Breaking News Today – Thursday 19 March 2026

Business News Today 

AI Will Kill Apps – Nothing Founder Carl Pei

Carl Pei, co-founder and CEO of Nothing, is talking about a future beyond the iPhone where mobile devices will be powered by AI agents, not running apps. Pei talking in an interview at the SXSW conference in Austin on Wednesday, said“In terms of AI in software, I think people should understand that apps are going to disappear.” Carl Pei, whose consumer electronics brand makes unique smartphones and other accessories advises this: “So, if you’re a founder or a startup and your app is like where the core value lies, that will be disrupted whether you like it or not.” 

Pei has talked about an AI-first device before, as this vision helped his company close its $200 million Series C funding round in 2025. He continued: “I think the future of smartphones or operating systems should just be: ‘I know you very well, and if I know your intention, I just do it for you,’ instead of having to go through all the apps manually.” This also means devices would have an interface that’s not focused on apps for humans to navigate, but would instead feature an interface designed for the AI agent to use.

South African Retail Sales Surge While Inflation Falls

Retail sales in South Africa, saw a significant surge of 4.2% year-on-year in January 2026, the highest growth rate in six months. This followed a downwardly revised 2.5% increase in the prior month. Figures came in above market forecasts of a 2.5% rise. The largest contributors to the increase were retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods, which saw a growth of 9.9% and added 1.6 percentage points; all ‘other’ retailers, were up 10.3% and contributing 1.2 points to overall growth; and general dealers, which increased 1.7%, adding 0.7 points. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade went up 0.9%, after a revised 0.5% fall in the prior month.

Alongside the retail sales growth, South Africa’s annual inflation rate fell for the second month to 3% in February 2026, the lowest since June 2025, slightly below market forecasts of 3.1%. The continued slowdown was largely driven by a 2.1% drop in transportation prices, following a 0.2% fall the previous month,

Ghana Sees Fifth Consecutive Rate Cut

The Bank of Ghana cut its benchmark interest rate by 150bps to 14% in its March 2025 monetary policy decision. This was the fifth consecutive rate cut to mark the loose return to borrowing costs from the period, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered a global inflation shock. The cut contrasted slightly with the market consensus of a softer 100bps cut, reflecting policymakers’ greater priority of addressing growth concerns despite upside risks to inflation.

Headline inflation recently slowed to a 25-year low of 3.3% in February, but base effects and a surge in global oil and energy prices triggered by the war in the Persian Gulf are likely to trigger some traction in price growth. On the other hand, the surge in gold prices last year increased the foreign exchange influx into Ghana, limiting the pressure that the Central Bank faces to defend their cedi currency and adding some leeway for lower policy rates.

Breaking Business and Market News Shorts:  

• The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada struck hawkish ‌tones on Wednesday as the War in Iran drove energy prices sharply higher and a pivotal week of global central bank meetings. Both the US Fed and BoC opted to hold interest rates steady, with ​their leaders indicating they are on alert, and concerned that rising energy prices could spark a fresh wave of inflation globally.
• The Bank of Japan left its key short-term rate unchanged at 0.75% at its March 2026 meeting, keeping borrowing costs at their highest since September 1995. The move, announced hours after the U.S. Fed maintained rates steady, reinforced a cautious global stance.
• Gold prices have steadied and are moving upwards around $4,849 per ounce this morning, after a sixth straight day of decline, the longest losing streak since late 2024, as the Federal Reserve’s hawkish hold outweighed geopolitical risks. Silver also stabilised above $75 per ounce today, after a roughly 5% drop in the previous session, as hawkish signals from the US Federal Reserve. 
• Copper futures fell below $5.5 per pound this morning, hitting a three-month low amid a sharp rise in exchange inventories, signaling softer physical demand. Total LME copper stocks climbed nearly 19,000 tons to 330,375 tons, the highest level since September 2019.

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar trading softer against major currencies today. The Greenback is trading against the Euro at 1.14693 while trading against the Pound at 1.32736. The Yen is currently trading at 159.63 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR), has lost ground against the US dollar, and is currently trading at R16.96 against the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures are trading 0.5% higher this morning, and currently at around $4949.00 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending -1.37% lower today, with prices currently around $5.4778 per pound
• Silver futures are trending over 0.5% Higher today, and currently trading at around $75.719 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are trending -1.47% lower this morning, and currently trading at $2026.70, While Palladium prices have slid by more than -2% this morning, and currently trading around $1504.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are have surged by around 4.3% this morning, with prices currently at $112.08 with WTI trading at $97.15 – up by around 0.8% today.
• Cocoa futures are trending lower, and down around -0.7% this morning, with prices currently trading around $3235 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are trending -0.6% lower today, and trading at around $2.9290 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending -0.6% lower this morning, and trading at around $70 824 per coin currently 
• Ether prices have slid by around -0.54% today, and currently trading around $2192.49
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading lower at around $3.457

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H05 Central African Time) 

African General News Briefs:

• Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Oluremi Tinubu were welcomed by Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle yesterday during the first state visit to the UK by a Nigerian leader in nearly forty years.The two countries are major partners in trade, aid and defence. The UK is also home to 270,000 people born in Nigeria. Nigeria says the visit signals a “renewed chapter” and reflects a shared commitment to “advancing trade and strengthening diplomatic ties.” Tinubu is due to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer today.
• The United States hosted representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, with talks ​focussed on the stalled peace process in eastern Congo. This marked the ‌first round of talks between the parties since the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior officers on March 2. Washington has blamed Rwanda’s support of the M23 rebel ​group for the continued violence in eastern Congo.