Breaking News Today – Monday 26 May 2025

Business & Tech News

EU gets Tariff Deadline Extension:

US President Donald Trump has extended the EU’s tariff negotiation deadline until 9 July. This follows a conversation between Trump and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who said she had a “good call” with Trump on Sunday. In April, Trump announced a 20% tariff on most EU goods, but later reduced this to 10% until 8 July to allow for further negotiations. Last week Friday however, the US President had shown frustration with the slow pace of negotiations with the EU and threatened to impose 50% tariffs. Speaking to reporters, Trump said Von der Leyen told him that the European leaders would “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.

Kenya to Sell Stakes in SOE’s

Kenya’s government plans to sell more of its shareholding in telecom operator Safaricom. According to a report quoting Kenyan Finance Minister John Mbadi, the government aims to raise $1.16 billion during the 2025/26 financial year through the sale of stakes in State-Owned Companies (SOE’s), including the sale of additional shares in Safaricom, after an offload of shares. The government sold 25% of its shares in Safaricom in an initial public offering in 2008.

DRC Finalising US Mineral Deal

The Democratic Republic of Congo is optimistic that it can close a deal with the USA next month that will secure investment in critical mineral extraction and exports, which will be paired with a deal to end the Rwandan-backed rebellion in the main mineral areas in the eastern region of the DRC that borders Rwanda. Minerals such as tungsten, tantalum, and tin, which have been the main reason for the territorial dispute between the countries, are likely to be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of a peace deal currently being negotiated by the U.S.. The Congo’s Minister of Mines, Kizito Pakabomba, said an agreement with the U.S. would help “diversify our partnerships”, reducing the country’s dependence on China for the exploitation of its vast mineral riches

Pick N Pay Delivers Profit with Strong Online Growth:

Pick n Pay announced its first annual financial results since a major restructuring of the large retail group, with its online business, of grocery shopping and on-demand home deliveries, asap –  now profitable on a “full costed basis”. The annual financial statements for the period ended 2 March 2025, released today, indicated its online sales have continued their “strong growth trajectory”, with turnover for asap, growing by 48.7% over the 53-week reporting period. “The scale gains achieved have resulted in the online business now being profitable on a fully costed basis. While online turnover growth was initially mostly driven by company-owned stores, asap! is now being increasingly adopted by franchisees, with triple-digit FY25 growth in franchise,” the retail group said.

Business, Tech & Market News Shorts:

• The European Union is extending its economic footprint in Africa with a significant €40 million investment to modernise the Douala–N’Djamena trade corridor. This vital route, connecting Cameroon’s port city of Douala with Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, serves as a critical economic lifeline for Central Africa.
• Nvidia plans to launch a new artificial intelligence chipset for China at a significantly lower price than its recently restricted H20 model, according to Reuters, and plans to start mass production as early as June. The GPU or graphics processing unit will be part of Nvidia’s latest generation Blackwell-architecture AI processors and is expected to be priced between $6,500 and $8,000
• OpenAI will set up its first office in Seoul and has established an entity in South Korea as demand in the country jumps for its ChatGPT service, the company said on Monday. South Korea has the largest number of paying ChatGPT subscribers after the United States, according to OpenAI.
• Pakistan has allocated 2,000 megawatts of electricity in the first phase of a national push to support Bitcoin mining and AI data centers, as the country moves to legalise cryptocurrency and attract foreign investments.

Markets by Numbers

Currencies:

Currency markets indicate the US Dollar has weakened against major currencies, and is currently trading lower against the Euro at 1.14082 and against the Pound at 1.35790. The Yen is currently at 142.68 to the dollar, with the rand currently trading at R17.82 to the dollar.

Commodities:

• Gold futures prices have dropped below $3350 per ounce today, and are currently at $3347 per ounce.
• Copper prices are trending higher this morning and are currently at $4.8411.
• Silver futures prices are currently trading upwards, and at $33.510
• Platinum futures are trading upwards this morning, and are currently trading at $1090, while Palladium prices are currently at $999.50
• Brent crude oil prices are currently at $65.03, with WTI trading at $61.69.
• Cocoa futures have plunged by -4.8% today, and are currently at $9815 per ton.
• Coffee futures prices are trending lower today and are currently at $359.36.

Crypto Currencies:

• Bitcoin prices are up by 0,58% currently, and are currently trading at $109686
• Ether prices have gained 0.65% this morning, and are currently at $2570.60.
• $Trumpcoin is trading slightly upwards today, and is currently trading at $12.89

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H50 – Central African Time)

Other Breaking News in Africa Today

Uganda Clashes with European Diplomat:

The Ugandan military authorities have accused European diplomats of engaging in subversive activities, in an escalation of tensions between the territories, with European criticism of human rights violations by Uganda’s security forces escalating. Some European diplomats are mobilizing on behalf of “the negative and traitorous groups opposed” to the government of President Yoweri Museveni, the military said in a statement, which also singled out the German ambassador, Matthias Schauer. Col. Chris Magezi, in a statement, asserted that “the intelligence services are aware about his clearly undiplomatic practices that have been taking place in different parts of the country for some time now.”