look to convert several underperforming Game stores into Walmart outlets.

Sasol Gains over 10% Yesterday

Sasol (JSE: SOL) had a strong day on the JSE yesterday, with the share price surging around 10-11% (closing at R14,242, up roughly R1,404 or +10.94% from the previous close of ~R12,838). It traded in a wide range from ~R12,940 low to a R14,570 high, on elevated trade volume of over 7 million shares and clearly the biggest single-day mover on the JSE yesterday. From the latest market data and reports, the jump appears tied to a combination of factors, including upward oil price pressures recently. The stock had been building strength in recent sessions (up around 4-5% the day before on Feb 18), hitting new recent highs. Technical analysts noted it as a “strong buy” candidate with upward trends, increased volume confirming buyer interest. With full year results expected on Monday 23 February, this looks like a technical/anticipatory rally fuelled by momentum, sector sentiment, and pre-earnings positioning

Breaking News Shorts:  

• Nvidia is finalising a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, as the chipmaker moves to take a stake in one of its largest customers, according to a Reuters report.The investment is part of a fundraising round in which OpenAI is seeking more than $100 billion. That would value the ChatGPT maker at about $830 billion and amount to one of the largest private capital raises on record.
• Tesla motors has slashed its prices on a new cheaper Cybertruck model in the U.S. yesterday, priced at $59,990, making the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version its “most affordable” Cybertruck yet. The company also reduced the price of Cyberbeast, its most-expensive Cybertruck pickup truck model, to $99,990 from $114,990, indicating growing price pressures in the EV market.
• Silver held above $78 per ounce this morning, on track for its first weekly gain in four, supported by rising geopolitical tensions and thin trading volumes in Asia. Escalating US-Iran tensions intensified after President Donald Trump warned Tehran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program or face consequences
• Indonesia and the United States have signed a reciprocal trade tariff agreement, with the US maintaining the 19% tariff it had previously agreed for goods exported by the Southeast Asian country, Indonesia announced this morning.The agreement, signed by Indonesia’s senior economic minister Airlangga Hartarto and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer followed months of negotiations

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar continuing to strengthen against major currencies today, with the Greenback trading against the Euro at 1.17547 while trading against the Pound at 1.34433 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 155.22 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently trading at around R16.16 against the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are marginally higher today, and currently trading at around $5001.16 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending 0.3% lower today, with prices currently around $57.575 per pound
• Silver futures have gained around 0.8% today, and currently trading around $78.465 per ounce.
• Platinum futures have gained around 0.55% this morning, and currently trading at $2080.10, While Palladium prices have likewise seen an uptick of 0.2% this morning, and currently trading around $1701.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending upwards today, and currently at $72.07 with WTI trading higher at $66.79
• Cocoa futures have plunged by -7.7% today, and currently trading around $3058.00 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are currently up by over 0.2% today, and currently trading at around $2.8585 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending 1.1% higher today, and trading at around $67738 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are up around 0.56% today, and are currently trading around $1959.43
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading around $3.511

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H35 Central African Time) 

Africa News Briefs:

• The youngest son of former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. This follows an incident where a gardener was shot at his home in South Africa, according to reports from police. Bellamine’s lawyer, Ashley Mugiya told The Associated Press news agency that Bellarmine was one of two men detained and questioned yesterday.The South African police said that both men were later placed under arrest and will face charges of attempted murder.
• A Kenyan intelligence report released this week indicates that more than 1,000 Kenyans have been recruited to fight for Russia in its war with the Ukraine. The report, presented to lawmakers this week, shows five times more recruits than authorities had previously estimated. The Russian Embassy in Nairobi, yesterday denied that Moscow was involved in illegally recruiting Kenyans to fight in Ukraine, though it said foreign citizens could volunteer to join its armed forces.