Breaking News today –  Tuesday 8 October 2024

Business & Tech News

Google to Give Competitors a Gap: in one of several US anti-trust cases brought against the Tech giant, a US judge yesterday, ordered Google to overhaul its mobile app business, to provide Android users more options to download apps and to pay for transactions within them. The case follows a jury verdict finding last year for digital gaming maker of “Fortnite”, Epic Games. The ruling given by U.S. District Judge, James Donato, in San Francisco prescribed the changes Google must effect in order to open up its app store Play Store, one of its monopolistic business sectors, to greater competition, including making Android apps available from rival sources with the ability to charge for in-game purchases.

Electric Vehicle Start-up in Ethiopia Expands: Ethiopian electric Scooter manufacturer Dodai, is set to venture into the electric vehicle market and has set an ambitious goal of building 440,000 electric vehicles by 2030. CEO & founder Yuma Sasaki, is taking on a massive challenge he believes is doable. According to Sasaki, “if we wait for the infrastructure to be ready, it will take decades,” he says in justifying Ethiopia’s boldness in becoming the first country to impose a ban the importation of fossil fuel cars. The Ethiopian government has created a string of incentives to supports the transformation of the transport sector that includes tax incentives. There is a 0% import duty rate for electric vehicles—a strategic decision to boost the sector. Sasaki also emphasizes the positive economic impact: “By moving from gasoline vehicles to electric vehicles, you can reduce transport operating costs by 95%.”. Dodai has plans to use its recent funding to enhance production, procure raw materials, and strengthen an infrastructure ecosystem, including charging stations and spare parts.

Maldives to Receive Indian Finance Assistance: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held Bi-lateral meetings with his Maldives counter-part, President Mohamed Muizzu, yesterday in an effort to rekindle relations between te two countries that had become strained since the beginning of 2024. After the talks, Modi announced that India will be offering financial assistance to cash-strapped Maldives in form of a $100-million treasury bills rollover. The countries also signed a $400-million currency swap agreement that will assist the Maldives in balancing its foreign debt payments. The two leaders, utilising a virtual tech portal, inaugurated a new runway at the Hanimaadhoo international airport in the Maldives virtually in what may just be the first official virtual opening ceremony in Africa. Modi also announced the commencement of acceleration of key infrastructure development work on the India-assisted Greater Male Connectivity Project, which is set to link key islands of the Maldives through modern transport networks.

Burkina Mining Rights Reaction:  Burkina Faso is, according to reports planning on withdrawing mining permits from some foreign companies and will be looking at producing more of its own gold, in the mineral rich country. This is according to  Burkina’s junta leader Ibrahim Traore as reported in a Reuters report. Traore did not specify which permits could be cancelled, the newswire said. Shares shares in West African Resources, which is targeting about 200,000 ounces of gold  from the country this year, plummeted nearly 19.5% in Australia. Shares in London-listed Endeavour Mining, which operates the country’s 300,000 oz/year Houndé mine, fell about 5%.

Market News

Markets: Us Indices all closed in the red yesterday with the NASDAQ -1,17% down, the S&P 500 -0,96% down and the Dow Jones closing -0,94% down. In trade in Asian markets today, the Nikkei slumped -1% to close at 38937 and the Hang Seng is currently up 1,6% up at 23099.

Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.0986 against the Euro, at 1,3075 against the Pound, and at 147.96 against the Yen. The rand remains steady against the dollar and is currently trading at R17.44 to the US dollar.

Commodities:

• Gold prices are softer again this morning and currently trading at $2,635
• Platinum is currently trading at $966, with Palladium currently trading at $999
• Brent crude prices have traded upward this morning and is currently trading at $79.62 with WTI also trading downwards at $75.88 currently.

Other News in Africa Today

Phala Phala Farmgate Suspects in Court: The strange story of how workers on President Ramaposa’s farm Phala Phala, stole millions of dollars in cash that was stored in a couch on the farm, continued in a Modimolle court yesterday. Three suspects appeared in court on Monday accused of stealing millions of dollars President Cyril Ramaphosa’s game farm in 2020. The event and subsequent actions taken by the South African President tarnished his image, and while the incident was cleared by the national reserve bank as a clean transaction, it is still the subject of much discussion and derision in the local population. The incident almost saw an end to Ramaposa’s presidency. The three suspects, Imanuwela David, Ndilinasho Joseph and Froliana Joseph face charges that include house breaking and theft. The case was postponed until Nov. 26, and bail was extended for the Joseph siblings who were arrested in November last year, while David was ordered to remain in custody. David’s lawyer indicated to the court that his client will re-apply for bail based on new evidence received and that it would be difficult for him to consult with his client while he was being held at a prison in Pretoria – roughly 130km away.

Suspicious Children’s Deaths Probed: The South African Police are probing the tragic deaths of five school children, in Soweto, that are suspected to have died of food poisoning. Three of the children attended the Karabo Primary School and another the Khauhelo Primary School. They died after eating allegedly poisoned food. Cases of suspected food poisoning have been recorded in the same area previously. Spokesperson for the Gauteng Education department, Steve Mabona, said that they have been in discussions with the Health Department to determine the cause of death. “We need to make sure that the learners understand when they interact in spaza shops (local small informal shops) or with vendors on how we avert things like this” he said.