Business News Today
US Senator Cruz Pushes for Deeper Energy Ties with Africa
Senator Ted Cruz has advocated for enhanced energy cooperation between the United States and Africa at the African Energy Week in Cape Town, positioning the continent as a strategic partner and alternative to Chinese influence. He emphasised U.S. investment in exploration, production, and infrastructure, drawing parallels to Texas’ energy model to drive Africa’s industrial growth, favouring commercial diplomacy over aid amid competition from China and Gulf nations. U.S. energy officials, including from the Department of Energy and Export-Import Bank, supported this through a roundtable promoting private investment, highlighting $65 billion in existing U.S. commitments and a $2.5 billion pledge.
Key projects include EXIM’s $4.7 billion loan for Mozambique’s LNG (13.1 MTPA), ExxonMobil’s $1.5 billion in Nigeria’s Usan field, and Kosmos Energy’s role in the $4.8 billion Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG (5 MTPA) off Mauritania and Senegal. For African business, this signals increased U.S. capital and technology inflows, fostering energy independence, job creation, and economic transformation in gas and renewables sectors.
DRC Resists US Pressure on Critical Minerals Supply
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), holding the world’s largest cobalt reserves essential for electric vehicle batteries and clean energy, is resisting U.S. pressure to secure supplies amid competition with China. President Félix Tshisekedi’s government insists on mineral deals that promote local industrialization, job creation, value addition, and fairer profits, rejecting the role of mere raw material supplier. Expert Djimpe Landry from Innogence Consulting emphasizes prioritizing clauses for national development while balancing foreign investment and sovereignty. This strengthens DRC’s negotiating power but highlights exploitation risks. For African business, it signals a shift toward resource nationalism, potentially inspiring other nations to demand equitable terms, fostering sustainable growth and reducing dependency on exports.
South Africa To Target Lower Inflation
South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago stated yesterday that the central bank and National Treasury had agreed on a process to see that the country’s inflation target should be lowered but they were still discussing timing for its implementation. After July’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Kganyago created somewhat of a stir among analysts and the financial market when he unexpectedly announced that SARB would effectively target 3% inflation, rather than the current 3-6% range set by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. This brought criticism from the Finance minister who said that this had not been decided on.
Kganyago’s position of maintaining high interest rates despite the lowest inflation track in decades, has been widely criticised as further restraining a sluggish economy that has struggled to maintain any growth at all over the past two years. He revealed the core purpose for the new targets yesterday was to reduce the yields on government bonds that currently sit at just over 9%.
Dollar tracks to Strongest Week gain in a Year
The dollar index held above 99.3 on Friday and was on track to rise nearly 2% for the week, marking its strongest weekly advance in a year, supported by sharp weakness in the yen and euro. This apposed to the yen which is poised to drop almost 4% against the dollar this week after Sanae Takaichi won Japan’s leadership race, reinforcing expectations of higher spending and loose monetary policy. Meanwhile, the euro has fallen around 1.5% versus the dollar amid political turmoil in France, where President Emmanuel Macron continues to search for his sixth prime minister in less than two years.
In the US, the government shutdown extended into its ninth day after the Senate failed to reach a funding deal, delaying key economic data that could guide the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut outlook. Markets now see a 95% chance of a quarter-point rate cut this month, while odds for a December move have eased to 80% from 90%.
Breaking News Shorts: .
- Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s CEO, Leila Fourie is to retire early in 2026 after more than 6-years of leading Africa’s largest Stock Exchange. She will be succeeded by the current head of the bourse’s capital markets, Valdene Reddy, the group announced yesterday.
- Reflection AI, a startup founded in 2024 by two former Google DeepMind researchers, has raised $2 billion with an $8 billion valuation, a 15x leap from its $545 million valuation only seven months ago. The company, is now positioning itself as an open source alternative to closed labs like OpenAI and Anthropic
- Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers, says official ID photos of around 70,000 users have potentially been leaked after a cyber-attack.The platform, which has more than 200 million users worldwide, says hackers had targeted a firm that helped to verify the ages of its users but the Discord platform itself was not breached.
- The United States directly purchased Argentine pesos yesterday and finalised a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina’s central bank, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post, a rare move aimed at stabilizing turbulent financial markets in the cash-strapped Latin American country and US ally.
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets today indicate the US dollar gaining traction, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.15715 while the Pound is trading at 1.33110 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 152.77 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.19 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices have retreated from record highs hit this week falling below $ 4000, and are currently trading around $3975 per ounce.
- Copper prices have dropped by over -1% today, with prices currently at $5.0472
- Silver futures prices are trending upwards today, and is currently trading around $4.9752
- Platinum futures have fallen by -1,8% today, and are currently trading at $1615.70, While Palladium prices have plunged by over -3% today, and are currently at $1406.00
- Brent crude oil prices are trending lower this morning, and currently at $65.04 with WTI trading at $61.38
- Cocoa futures continue lower, and are currently trading around $5943.43 per ton.
- Coffee futures have dropped by almost -2% today, and are currently at $377.45
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices are marginally lower today and currently trading at $121568
- Ether prices are trending lower today and are currently trading around the $4367.63 mark
- $Trumpcoin is trending marginally lower today, and currently trading around $7.58
(All prices quoted at approximately 08H50 Central African Time)
Other Headline News in Africa Today
Engineering Academy Graduation – Advances Engineering in Africa
Next Engineers, a global college- and career-readiness programme working to increase the opportunities for young people in engineering, celebrated the graduation of 43 learners from the Engineering Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa yesterday. A country which has long faced a shortage of qualified engineers, a gap that threatens economic growth and innovation.The graduation ceremony, held at The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, marked the programme’s second graduating class and highlights its contribution towards bridging the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills gap in the country through exposing learners to hands-on engineering experiences and career pathways.
“We are delighted to celebrate the achievements of this year’s graduates and commend their dedication to pursuing careers in engineering,” said Matsi Eseu, South Africa HR Director for GE Vernova. “Supporting young talent through programmes like Next Engineers is central to GE Vernova’s mission. In Johannesburg, we see first-hand how these opportunities empower students to unlock their potential and contribute to solving real-world challenges. We are honoured to play a role in shaping a more dynamic future for engineering in South Africa.”
