Business & Tech News
LinkedIn – Latest in Data Disclosure Court Case
LinkedIn is the latest Tech group finding itself on the wrong side of the law by allegedly disclosing the content of private messages on the business focused social media platform. Premium customers maintain that social media platform disclosed their private messages to third parties without permission to train generative artificial intelligence models. According to a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night, on behalf of millions of LinkedIn Premium customers, LinkedIn quietly introduced a privacy setting last August that let users enable or disable the sharing of their personal data. Customers now claim that LinkedIn then discreetly updated its privacy policy on Sept. 18 to say data could be used to train AI models, and in a “frequently asked questions” hyperlink, stated that opting out “does not affect training that has already taken place.”
This was viewed as an attempt to “cover its tracks” and suggests LinkedIn was fully aware that it had violated customers’ privacy and its promise to use personal data only to support and improve its platform.The retrospective action taken was seen as a cynical effort to minimize public scrutiny and legal fallout, the complaint said.
US – S&P 500 Hits new all-time High:
US stocks closed higher with the S&P 500 climbing 0.7% to a record high, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 1.4%, and the Dow advanced 150 points on Wednesday. Driven by strong earnings and a positive economic outlook in corporate developments, markets evaluated the implications of President Trump’s policy shifts. Netflix share price jumped by 9.7% after reporting a record number of new subscribers. Procter & Gamble added 1.9% on strong quarterly results. Oracle surged 6.7%, contributing to a nearly 20% weekly rise after announcing a joint venture with SoftBank and OpenAI tied to a $500 billion AI investment initiative. Nvidia rose 4.4%, and Microsoft added 4.1%, aligning with the broader tech rally.
Cape Verde Inflation Hits 4-month Low:
The annual inflation rate in Cape Verde eased to 1.4% in December 2024, down from November’s 1.6%. This marked the lowest inflation rate since September, as food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose the least in three months (0.5% vs 1.4% in November). Additionally, housing and utilities (1.9% vs 2.0%) and health prices (2.2% vs 2.3%) moderated. On the other hand, prices continued to increase for transport (2.1% vs 0.6%), clothing and footwear (3.8% vs 2.2%), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (2.2% vs 2.0%), and recreation and culture (2.6% vs 2.3%), while goods and services inflation remained steady at 5.4%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down 0.1% in December, following a 0.2% fall in the previous month. source: INE, Cape Verde
Gold Holds Gains:
The Precious metal has maintained its resilience and has kept above $2,750 per ounce this morning, hitting a consecutive three-day gain and sitting close to its highest level since early November. Gold hit its record peak of $2,790 on Oct 30 last year. The yellow metal continued to benefit from its safe-haven appeal amid uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, raising concerns about potential trade wars. On the monetary policy front, ECB policymakers backed further rate cuts on Wednesday, signaling next week’s reduction is nearly certain, which would benefit non-yielding gold. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its upcoming meeting. Elsewhere, the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was disregarded when Israel launched a drone attack in southern Lebanon’s Hasbaya area, further strengthening gold’s safety appeal.
Market News
Currencies:
The US Dollar is currently trading upwards at 1.04118 against the Euro, at 1.23183 against the Pound, and at 156.57 against the Yen. The Rand has strengthened further below the R18.50 mark this morning, and currently trading at R18.49 to the dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold prices have continued its upward trend with the price currently at $2,753 per ounce. Copper is trading lower and currently at 4.2275, while Silver is also trading lower this morning Silver at 30.605
- Platinum prices have dropped once more and is currently trading at $950.20, while Palladium prices are currently trading higher at $972.50
- Oil prices continue lower in trade this morning, with Brent oil currently trading at $78.72 currently with WTI also trading downwards at $75.21 currently.
- Cocoa futures have moved upwards again this morning, with prices currently at $11 680 per ton and is up over 11% for the week.
- Coffee prices have gained steam this morning, and at $3.4291 per pound currently.
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin has dropped overnight, and is currently trading at $101 739.
- Ether prices are currently trading lower at $3182.92 currently.
- $Trumpcoin lost steam over night and is currently trading lower at $37,68 down -8,41%
(All prices quoted at approximately 09H10 – Central African Time)
Other News in Africa Today
Egypt in all-out Effort to Maintain Gaza /Israel Peace Agreement:
Egypt’s President has given an undertaking that the Northern African State would “push with all its strength” to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza is fully implemented”. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi emphasised that Egypt’s role in the mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas would continue and that the country would dedicate all its power to ensure that the ceasefire holds. “Egypt is striving with all its power and sincere efforts to reject violence and strive for peace”. “The ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip is a living witness to these tireless efforts and continuous endeavours that Egypt is making alongside its partners in this regard”.
“We will push with all our strength to implement this agreement in full in an effort to stop the bloodshed of our Palestinian brothers and restore services to the Strip so that it becomes viable and prevent any attempts of displacement due to these difficult circumstances, because this is a matter (displacement) that Egypt categorically rejects in order to preserve the existence of the Palestinian cause itself,” Sissi announced. The truce, is supposed to see 33 Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian insurgents over a year ago being released in return for hundreds of Palestinians.
Botswana to Prioritize Local Teachers and Drivers:
A Botswanan official said this week that the Southern African nation would no longer issue work permits to foreign teachers and truck drivers in order to protect jobs for local citizens. Minister of Labor and Home Affairs Pius Mokgware told a group of unemployed teachers protesting in Gaborone that the government had already stopped issuing permits to foreign educators and truck drivers. According to Mokgware, the government had rejected 140 applications for work permits last month. A representative of the unemployed teachers, Thabang Kopelo, said they want the new government, which took office in October last year, to go a step further. “We now demand the cancellation and the immediate suspension of issuing of work permits to teachers who come from outside of Botswana, Kopelo said. Kopelo insisted that the group’s actions weren’t xenophobic, but a plea to the government to prioritize citizens in hiring teachers.
