Business & Tech News
US Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged While Stocks Surge on Trade Deal Announcement:
US stock futures surged today following a message from President Donald Trump on Truth Social, announcing that there would be a news conference later today to announce a deal with a “big” country, which is speculated to be the UK. Meanwhile, Trump said he would not lower tariffs on China as a condition to begin trade negotiations ahead of US-China talks in Switzerland this weekend. On the monetary policy front, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged as expected yesterday but issued a warning of rising risks to both inflation and unemployment. Fed Chair Jerome Powell adopted a cautious tone, dismissing the idea of a pre-emptive rate cut in response to potential effects from tariffs. In regular trading on Yesterday, the Dow rose 0.7%, the S&P 500 gained 0.43%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.27%.
ARC To Delist from JSE
African Rainbow Capital Investments Ltd,led by South African Billionaire Patrice Motsepe, will be delisting from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on May 29, following an overwhelming vote to do so by its shareholders. 94% of shareholders voted to accept the R9.75 buy-out offer presented by the company. The shares closed at R9.67 a share yesterday. The holding company that owns Tymebank and the telecommunication company Rain, believes that the move will unlock value for the company as it has been trading below real worth for some time. The company has also announced that it would be moving its headquarters back to South Africa from Mauritius.
Apple AI Search Development Hurts Google:
According to testimony given by Apple executive Eddy Cue, at the ongoing Google antitrust court case yesterday, Apple is planning to add AI-powered search options to its Safari browser, in a move that would result in a major impact fro Google, who currently provides the only search option on iPhones in a lucrative advertising and data collection business. The news created a share sell-off that saw shares of Google’s holding company Alphabet dropping by -7.3%, wiping off roughly $150 billion from its market value. The iPhone maker was, according to reports, was “actively looking at” reshaping Safari, with the result likely to further negatively affect Alphabet’s share price.
Business, Tech & Market News Shorts:
- The Nigerian government is set to issue $186 million of green bonds in two offerings before the end of 2025, looking for capital that will fund an ambitious economic-transformation plan, Environment Minister Balarabe Abbas Lawal said. A 50 billion-naira ($31 million) bond will be sold in two weeks and an additional 250 billion-naira one in October, Lawal told reporters in the capital, Abuja, Yesterday.
- ABSA Bank is set to appoint Rene’ van Wyk as its new Chair after 15 July, when current incumbent, Sello Moloko is to step down from the position. Van Wyk is a seasoned banking executive and was previously an interim CEO at the group.
- Foxconn is set to venture into electric vehicle manufacturing this year in a partnership with Mitsubishi Motors. The maker of Apple’s iPhones, is taking its first major contract in the mushrooming EV vehicle market. Under the agreement in principle, a Foxconn joint venture will design and build cars in Taiwan for Mitsubishi. The companies say they expect the new model to be available by the end of next year.
- Toyota Motors expects profit to decline by as much as 20% in the current financial year, it announced earlier today. The company pointed to a weaker U.S. dollar and the impact of the US tariffs on the world’s largest automaker. Toyota said it expected operating income to total 3.8 trillion yen ($26 billion) in the year to March 2026, versus 4.8 trillion yen in the year that just ended.
Markets by Numbers
Currencies:
Currency markets indicate the US Dollar has firmed slightly and is currently trading against the Euro at 1.12836, and against the Pound at 1.32865. The Yen is currently trading lower at 144.37 to the dollar. The rand has lost its momentum against a stronger dollar and is trading at R18.27.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices have dropped further by -1,6% this morning and are currently trading at $3322 per ounce.
- Copper prices are trending downwards and are currently at 4.5568.
- Silver futures prices are trending lower this morning and are currently trading at 32.294
- Platinum futures are trading lower today and at $973 currently, while Palladium prices are also trending lower today and at $961 currently.
- Brent crude oil prices are currently trading at $61.25, with WTI trading at $58.26.
- Cocoa futures have gained further momentum this morning and are at $9285 per ton.
- Coffee futures prices are trending lower today and are at $395 currently.
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices are trending higher today, up over 2% so far, and are currently trading at $98958
- Ether prices are have surged by over 5% this morning and at $1907 currently.
- $Trumpcoin has bounced by over 10% this morning and currently trading at $12.06
(All prices quoted at approximately 08H50 – Central African Time)
Other Breaking News in Africa Today
Ant Smugglers Face Fine or Jail:
A Kenyan court has sentenced four men to one year in prison or a fine of $7,700 for attempted ant smuggling. The group had attempted to smuggle thousands of sought-after, live queen ants out of the country when they had been apprehended by police. The four suspects, two Belgians, a Vietnamese, and a Kenyan, were arrested last month with live ants suspected to have been destined for collectors in Europe and Asia. They had pleaded guilty to the charges, with the Belgians telling the court that they were collecting the highly sought-after ants as a hobby and didn’t think it was illegal.
But when delivering the sentence on Wednesday, the judge, Njeri Thuku, said the particular species of ants collected was valuable, and they had thousands of them, not just a few. “Already the world has lost a number of species due in part to greed”. “It is time to stem this tide.” Thuku said that “This court will do what it can to protect all creatures great and small.”
