Breaking News Today – Friday 7 November 2025

Business News Today

StarLink Expanding Its Spectrum Licences with Major Airline Signings

In an extended multi-billion dollar deal, SpaceX’s Starlink is buying another $2.6 billion worth of wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar, an expansion of the original $17 billion deal announced in September 2025, as its satellite internet business continues to win new customers around the world. The Low-orbit satellite communication system has rapidly expanded its service among airlines with Air France, Qatar Airlines and United Airlines already using their service while major airline groups such as Virgin airlines, among others, are at various test and roll-out phases already.

The additional spectrum purchase from Echostar, comes only a day after SpaceX revealed it had passed the 8 million global customer mark. Yesterday, the company added more commercial contracts to that total. International Airlines Group announced it will install Starlink inflight internet on more than 500 aircraft across its portfolio, which includes British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus.The additional EchoStar spectrum will be used to grow Starlink’s nascent “direct to cell” constellation, which initially lets T-Mobile customers access satellite-based 5G internet. 

Musk Makes Trillion Dollar Corporate Pay Deal History

Yesterday saw corporate pay-package history being made when Tesla shareholders overwhelmingly approved CEO Elon Musk’s unprecedented $1 trillion compensation package at the annual shareholders meeting in Austin, Texas, with over 75% support among voting shares. This stock grant, structured in 12 tranches over 10 years, vests up to 423.7 million shares upon hitting aggressive milestones: This includes building market capitalisation from $2 trillion to $8.5 trillion, annual profits scaling to $400 billion, 20 million vehicle deliveries, 1 million robo-taxis delivered, 1 million Optimus robots, and 10 million Full Self-Driving subscriptions. Should this be attained, this would boost Musk’s stake in Tesla from 13% to 25%, including enhanced voting power, while provisions excuse misses due to “covered events” like wars or regulations. The board framed it as essential for AI and robotics transformation, following a Delaware court’s 2024 invalidation of Musk’s 2018 $56 billion plan (currently under appeal)

Tesla’s Chair, Robyn Denholm, in a letter in October stressed this was about alignment: “The opportunity for Tesla… given this AI focus… and the unique capabilities that Elon brings… is significant,” tying it to long-term incentives where shareholders benefit first. Denholm noted Musk’s push for voting control: “It’s less about compensation and more about… influence over the vote… so that bad things can’t happen with the AI.”

New Forests Buys South African Plantation Group

New Forests, an international forestry investment group has made its first investment in South Africa, with a deal to acquire forestry and saw milling company Rance Timber. The deal will the Australian group claiming a majority stake in the century-old business, which manages 14,000 hectares of pine plantations in the Eastern Cape province and well as two sawmills.“We see it as a great platform from which to grow within South Africa,” says Yida Kemoli, managing director for Africa at New Forests. “And we also see it as a great platform to explore new markets within South Africa, new markets within Africa as well.” South Africa only has around 10% of its land area is forested, compared to well over 80% in some African countries. however it possesses the continent’s most sophisticated commercial forestry industry, with by far the largest area of plantation forestry in the Southern African Development Community region.

Breaking News Shorts: 

• Inception, a startup developing diffusion-based AI models have just raised $50 million in seed funding. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Mayfield, Innovation Endeavors, Microsoft’s M12 fund, Snowflake Ventures, Databricks Investment, and Nvidia’s venture arm NVentures
• Somali ship Piracy has escalated with attackers firing on and then boarding a fuel cargo ship off the coast of Somalia yesterday, according to a UK maritime agency. This is the second attack in a week. Greek shipping company Latsco Marine Management confirmed the attack, claiming the ship’s crew were all “safe and accounted for” and “we remain in close contact with them”.
• The much anticipated launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 has been delayed for a second time, until 19 November 2026. One of the most played video game with a massive global fan base had been eagerly awaiting its release. The sequel by developer Rockstar Games was due to come out in May 2026, and had already been postponed once before, from April 2025.
• China’s trade surplus fell to $90.07 billion in October, dropping below an expected $95.6 billion and below the $95.72 billion recorded in the same month last year. This marked the smallest trade surplus since February, as exports unexpectedly fell while imports rose. Exports fell 1.1% y-o-y, missing forecasts of a 3% gain and reversing an 8.3% growth in September
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell -1.3% to around 50,220 while the broader Topix Index lost -0.5% to 3,297 today, erasing gains from yesterday, and tracking a tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight amid renewed concerns about lofty AI valuations and signs of a slowing US labor market. Major US AI stocks slumped, including Nvidia, AMD, Palantir, Microsoft, and Broadcom

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar softer today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.15359 while the Pound is trading at 1.31207 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 153.27 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.37 to the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are heading up towards the $4000 mark this morning, and are currently trading around $3995.30 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are slightly softer today, with prices currently around $4.9507
• Silver futures prices are trending over 0.7% higher today, and currently trading around $48.383
• Platinum futures are gaining traction today, and currently trading at $1537.00, While Palladium prices are trending 0.6% higher this morning and are currently trading around $1388.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending upwards today, and currently at $63.77 with WTI trading higher at $59.82
• Cocoa futures are marginally higher this morning, and currently trading around $6186.47 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have fallen by almost -4% today, and are currently trading at around $3.9750 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are clawing back some gain this morning, and currently trading at around $102379 per coin 
• Ether prices are trending over 1.6% higher today, and are currently trading around $3365.00
• $Trumpcoin is trending around -5% lower today, and currently trading around $7.66

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

Africa News Briefs:

• France’s foreign ministry spoke yesterday of the poor outcome of the decision by the military-led government in Mali to turn to Russia and armed groups linked to Moscow for security assistance to fight Islamist militants, which had now proven to be a failure. A two-month-old fuel blockade by al Qaeda-linked militants has all but paralysed Mali’s capital Bamako, putting pressure on the military government and raising concern that the jihadists might try eventually to impose their rule on the West African country.
• The International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Uganda’s fugitive warlord Joseph Kony in absentia.Kony, the leader of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, is being charged with 39 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, using child soldiers, sexual slavery and forced pregnancy, between 2002 and 2005, a court decision published Thursday shows.