Breaking News Today – Wednesday 25 February 2025

Business News Today 

Budget Speech Day in South Africa

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2026 National Budget Speech, tables at 14H00 today in Parliament (Cape Town City Hall). Expectations are for a steady, no-drama budget, after last years chaos with expectations it will be passed smoothly by the coalition Government. The budget is likely to be focused on fiscal consolidation, debt stabilisation at around 77.9% of GDP, with a primary surplus path, building on the recent R68.5 billion surplus gifted to the minister by a recent commodity price spike. There should also be a narrowing of the budget deficit from around 4.5% toward 2.9% by 2028/29. No major tax hikes are anticipated in headline rates (VAT, personal/corporate income tax) likely unchanged, with revenue coming from bracket creep (would be the third year in a row), better compliance, and commodity windfalls (gold/PGMs helping).

Growth outlook: Is still modest but improving with an expected average of 1.8% over the medium term, with emphasis on structural reforms. Debt-servicing costs remain high at around 5% of GDP, but positive credit rating changes and lower inflation (lowest in 20 years) give some breathing room. The budget is scheduled to be live-streamed on the Parliamentary channels and SABC.

African Governments Lean on Multilateral Lenders as Debt Risks Persist

S&P Global Ratings has noted that African sovereigns will increasingly need to rely on multilateral financing (e.g., World Bank, IMF) and domestic reforms in 2026 to manage elevated debt distress, even with bond issuance hitting a record start. Around $6 billion has been raised from Benin, Kenya and Ivory Coast so far, at lower costs. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to see diversification from commercial debt amid high distress risks, with reform momentum key to creating debt stability. This shift supports infrastructure and growth but highlights ongoing vulnerabilities. Many nations are currently spending more on debt servicing than on health and education. Positive: stronger multilateral ties could ease pressure as global appetite for EM debt remains solid.

Chip Challenger Raises $500 million

MatX, a chip startup founded by two former Google hardware engineers, has raised a $500 million Series B led by Jane Street and Situational Awareness, an investment fund formed by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. The goal of the start-up, is to develop new processors, expected to be 10 times better at training LLMs and delivering results than Nvidia’s current GPUs.  The company CEO, Reiner Pope said on a linkedIn post “We’re building an LLM chip that delivers much higher throughput than any other chip while also achieving the lowest latency”. “Higher throughput and lower latency give you smarter and faster models for your subscription dollar” Pope said.

No Company valuation has been released yet. Before co-founding MatX in 2023, Pope led AI software development for Google’s TPUs, the tech giant’s proprietary AI chips. His co-founder, Mike Gunter, was a lead designer of the TPU hardware before leaving to launch the startup.

Cocoa Prices Slip Further

Cocoa future prices eased to near $3,000 per tonne, the lowest since May 2023, as the market remained pressured by sluggish demand, ample supply and expectations of a strong harvest in major producing countries. In the meantime, large volumes of cocoa remain unsold in top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana, as buyers are reluctant to pay official farm-gate prices above world levels, limiting governments’ ability to keep prices high. Ivory Coast is reportedly considering cutting the price it pays cocoa farmers to align with Ghana, responding to a sharp decline in global cocoa prices.

Latest data releases showed ICE cocoa inventories rose to a 5.25-month high of 2,111,554 bags as of February 20. Regarding crop developments, farmers in Ivory Coast reported adequate soil moisture, which should improve the quality and size of the upcoming April-to-September mid-crop. With normal rains expected in March, they foresee no shortages and predict the crop will be larger and of higher quality than last season. In the last year, prices have slumped by almost -64%.

Breaking News Shorts:  

• Waymo will begin dispatching its robotaxis in four more cities in Texas and Florida, expanding the territory covered by its fleet of self-driving cars to 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets.The move into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, Florida, announced Tuesday, widens Waymo’s early lead in autonomous driving 
• US stock futures were broadly steady this morning as investors looked ahead to Nvidia’s earnings report, which is expected to provide fresh signals on the durability of artificial intelligence demand. In regular trading on Tuesday, the Dow advanced 0.76%, the S&P 500 added 0.77%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.04%, with Wall Street rebounding from Monday’s selloff 
• Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index climbed 1.3% to above 58,000 today, marking a fresh all-time high as it tracked a technology-driven rebound on Wall Street amid easing concerns over potential artificial intelligence disruptions. 
• The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) gained 0.8% to 6,600 this morning, marking its fourth straight gain and the highest level since January 2025, mainly driven by strong investor appetite amid corporate earnings reports. Heavyweight stocks led the index gains, with International Container Terminal Services climbing 3.3%,
• Platinum futures climbed above $2,250 an ounce this morning, hitting a three-week high, as renewed tariff uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical tensions boosted demand for safe-haven metals. Platinum has remained historically high amid ongoing supply tightness, particularly from South Africa, while demand remains supported by automotive catalysts.
  

Markets by Numbers 

Currency markets indicate the US dollar weaker against major currencies today, with the Greenback trading against the Euro at 1.17966 while trading against the Pound at 1.35186. The Yen is currently trading at 155.74 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently trading stronger at around R15.93 against the US dollar.

Commodities:  

• Gold futures have gained momentum today, rising by around 0.9% this morning, and currently trading at around $5188.62 per ounce.  
• Copper prices are trending marginally higher today, with prices currently around $5.9392 per pound
• Silver futures are surging today, up around 2.83% today, and currently trading around $89.544 per ounce.
• Platinum futures are flying this morning, up by over 3.4% and currently trading at $2262.20, While Palladium prices are trending around 1% higher this morning, and currently trading around $1837.50 per ounce.
• Brent crude oil prices are trending 0.7% higher today, and currently at $71.26 with WTI trading higher at $66.03
• Cocoa futures have lost more ground today, and currently trading around $3078 per ton. 
• Coffee futures are currently trending flat today, and trading at around $2.8426 per pound

Crypto Currencies: 

• Bitcoin prices are having a small rally this morning, with a gain of 1.7%, and trading at around $65172 per coin currently 
• Ether prices are also up by over 2.2% today, and are currently trading around $1893.93
• $Trumpcoin are currently trading around $3.399

(All prices quoted at approximately 07H30 Central African Time) 

Africa News Briefs:

• The World Bank has announced $6 billion in concessional financing for Mozambique over the next five years to support public investment projects, as the Southern African nation grapples with strained public finances and recent IMF warnings over worsening debt dynamics.”We have a balance sheet of around $3 billion on the bank side, and we’re hoping to mobilise another $3 billion,” said Fily Sissoko, World Bank division director for Mozambique.
• Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has decried a jail sentence giving by a Moroccan court to 18 Senegalese football supporters. They were convicted over a pitch invasion during the chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final between the two countries in January, accused of violence and causing damage. Last Thursday, a court handed them sentences ranging from three months to one year in prison and fines of up to $545.
• South Africa’s government announced yesterday that 11 men of a group of 17, who were lured into fighting for Russia in Ukraine were set to return home soon, after an initial four had returned to the country last week. A further two remained in Russia, with one in a hospital in Moscow, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement. Former President Jacob Zuma’s Daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla had been implicated in recruiting the men to fight for Russia. Duduzile subsequently resigned as an MP for the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party (led by her father) in late November 2025 amid the fallout.