Breaking News Today – Wednesday 21 May 2025

Business & Tech News

South African Budget Day – Third time Lucky?

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will be walking a tightrope, as he tables the third iteration of the national budget in the South African Parliament in Cape Town later today. The failure of the finance ministry to get consensus about an acceptable budget within the new coalition government, has highlighted the tense political and socio-economic situation, with the Democratic Alliance, a member of the coalition government having taken the minister to court to force a stop to the plans to increase the Value Added Tax. This has created a shortfall of R75 billion (ZAR) that will need to be addressed with limited options for the minister.

There is much pressure for the government to cut back spending and flagrant debt increases that have marked the national budget over the last decade, that has resulted in debt servicing now being the largest single allocation in the national budget. With the economy only growing by less than 1% annually it is seen as an unsustainable financial position. There is likely to be a new focus on tax collection efforts as well as a meaningful cuts to what is often wasteful or unbudgeted expenditure.

Renergen Buyout Proposed:

The struggling natural gas producer in South Africa, saw its share price rocket yesterday, on news that Nasdaq-listed ASP Isotopes plans to make an offer to buy 100% of the company’s shares. The shares jumped 50% from R6.79 to more than R12 on Tuesday before settling back to R11. Renergen shares have fallen from around R40 in 2002 due to delays and technical difficulties in meeting expected production targets. The company is in a unique position to produce large quantities of Helium gas, at its onshore Virginia gas plant in the Free State and is SA’s first integrated producer of both liquefied helium and liquefied natural gas (LNG). 

There had been much hype around its launch, but has been plagued by technical issues that have slowed down the planned development. Under the proposed share buyout, Renergen shareholders will receive 0.09196 new ASP Isotopes shares for each Renergen share. Should the scheme is not implemented, ASP Isotopes plans to then offer Renergen shareholders the option to acquire 100% of the issued share capital. Renergen will then become an operating subsidiary of ASP Isotopes, with Renergen shareholders owning 16% of the combined company.

Tesla Robo-Taxi Green Lighted

Tesla, according to Elon Musk, is set to begin testing of its promised robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, by the end of June. This was revealed in an interview on CNBC yesterday. They plan to roll out 10 self-driving cars in some parts of the city, and scale up to about a thousand within a few months, according to Musk. “We are actually going to deploy not to the entire Austin region, but only the parts that are the safest”. Musk has said he will also be reducing his work for Trump to focus on Tesla, saying, “My rough plan on the White House is to be there for a couple days, every few weeks, and to be helpful where I can be helpful,” he said.

A successful robotaxi trial is crucial for Tesla as Musk has shifted the company’s focus away from building a new, cheaper EV platform to launching the autonomous robotaxi service and its Optimus humanoid robots. While Tesla is still the largest EV manufacturer globally they have put much development value into these new ventures and future company growth may depend on the success of these new developments.

Gold Futures Rise:

Gold rose to around the $3,300 mark in early trade today nearing a two-week high and building on its 2% gain from yesterday’s trading session. The price surge was supported by geopolitical risks and persistent weakness in the US dollar. Reports that Israel is planning a strike on Iranian nuclear sites have raised concerns that the Middle East conflict could escalate, as such an attack might provoke retaliation from Iran. Adding to geopolitical concerns, President Trump said Russia and Ukraine would begin ceasefire talks immediately, but he appeared to signal that he would step back from mediating the three-year conflict. Meanwhile, the US dollar remained subdued following the Federal Reserve’s cautious economic outlook and Moody’s downgrade of the US credit rating due to rising debt levels. 

Business, Tech & Market News Shorts:

• The new Ai Search platform for Google –  Google’s AI Mode, that allows users to ask complex, multi-part questions via an AI interface, will roll out to everyone in the U.S. starting this week, according to an announcement by the company at its annual developer conference, Google I/O 2025, yesterday.
• Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of a peace deal being negotiated by the U.S., according to a Reuters report.
• Japan’s exports increased by 2.0% year-on-year to JPY 9,157.16 billion in April 2025, in line with market forecasts. The seventh straight month of growth despite the slowest pace caused by global economic headwinds and from U.S. tariffs. Shipments to the U.S. fell 1.8%, the first drop in four months on falling demand for automobiles, steel and ships. Also, exports to China, the EU, and Russia each shrank 0.6%, 5.2%, and 3.0% respectively.
• Nigeria’s Central Bank kept its benchmark lending rate at 27.50% yesterday, maintaining its policy stance for a second straight meeting, as it seeks a clearer understanding of near-term economic conditions. Nigeria’s annual inflation rate while still high, fell to 23.71% in April 2025, from 24.23% in March.

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US Dollar has weakened further against major currencies, and is currently trading against the Euro at 1.113317, and against the Pound at 1.34309 The Yen is currently trading higher at 143.58 to the dollar, with the rand gaining further against a weaker US dollar to drop below R18.00 to the dollar, and currently trading at R17.87

Commodities:

• Gold futures prices have surged by 0,76% this morning, after gains late yesterday, with Geopolitical tensions rising and are currently at $3315 per ounce.
• Copper prices are trending higher this morning after gains yesterday, and are currently at $4.6632.
• Silver futures prices are trending slightly higher this morning and are currently trading at $33.154
• Platinum futures after good gains yesterday are slightly down this morning, and are currently trading at $1049.80 while Palladium prices also  surged above the $1000 mark yesterday and are trending slightly lower today and currently at $1012
• Brent crude oil prices have jumped by 1,5% today and are currently at $66.31, with WTI also trending higher, and trading at $62.96.
• Cocoa futures are trending upwards, and are currently at $10912 per ton.
• Coffee futures prices are trending upwards this morning after falling yesterday are at $368.98 currently.

Crypto Currencies:

• Bitcoin prices are continued to trade upwards this morning, and are currently trading at $107641
• Ether prices have gained over 2,8% this morning, and are currently at $2597.98
• $Trumpcoin is trading over 11% higher today, and is currently trading at $14.44

(All prices quoted at approximately 08H20 – Central African Time)

Other Breaking News in Africa Today

South African President in Show-Down with Donald Trump Today:

Today will see what commentators are expecting to be a fiery meeting between US President Trump and South African President Ramaposa. Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been strained for some time now, with the US having been unimpressed with South Africa’s policy developments in land expropriation, as well as international relations differences, with Pretoria seen as having a pro Russia and China position, despite the governments stated policy of remaining a natural entity.

This has escalated recently with America having expelled the South African ambassador in the US after he had made strong anti-American statements on social media, and with the US having offered refugee status to a South African minority group of farmers, who the US say are being persecuted by racial laws in the country. President Ramaposa will also be looking to make a deal with the US regarding the recent tariffs imposed by Trump. Much will be at stake in this meeting for South Africa, with the US their second largest trading partner for exports.