Breaking News Today – Monday 27 October 2025

Business News Today

FATF – Nigeria and South Africa off “Grey-List” – Launches AI Fake Countermeasures

Sub-Saharan Africa’s two largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, have finally been removed from a FATF’s list of countries subject to increased monitoring for illicit money flows. Mozambique and Burkina Faso were also removed. Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watch-dog of financial transactions, made the announcement at the end of its plenary meeting on Friday, while also removing commodity-rich Mozambique and Burkina Faso from its ‘grey list’. South Africa and Nigeria were added to the FATF’s list of countries under special scrutiny in 2023, while Mozambique has been there since 2022. Burkina Faso was added in 2021.

The Plenary also approved comprehensive new guidance on asset recovery, that is aimed at providing assistance for countries to build effective frameworks to close loopholes and recover proceeds of crime, including across borders – critical to reducing and disrupting money laundering and ultimately making crime unprofitable.The FATF also approved a new Horizon Scan, to notify public and private sectors around the world about current and potential future illicit finance risks presented by artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes. Russia also remains suspended from the organisation.

New Space Rocket and Cargo Ship Launched By Japan

Japan’s space agency has successfully launched its most powerful flagship H3 rocket yesterday, propelling a newly developed unmanned cargo spacecraft, the HTV-X1 for its first mission to deliver supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said the HTV-X1 spacecraft successfully lifted off atop the No. 7 H3 rocket from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center in the country’s souther region and confirmed it entered targeted orbit 14 minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft separated successfully placing the HTV-X1 into its planned orbit, JAXA said. If everything goes smoothly, the spacecraft would be expected to arrive at the ISS in a few days to deliver supplies.

Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, currently on the ISS, is set to dock the craft with a robot arm in the early hours of Thursday morning. The HTV-X is the successor to JAXA’s unmanned H-II Transfer Vehicle, known as Kounotori, or stork in Japanese, which flew nine missions to the ISS between 2009 and 2020.

South Africa Seeks Rapid Rail Proposals

The South African government has launched a series of requests for information (RFI) to attract private sector ideas and investment aimed at modernising South Africa’s passenger rail system. Transport minister Barbara Creecy announced the initiative in Pretoria on Sunday, describing it as a key step in making rail the backbone of the country’s transport and logistics network.“Today we announce another important milestone in our collective journey to make rail the cornerstone of our national transport and logistics system. We are releasing requests for information for potential private partners interested in investing in our passenger rail system,” Creecy said.

Breaking News Shorts: 

• OpenAI is building a new tool that would generate music based on text and audio prompts, according to a report in The Information. The AI tool could be used to add music to existing videos, or to add additional instruments as accompaniment to an existing vocal track, sources said. It’s not clear when OpenAI plans to launch
• Hong Kong shares climbed 201 points, or 0.8%, to 26,360 this morning, hitting a third straight session of gain, as easing China-U.S. trade tensions lifted risk appetite. Top negotiators from both countries said they had reached a consensus on key disputes, setting the stage for Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to meet later this week 
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell 10.4% year on year to CNY 573.75 billion (USD 80.89 billion) in the first nine months of 2025, amid global economic uncertainty. The manufacturing industry saw CNY 150.09 billion in FDI , while the services sector saw FDI of CNY 410.93 billion.
• The United States and China are ready to seal a deal on the US TikTok business, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bessent had already said last month that the two countries had reached a framework of agreement during discussions in Madrid, and President Donald Trump subsequently signed an executive order to facilitate the transaction.
• South African Media Group Multichoice will formally stop trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on 10 December as French multi-national media group Canal+ will complete its buyout of all remaining shares, with a current 90% holding. Canal+ plans a secondary listing on the JSE

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar flat today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.1615 while the Pound is trading at 1.33159 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 153.23 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.22 to the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures prices continue to trend lower this morning, after a big drop in prices last week, and are currently trading around $4081.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices have gained over 1.7% this morning, with prices currently around $5.1755
• Silver futures prices are trending lower today, and currently trading around $48.227
• Platinum futures are gaining traction this morning, and currently trading at $1558.30, While Palladium prices have jumped by 0.7% this morning also after a steep drop yesterday, and are currently trading around $1449.00 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are firmer today, and currently at $66.22 with WTI trading higher at $61.72
• Cocoa futures have modulated slightly after gains last week, and currently trading around $6319.00 per ton. 
• Coffee futures have fallen by -1.7% today, and are currently trading at around $4.03 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices have found further traction today, and currently trading at around $115528 per coin 
• Ether prices continue its upwards momentum today, and are currently trading around $4232.36
• $Trumpcoin is trending upwards today, and currently trading around $6.28

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

Africa News Briefs:

• Cameroon security forces have had running battles with protestors with several people killed, a day before the results in a highly-contested presidential election are due to be announced.Police fired tear gas and water cannons at the supporters of opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary in his stronghold of Garoua. Bakary has claimed victory despite no results being released yet.
• Mali closed schools and universities nationwide starting Sunday due to fuel shortages caused by a blockade on fuel imports, that jihadi militants have imposed on the capital. Education Minister Amadou Sy Savane announced on state television classes would be suspended for two weeks
• Namibia’s President Nandi-Ndaitwah has removed Natangwe Ithete from his posts as deputy prime minister and minister of industry, mines and energy, the presidency said in a statement released yesterday. “In the interest of ensuring continuity and effective coordination within this key sector, President Nandi-Ndaitwah will assume responsibility for the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, effective immediately,” the statement said.