Breaking News Today – Friday 21 November 2025

Business News Today

ChatGPT Launches its New Chat Feature Globally

ChatGPT has announced that they are launching group chats globally to all users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, OpenAI announced the development yesterday. The move comes a week after the company began piloting the feature in select regions, including Japan and New Zealand. The feature allows users to collaborate with each other and ChatGPT in one shared conversation. OpenAI says the launch turns ChatGPT from a one-on-one assistant into a space where friends, family, or co-workers can work together to plan, create, and make decisions.

Cocoa Harvest Below Expectation

Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, has sold 1.3 million tons of cocoa contracts for the 2025/26 October to March main crop, down from 1.4 million tons last year, amid concerns over declining harvests and production, the Cocoa Council (CCC) confirmed on Thursday. This despite the price of cocoa futures continuing their downward trend, dipping below $5,100 per tonne yesterday a new low since January 2024. The prices have started picking up this morning and have lifted by over 3%. Despite an expected 30% year-on-year drop in cocoa bean arrivals at the country’s two main ports between January and March 2026, the CCC has said no risk of default is currently anticipated throughout its main harvest.

Bitcoin Slump Sees Major Sell-off

Bitcoin fell toward $85,000 on Friday, marking its lowest level since April as a global selloff in technology stocks, driven by renewed concerns over the artificial intelligence sector, spread to risk assets including cryptocurrencies. Global equities had a brief relief rally on Thursday following blowout earnings from AI bellwether Nvidia, but gains quickly reversed amid ongoing valuation worries. Expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates in December as policymakers navigate economic uncertainties added further pressure. A mixed US jobs report showing accelerating employment growth alongside a rising unemployment rate in September offered little clarity. The correlation between bitcoin and the tech sector has surged to a six-month high of 80%, suggesting that the leading cryptocurrency is decoupling from its supposed role as a store of value in times of heightened uncertainties.

Breaking News Shorts: 

• The Nikkei 225 Index fell 2.4% to below 48,700 while the Topix Index slipped 0.5% to 3,282 today, tracking another selloff on Wall Street overnight. US stocks weakened as worries about an AI bubble persisted and stronger-than-anticipated US employment growth reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on cutting interest rates in December.
• The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI fell to 57.4 in November 2025 from October’s 59.2, below forecasts of 59. This indicates the slowest improvement in factory activity since February, though the sector remained comfortably above its long-run average.
• Asian Shares have dipped today with the SHANGHAI 50 decreased to 2981.00 Index Points, the lowest since October 2025. Over the past 4 weeks, Shanghai 50 lost 0.83%, while the CSI 300 decreased to 4514.00 Index Points, and the HK50 decreased to 25472.00 Index Points, also the lowest since October 2025
• Exxon Mobil, has announced the lifting of force majeure on the Rovuma LNG liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique. They paused work after French oil major TotalEnergies also declared force majeure on its separate LNG project in 2021 due to security concerns in the southern African country.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate a stronger US dollar today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.15386 while the Pound is trading at 1.30916 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 157.20 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.24 to the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures have dropped by over -0.7% today, and are currently trading around $4048.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending lower today, with prices currently around $4.9371
• Silver futures prices are steeply lower, falling by over -2% this morning, and currently trading around $49.586
• Platinum futures have dropped by -0.7% this morning, and currently trading at $1496.40, While Palladium prices are -1.37% lower this morning and are currently trading around $1365.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices have dropped today, and currently at $62.66 with WTI trading lower at $58.25
• Cocoa futures have gained some momentum, and currently trading around $5108.10 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have gained marginally this morning, and are currently trading at around $4.0613 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices have seen steep losses of over -2.8% this morning, and trading at around $90209 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are trending over -3% lower today, and are currently trading around $3010.00
• $Trumpcoin are trending lower today, and currently trading around $6.932

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H45 Central African Time) 

Africa News Briefs:

• Tensions ahead of the G20 summit in South Africa that starts today continue. The US has declared that they will not attend the event due to issues with South African policy on land ownership and other concerns. Yesterday South African President said the US may still be attending . The US presidency has responded sharply denying Ramaphosa’s announcement that the United States was ending a boycott of this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, saying no US official would take part in talks.
• China’s embassy in the Central African Republic (CAR) has issued an official warning to its citizens regarding the risk of becoming “mining slaves” in the politically unstable nation’s gold trade, as Chinese workers look to sub-Saharan Africa as jobs in the Asian giant’s gig economy dry up.Chinese nationals have been killed or kidnapped by armed groups, while others were scammed out of large sums of money and deported for illegally mining, the embassy said in a statement on Thursday.