Business News Today
Ford CEO Predicts EV Sales Will Halve After Tax Credit Expiration
Ford’s CEO Jim Farley has forecasted a 50% drop in U.S. electric vehicle sales post-2025 tax credit phase-out, citing affordability barriers without subsidies. The automaker, which sold 100,000 EVs last year, plans to pivot toward hybrids for better profitability. Shares in the global automaker dipped 3% on the warning, reflecting broader industry shifts and with Tesla still dominating the EV Market in the US. Farley urged policy extensions, warning of slowed green transition and job impacts in Michigan plants.
Chat GPT Rabbit Hole Syndrome Analysis
Steven Adler, a former OpenAI safety researcher who left the company in late 2024 after nearly four years working to make its models less harmful, has issued an independent analysis of a recent chat GPTincident, showing potential issues with the AI and raising questions about how OpenAI handles users in moments of crisis and offering some practical recommendations. It Stemmed from an incident in May 2025, from Allan Brooks, a 47-year-old Canadian who came to believe that he had discovered a new form of math powerful enough to take down the internet. His case illustrated how AI chatbots can venture down dangerous rabbit holes with users, leading them toward delusion or worse.
Adler has taken the volumes of exchanges from Brooks interactions with Chat GPT and published his analysis. Adler has commented: “I’m really concerned by how OpenAI handled support here,” said Adler in an interview with TechCrunch. “It’s evidence there’s a long way to go.” Brooks’ story, and others like it, have forced OpenAI to come to terms with how ChatGPT supports fragile or mentally unstable users.
IMF’s October 2025 World Economic Outlook Looms with Cautious Projections
The IMF’s upcoming World Economic Outlook forecasts global growth at 3.2% for 2025, down from 3.3%, citing trade tensions and climate costs. Emerging markets face 4% expansion, while advanced economies slow to 1.7%. Launch set for October 14, it urges fiscal reforms. Markets await details on inflation paths, with bond yields steady. This baseline appears to temper optimism amid geopolitical risks.
Seamless Crypto Buying Launches in South Africa via Bybit
Bybit, is a Dubai based cryptocurrency exchange, founded in 2018 by Ben Zhou, it is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has launched a local crypto operation in South Africa. They offer direct cryptocurrency purchases in the country, allowing rand-based buys without intermediaries, boosting accessibility for retail investors. Amid regulatory easing by the FSCA, this targets the $2 billion local crypto market. Early adoption could surge 30%, per analysts, but warnings on volatility persist. The platform integrates with local retail banks.
Mauritius To Headquarter Africa’s Own Ratings Agency
The latest African Union Initiative, the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is set to be headquartered in Mauritius with plans to have the entity fully operational by Q2 of 2026. AfCRA is to provide alternative assessments of repayment risk to compete with global ratings agencies such as Fitch and S&P ratings that have often fallen to criticism of having an anti-African Bias. Marie-Antoinette Rose-Quatre, CEO of the African Peer Review Mechanism, commented that “AfCRA will be a fully African-owned and private-sector entity,” and an African Union structure. Rose-Quatre was commenting at an AU conference in Johannesburg on yesterday. She stressed that the new entity would have complete autonomy and that it would operate independently of AU structures. AfCRA, originally due to start operations by the end of September, was behind schedule and Rose-Quatre said the agency would issue its first rating by June 2026.
Breaking News Shorts:
- Japan is facing a shortage of Asahi beverage products, including beer and bottled tea, as the drinks giant grapples with the impact of a major cyber-attack that has impacted its operations in the country. Most of the Asahi Group’s factories in Japan have been at a standstill since Monday, after the attack hit its ordering and delivering system, the firm has said.
- Amazon is set to restart its drone delivery service in Arizona beginning today. This follows after two US federal agencies continue to investigate a drone crash that occurred earlier this week. Amazon has been delivering packages, weighing up to five pounds, to customers via its Prime Air drone service in the West Valley of Phoenix since November 2024.
- Capitec’s Avafin Offshore Unit Delivers Strong Returns: Capitec Bank’s Swedish arm Avafin reported 25% revenue growth in H1 2025, mirroring early Capitec success with digital lending. Analysts forecast R5 billion contribution by 2027, diversifying from domestic retail.
- eMedia Acquires 30% Stake in Pristine World for R119m: eMedia snapped up 30% of Indian content firm Pristine World for R119 million, plus VFX investments, to enrich e.tv’s programming. The deal taps Bollywood’s $2 billion market, targeting SA’s 10 million Indian viewers.
- The Nikkei 225 climbed 0.8% to around 45,300 and the broader Topix advanced 0.7% to 3,110 this morning, as Japanese equities gained for a second straight session, mirroring Wall Street’s advance. Strength in the artificial intelligence trade outweighed worries over the US government shutdown.
- Oil is set for its largest weekly loss since June Ahead of OPEC+ Meeting. Oil prices continue to drop and are on track for their steepest weekly decline since late June, dropping over 7% amid expectations of increased OPEC+ supply. Brent crude fell to $70.50 per barrel, pressured by robust U.S. inventories.
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets today indicate the US dollar has gained ground, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.17239 while the Pound is trading at 1.34418 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 147.66 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is static against the weaker dollar and is currently at R17.30 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices are slightly lower today, having gained 2% this week, and are currently trading around $3845.50 per ounce.
- Copper prices are trading upwards and up this week by over 4,2%, with prices currently at $4.9105
- Silver futures prices have modulated further today, and is currently trading around $46.873
- Platinum futures are trading lower today, and are currently trading at $1562.40, While Palladium prices are also trading lower this morning and currently at $1241.00
- Brent crude oil prices are trending slightly higher this morning after losses yesterday, having fallen by almost -7% in the last week and currently at $64.48, with WTI trading at $60.86
- Cocoa futures continue to fall, dropping by over -6% this week and are currently trading around $6481.00 per ton.
- Coffee futures have dropped by over -1% today and by over -2% this week, and are currently at $379.70
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices have surged overnight and are over 9,6% higher this week with the coin currently trading at $120315
- Ether prices are trending higher today and are currently trading around the $4503.92 mark
- $Trumpcoin is trending higher today, and currently trading around $7.73
(All prices quoted at approximately 06H30 Central African Time)
Other Headline News in Africa Today
Two People killed in a Fifth night of Anti-Government Protests in Morocco.
State media said police opened fire on a group of demonstrators who tried to storm a police station near the city of Agadir. Organizers have pleaded for the demonstrations to remain peaceful and criticised police for what they called “repressive security approaches.”The so-called ‘Gen Z protests,’ driven largely by young Moroccans are the country’s largest protest action in years.The demonstrations continue to spread to new areas, after starting in the capital last week, highlighting growing anger at what participants say is rampant corruption and neglect of schools and hospitals. Protesters have been expressing their anger at a government that is spending billions on World Cup preparations at the expense of schools and hospitals and other basic community services.
