Business & Tech News
UBER Under US Investigation:
Uber is under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) into its subscription plan, the company has said. The US consumer watchdog is investigating the ride-hailing company over the enrolment and cancellation procedures of their premium service. Uber One, which has more than 25 million subscribers around the world, offers premium paying members discounts on rides and deliveries. “We will continue to answer any questions the FTC may have about our cancellation policies,” said an Uber spokesperson. “The Uber One cancellation process follows both the letter and the spirit of the law: Uber One members can easily cancel their membership in the app – in fact, the majority of those cancellations take 20 seconds or less.”. Adobe and Apple, have faced similar lawsuits from the FTC over cancellation policies that the regulator deemed overly complicated.
Innomotics Launches New Assembly Facility:
Innomotics, the international industrial electric motor and pump supplier has launched a new assembly plant in Midrand South Africa today. The Global producer of large drive systems revealed and impressive state of the art assembly centre that will provide for enhanced production and deliveries capabilities that will improve supply to the mining and waste water industries in Africa, allowing for greater reduction in delivery time. The Company was spun off from Siemens last year into a new entity and according to Tim Walwyn, CEO, “is a testament, not just to our regional growth, but also to our greater plans for our solutions” he commented at the Launch
Private investment in Cocoa Industry to Grow:
International buyers of Ghana’s cocoa have invested at least half a billion dollars by means of upfront payments to the state marketing board Cocobod. This has been driven by an effort secure supply and avoid another season of heavy losses. A sudden overhaul of the decades-old marketing system in the global No.2 cocoa grower, has thrust traders and processors into a new role in bridging finance to ensure crop cultivation and harvesting happens. Previously, Cocobod relied on bank loans to buy farmers’ cocoa, then sell the contracts for the crop forward to international companies. Cocobod, for the first time since 1992 did not secure syndicated financing to purchase this season’s crop but instead is using the companies themselves.
Cocobod has indicated that bypassing the banks will slash costs and the shift also marks a new era of risk for private players in the cocoa sector in Ghana and the global chocolate industry.
Market News
Markets: Indices in the US indices, were all up at close yesterday with the NASDAQ closing up by 0,57%, the S&P 500 was up by 0,57 and the Dow Jones closing up by 0,28%.
Asian markets this morning have been trending lower with the Nikkei down by -1,06% and is at 38034 currently, while the Hang Seng is slightly up today by 0,04% and is at 19159 currently.
Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.053 against the Euro, at 1,265 against the Pound, and at 151.82 against the Yen. The Rand continues to lose momentum this morning alongside other EM currencies and is currently trading at R18.26 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold is trading higher this morning and is currently at $2,647 per ounce
- Platinum prices currently trading upwards at $947 and with Palladium prices currently losing ground today and at $987 currently
- Brent crude is currently trading lower today and is at $72.28 with WTI also trading lower at $68.66 currently.
- Cocoa prices arecurrently trading at 7696 Brittish pounds per ton.
- Coffee prices are trading upwards and have gained over 5% today, and is at $3.29 currently
(All prices quoted at 11H45 – Central African Time)
Other News in Africa Today
New WHO African Head Deceased:
The newly appointed and incoming regional director of the World Health Organization for Africa, Dr Faustine Ndugulile of Tanzania, has died, only three months after he was elected to the position. Ndugulile, the 55-year-old lawmaker and a medical doctor, passed away on Wednesday morning (27 Nov) while undergoing a medical treatment in India while undergoing treatment. Tanzania’s speaker of parliament announced the news of his passing.
Ndugulile was known for having stood up to President John Magufuli during the events of the Covid pandemic in 2020, when he served as deputy health minister. In August this year, he was elected as the WHO regional head, to take over from Botswana’s Dr Matshidiso Moeti, who served two five-year terms in the position.
Namibian Election Chaos
Logistical and operational issues on Wednesday left thousands of Namibians waiting in queues to vote in pivotal presidential and legislative elections, some for up to 12 hours, with polling stations staying open hours later than planned. The vote could usher in the desert nation’s first woman leader even as her party, the ruling South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO) faces the strongest challenge yet to its 34-year grip on power. Some voters expressed that they had queued all day waiting to vote, blaming technical problems that included issues with voter identification tablets and insufficient ballot papers supplied to numerous voting stations.
