Breaking News today –  Friday 22 November 2024

Business & Tech News

Interest Rate Cut in South Africa Cautious:

The South African Reserve Bank reduced its Key Interest rate by 25 points to 7,75% Yesterday in what was rather a surprising decision, after the Consumer Price Index Inflation for October had dropped to 2,8%, the lowest inflation in four years. The Reserve bank said in a statement that while inflation remains well-contained in the near-term, it cautioned that the medium-term outlook remains uncertain, with significant upside risks. The main driver of inflation has been the fuel prices and energy price increases in the Southern African State. The lending rate reduces to its lowest level since April 2021.

Adani Group Kenyan Contracts Cancelled:

Following US prosecutors indicting the Adini Group’s Chairman, Gautam Adani, on charges of fraud, President William Ruto of Kenya has announced that he has cancelled two contracts with the Indian company that should have commenced in 2025. The cancelled contracts included a $736 million contract to build and operate power transmission lines across Kenya and a 30-year management contract to manage and expand the facilities at the main airport in Kenya – the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. The charges against Adani relate to a period from 2020 to 2024 where it is alleged that the group paid over $250 million in bribes to secure solar energy contracts in India

UK Bans Angolan Billionaire:

Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s first female billionaire, and daughter of the previous Angolan President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and barred from entering the UK, alongside Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash. The UK authorities have also frozen their UK assets, the government announced, in what it said was part of a new crackdown on “dirty money”. The measures were enacted on Thursday and are the first to be taken in tightening Britain’s anti-corruption sanctions regime as had been promised by the Labour Party, in July’s election. Foreign Secretary David Lammy commented in a statement that:  “These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure – for their own enrichment”. Dos Santos has faced corruption accusations in Angola and elsewhere for years. She denies the allegations and says she is the target of a long-running political vendetta.

Bitcoin and Ether on the rise:

Crypto currencies had a massive charge in prices yesterday with Ether leading the charge with a 9.60% single day gain and Bitcoin following with a 4.45% increase. Bitcoin almost closed above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday as the election of Republican Donald Trump as U.S. president spurred expectations that his administration will create a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies. The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading between $98,000 and $99,000 in late afternoon trading in the U.S. on Thursday, after briefly touching $99,073. In Asian trade this morning (22 Nov), Bitcoin is currently trading at around $98 825 while Ether is trading at around $3384

Market News

Markets: Indices in the US indices, were all up slightly flat at close on Wednesday with the NASDAQ closing up by 0,36%, the S&P 500 was up by 0,53 and the Dow Jones closing up by 1,56%.

Asian markets this morning have been trending upwards with the Nikkei up by 0,84% and is at 38347 currently, while the Hang Seng is down by -0,53% this morning and at 19601 currently.

Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.047 against the Euro, at 1,257 against the Pound, and at 154.55 against the Yen. The rand has gained some ground closing just below the R18.00 level yesterday, and is currently trading at R18.09 to the US dollar but may look to break below R18.00 again today.

Commodities:

• Gold is trading upwards and is currently trading at $2,667 per ounce
• Platinum prices currently trading upwards at $968 and with Palladium prices currently at $1037
• Brent crude is currently trading slightly higher today and is at $73.85 with WTI also trading lower at $69.81 currently.
• Cocoa prices are still above the 7200 mark, and is currently trading flat at 7219 pounds per ton.
• Coffee prices are trading upwards today, jumping over 3% this morning and is at $2.98 currently

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

Other News in Africa Today

New Malian Prime Minister Appointed:

Following the sudden axing of former Prime Minister of Mali, Choguel Maiga on Wednesday, the ruling military junta has wasted no time in appointing a replacement and has officially

appointed Abdoulaye Maiga as the new Prime Minister as of Thursday 21 Nov. Chogel had been vocal about the failure of the transition junta government in implementing the promised national elections and a transition to a full democracy within a 24-month period. Chogel Maiga was appointed by the Military leadership as Prime Minister in 2021 after a second military coup in a single year period.

Senegal Election Outcome Confirmed:

The ruling Pastef party in Senegal, has retained control of the government with a landslide victory in this week’s legislative elections, securing 130 of the 165 seats in parliament, according to provisional results released yesterday (21 Nov). The win gives newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye a clear mandate to carry out ambitious reforms he promised during his presidential election campaign. These include fighting corruption, revamping the fishing industry and maximising natural resources benefits. After the results were announced, the Pastef party representative Amadou Ba, told reporters the majority vote received, represented a vote of confidence that should encourage Senegal’s international backers. “It is very important not only in terms of the legitimacy of the new authorities but also regarding our technical and financial partners that they know that there is a people standing behind this new government,” Ba said in comments aired on state television.