The rand retreated early on Tuesday as caution lingered in markets after the discovery of a Covid-19 variant that is spreading in the country and globally. At 0625 GMT, the rand traded at R16.21 against the dollar, 0.46% weaker than its previous close. The currency plunged to its weakest since October 2020 on Friday as the world reacted with alarm to the news of the new variant, Omicron, which was first detected in southern Africa. “The short-term technical indicators remain in overbought territory, but caution is advised, as headlines remain significant market drivers and liquidity is limited,” analysts at Nedbank…
Author: Business Tech Africa
The world is changing swiftly, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is ushering in a new era of innovation and technology. From how we manufacture and consume products and services to how we experience life and work, 4IR is transforming and enhancing every facet of modern life. Digitalisation has become critical for businesses to remain competitive through greater productivity, asset reliability and advanced process control, and there is a huge emphasis on doing things simply and quickly to drive business growth and success. When a task or transaction is complex, it involves a significant investment of resources, and usually, this…
In the last six months, an organisation in South Africa was attacked on average 1737 times per week. This is more than double the global average (819) of attacks per organisation per week, according to Check Point Threat Intelligence Report. So what can we expect from the year ahead? • In 2022, ransom demands by hackers are expected to break records. • Mobile malware attacks will rise, as mobile wallets and mobile payment platforms are used more widely. • Cryptocurrency will become a focal point for cyber-attacks. 2021 Supply chain cyber-attacks will become more common in 2022. This is according to Check Point Research’s…
Eskom says that stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented from 14:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday. After that, stage 2 load-shedding will continue until 05:00 on Monday, 8 November. This follows the shutdown of three generating units at Kendal Power Station, a unit trip each at Tutuka and Matimba power stations, and the delayed return to service of a unit each at Majuba and Lethabo power stations. “Stage 4 load-shedding is necessary to stop the use of open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) generators in order to preserve the remaining fuel at these power stations, which is critically low,” Eskom stated. “There is insufficient…
Twitter is changing the way its users will see ads on the platform, with the new format displaying sponsored content in the middle of conversations. Announced by Bruce Falck, Twitter’s revenue product lead, the new format will display ads after the “first, third, or eighth reply under a Tweet”. The company is currently testing the update globally on Android and iOS, and Falck shared a short demonstration of how Twitter will show the new ads. Falck’s post was met with mixed reactions, with some users offering advice on how they believe Twitter should implement the feature and others commenting on…
It took Andrew Forrest a little over a decade to build an iron ore empire to challenge the global majors. Now he’s set himself an equally ambitious timeline to create a global powerhouse in clean energy. The Perth-based billionaire, widely known as “Twiggy” in Australia, has been scouring the planet’s far-flung regions including Kyrgyzstan and the Democratic Republic of Congo for investment opportunities in renewable power and hydrogen production. He also wants his home country to become a global leader in the nascent hydrogen industry, and earlier this week announced plans to build a giant factory in Queensland to manufacture…
Fujifilm has announced a new mobile printer that uses its larger Instax Wide format film. The Instax Link Wide Smartphone Printer is a similar idea to the existing Instax Mini Link: hook up your phone over Bluetooth and use an app to edit and print your own Polaroid-style snapshots from your camera roll. Instax Wide film is much bigger than Instax Mini — it’s about the size of two credit cards side by side. That means your Link Wide printouts might not be as easy to carry in a wallet as Instax Mini photos, but they should be a lot more…
Google is sending 10,000 USB security keys to users such as politicians and human rights activists which the company views to be at high risk, according to a blog post. The tech company warned more than 14,000 users to guard them against APT28 — also known as Fancy Bear — a Russian cyber espionage group believed to be driven by military intelligence. According to a BBC News report, Fancy Bear used an email campaign that attempted to get Gmail users to reveal their passwords. Google is encouraging high-profile users to join its Advanced Protection Programme, which it said “brings its…
Pacific Investment Management Co. has agreed to lend a South African state development bank 3-billion rand ($210 million), the first deal in a United Nations program to fund green energy in Africa. The debt securities from Pimco, which manages $2.2 trillion in assets, will be used to refinance debt that South Africa’s Development Bank of Southern Africa has in renewable projects, with the funding to go toward investing in additional capacity. There is “ongoing interest from our stakeholders in well-structured products that also achieve tangible progress for sustainable energy development in Africa,” Scott Mather, Pimco’s chief investment officer, said in…
Apple hasn’t created a USB-C iPhone despite years of rumors, but that hasn’t stopped a robotics engineering student from creating one. Ken Pillonel has placed a working USB-C port inside an iPhone X, allowing the phone to charge and transfer data over USB-C instead of Lightning. Pillonel has spent months on the project in his spare time, as spotted by Apple Insider, and opened up plenty of USB-C and Lightning cables to get to his final goal of a USB-C iPhone. Pillonel originally created a simple prototype in May that allowed an iPhone battery to be charged over the USB-C port. The proof…
