Breaking News Today – Wednesday 11 February 2026

Business News Today 

Amazon Seeks Publisher Alignment in AI Content Usage

As AI tech companies look for legally safe sources of AI training data, Amazon is reportedly considering launching a marketplace where publishers can license their content directly to AI companies. Similarly, Microsoft recently what it calls a Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), which it says will give publishers “a new revenue stream” while also providing AI systems with “scaled access to premium content.” Microsoft added that the PCM was designed to “empower publishers with a transparent economic framework for licensing” their content.

The move is a natural next step for the AI industry, which has already sought to solve the legally nebulous problem of how copyrighted material ends up in AI training data by forging deals with major news outlets and media organisations. The Information reported earlier that Amazon has been meeting with publishing executives and alerting them to its plans to launch such a marketplace. Ahead of an AWS conference for publishers that occurred Tuesday, Amazon “circulated slides that mention a content marketplace,” wrote the outlet.

Ethiopian Airlines Revenue Flys Above Expectations

The financial outcome for Ethiopian Airlines has reflected a half-year revenue of $4.4 billion during the first six months of the 2025/26 fiscal year, exceeding its target by 2%, the airline announced yesterday. Speaking in Addis Ababa yesterday, the airline’s CEO, Mesfin Tasew Bekele, highlighted the carrier’s expansion, announcing the launch of flights to Porto (Portugal), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) during the first half of the fiscal year. The new additions will bring the airline’s total international destinations to 145. Passenger traffic remained robust, with 10.64 million passengers transported, marking an 11% increase compared to the same period last year. The airline’s cargo operations, saw a total cargo volume of 451,000 tons of cargo, bypassing its half-year target by 4%.

M-Pesa Launches Share Trading Platform in Kenya

Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom yesterday launched a new share trading platform for investors on its M-Pesa mobile phone financial app, a move that could see millions of new retail investors coming into the bourse for the first time.M-Pesa was one of the global pioneers of mobile-phone-based money transfer service in 2007. Its user base has grown to a significant 35 million customers in Kenya and it now offers an array of financial services including savings, banking and investment products. The new stock-trading product, called Ziidi Trader, will allow M-Pesa users to directly buy shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange without the need to open a brokerage account, Safaricom said.

Zimbabwe Heads for double Digit Growth

George Guvamatanga, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion of Zimbabwe, has announced that the Southern African State could potentially breach a 10% growth in GDP in 2026, after Zimbabwe had a secured a 10-month staff-monitored program (SMP), with the International Monetary Fund. Previously the ministry had projected around a 6% growth in GDP while the IMF had projected a 5% annual growth. The IMF says the 10-month Staff-Monitored Programme (SMP) is aimed at consolidating recent stabilisation gains and strengthening macroeconomic management.An SMP with the IMF is an informal agreement that can open the door to an eventual loan. Its intended to establish a credible track record that supports re-engagement efforts and complements a strategy to clear debt arrears and debt restructuring.

Zimbabwe has faced crippling debt levels with a debt to GDP ratio of 87% and interest rates sitting at 35%. Personal tax rates are one of the highest at 41% as government struggles to balance its budget. A fresh IMF fund access would be the first time the country has had potential access to finance in over three decades due to their low credit rating driven by poor debt repayments over time. Export goods such as tobacco and lithium, have hit record levels in the last year, lifting the economy slowly out of a vulnerable position.

Breaking News Shorts:  

• Tesla shares dipped by about -6.3% yesterday following reports of a consortium led by Elon Musk offering $97 billion to gain control of OpenAI. The news raised questions on Musk’s divided focus across ventures and potential conflicts with Tesla’s AI/autonomous driving ambitions. It compounded recent volatility in EV/tech amid tariff risks on imports/parts.
• Hong Kong stocks rose 119 points or 0.4% to 27,301 in early deals this morning, extending a growth streak for the third session as most sectors were higher. A notable rise in U.S. equities supported risk appetite following an overnight mixed session on Wall Street amid softening U.S. consumption. 
• China’s producer prices dipped by 1.4% year-on-year in January 2026, slowing from a 1.9% fall in December and extending the contraction to a 40th consecutive month of price deflation. The latest reading was slightly below market expectations of a 1.5% fall, marking the slowest decline since July 2024, reflecting Beijing’s continued efforts to rein in excessive price competition.
• The Crypto Currency purge continues today with the entire bitcoin market awash in red numbers. Bitcoin is already down by -1.9% today and down by over -25% in the past month. Ether is down by over -2%. Crypto currencies are the worst performing commodity in 2026 with a widespread sell-off market.
• Silver has rebounded by over 2% this morning, to above $82 per ounce, recovering from yesterday’s drop. Gold is also showing positive momentum this morning while Lithium is also starting to rebound this morning and up by over 1.4%

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar losing ground to major currencies today, with the Greenback trading against the Euro at 1.19166 while trading against the Pound at 1.36695 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 153.03 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently trading at around R15.88 and strengthening further against the dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures have gained momentum today, and up by around 0.7% this morning, and currently trading at around $5062.37 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending upwards today, with prices currently around $59.466 per pound
• Silver futures have surged by over 2% today, and currently trading around $82.624 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are almost 2% up this morning, and currently trading at $2141.20, While Palladium prices have gained 1.3% this morning, and currently trading around $1754 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending higher today, and currently at $69.10 with WTI trading higher at $64.34
• Cocoa futures have fallen below the key $4000 level today, and currently trading around $3778 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are currently trending higher today, and trading at around $2.94 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are trending almost -2% lower today, and trading at around $67434 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are down over -2% today, and are currently trading around $1972.47
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading around $3.15

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H45 Central African Time) 

Africa News Briefs:

• Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved sweeping changes to the constitution yesterday, in a bid to extend 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term till 2030, angering opposition figures who warned any changes had to be put to a national referendum. Mnangagwa came to power in 2017 in a military-backed coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, who was president for 30 years. The approved amendments include extending the presidential term from five to seven years and having parliament choose the president instead of the electorate, a cabinet statement announced.
• Nigerian Senate has made a U-turn, and has now approved the live electronic publication of election results after a wave of public backlash. last week, the Senate had rejected a proposal that would force polling units to upload results in real time, a move that sparked outrage across the country. Protesters gathered outside parliament, accusing lawmakers of trying to weaken transparency. Subsequently, after an emergency meeting, the Senate says it has unanimously approved electronic transmission of results once voting and all required procedures are completed at polling stations.