Business News Today
AI Agent Password Conundrum Solved
1Password has solved the AI Agent headache of creating an AI agent secure login process without compromising access to passwords. The company has launched a new product – Secure Agentic Autofill and Browserbase. This new integration allows AI agents running on Browserbase to request credentials from 1Password to authenticate with web services without ever exposing any sensitive credentials. the product creates a Zero-Knowledge Security protocol where credentials never touch the AI directly. Their Just-in-Time Auth allows for auto-inject of credentials at runtime with human oversight, while the Smart Mapping feature auto-selects correct credentials to prevent phishing. This development will see a seemless integration with AI agents now having the capability of interacting with online apps and platforms without any human interaction required without compromising your security
Egypt Gets positive Rating Review
S&P Global has upgraded Egypt’s credit rating to a ‘B’ rating, citing ongoing reforms that have seen a sharp rebound in GDP growth. Meanwhile, Fitch affirmed Egypt’s rating at ‘B’, highlighting the country’s relatively high growth potential and strong support from international partners. Fitch last upgraded Egypt’s rating in November 2024, when rising foreign investment and tighter monetary conditions helped strengthen the country’s finances. S&P’s latest upgrade is the first since Egypt began receiving IMF financial support in March 2024. S&P also noted that Egypt’s strategic importance has increased amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has contributed to continued financial backing from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members and other international partners. Both S&P and Fitch maintained a ‘stable’ outlook for Egypt. As of now, Moody’s credit rating for the country remains at ‘Caa1’ with a positive outlook.
Trump Tariff Ease-off Stabilises Markets
US stock futures climbed in early trade this morning after President Donald Trump suggested he may scale back his threat to impose steep new tariffs on China, saying in a Truth Social post that trade relations with Beijing “will all be fine.” Vice President JD Vance echoed that message, adding the US is ready to negotiate if China is “willing to be reasonable.” The comments followed Friday’s sharp selloff, when Trump’s warning of a “massive” tariff hike triggered a broad market decline after Beijing announced new export controls on rare earths vital to semiconductor and electric vehicle production.
The Dow dropped 1.9%, the S&P 500 slid 2.71%, and the Nasdaq plunged 3.56%, marking Wall Street’s worst session since April. Tech and chip stocks led losses, with Nvidia, AMD, and Tesla falling between 4.9% and 7.7%. Investors now await earnings results from major banks later this week, including from Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
Global Fintech Revolut to Launch in South Africa and India
UK based global fintech and banking group with over 65 million customers across Revolut is set to launch its services in South Africa as well as India soon. The Fintech offerings include multi-currency accounts, easy send and receive transfers from around the world’s acceptance of payments online or in person, currency exchange for more than 25 currencies at the interbank rate (within allowance, during market hours). For businesses you can pay salaries, taxes, and suppliers directly from your account as well as Integrate with Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, and 45+ other tools. The fintech has free and premium account packages that start at around R50 a month. They have applied for a banking licence but have not as yet determined a launch date.
Trade Surplus for China Falls Below Forecasts
China’s trade surplus came in at USD 90.45 billion in September 2025, below expectations of USD 98.96 billion but higher than the USD 81.69 billion recorded in the same month a year earlier, as exports continued to outpace imports. Exports rose 8.3% yoy, exceeding forecasts for a 6% gain and accelerating from a 4.4% increase in August, the fastest pace since March, as producers found new markets beyond the US. Imports grew by 7.4%, above expectations for a 1.5% rise and well above the 1.3% increase in August—marking the fastest pace since April 2024, supported by stronger domestic demand ahead of the Golden Week holidays.
China’s trade surplus with the US rose to USD 20.86 billion in September, up from USD 20.32 billion in August, even as both exports and imports to/from the US declined by 16.9% and 11.6%, respectively. Year-to-date, China posted a total trade surplus of USD 875.1 billion, with exports up 6.1% yoy, while imports fell by 1.1% compared to the same period in 2024.
Breaking News Shorts: .
- Silver jumps more than 2% to above $51.50 per ounce in early trade this morning, marking a new all-time high as renewed US-China trade concerns, political instability, and expectations of further US rate cuts fuelled demand for safe-haven assets.
- Bitcoin steadied around $115,000 today after a sharp selloff last week, as US President Donald Trump walked back his threat to impose massive tariffs on China, saying in a Truth Social post that trade relations with the country “will all be fine.” On Friday, bitcoin plunged over 10% to below $110,000
- Thinking Labs Co-Founder and AI researcher Andrew Tulloch has announced his departure to join Meta. A Thinking Machine Labs spokesperson confirmed Tulloch’s departure to the WSJ. Tulloch previously worked at OpenAI and Facebook’s AI Research Group.
- Apple appears to be winding down support of Clips, with the company removing Clips from the App Store and saying it will no longer be making any updates. Apple is encouraging users to download their Clips videos (with or without added effects) to their photo library, so they can watch and edit the videos using other apps.
- Gold scaled an all-time peak of $4,060 per ounce this morning, as renewed US-China trade concerns and economic uncertainty boosted safe-haven demand. President Trump on Friday threatened to impose extra levies of 100% on Chinese exports, along with new export controls on critical software from November
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets today indicate the US dollar softer, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.16216 while the Pound is trading at 1.33601 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 151.79 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.32 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures prices have surged by over 1,5% this morning, hitting a new record high, and are currently trading around $4072 per ounce.
- Copper prices have spiked by over 3% today, with prices currently at $4.9563
- Silver futures prices have hit several new highs today, climbing over 2% this morning and is currently trading around $51.629
- Platinum futures have surged by almost 3% today, and are currently trading at $1646.50, While Palladium prices have spiked by over 3.6% today, and are currently at $1481.50
- Brent crude oil prices are trending over 1% higher this morning, and currently at $63.56 with WTI trading at $59.68
- Cocoa futures continue lower, and are currently trading around $5837.26 per ton.
- Coffee futures are marginally higher today, and are currently at $374.22
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices are trending lower today and currently trading at $114656
- Ether prices are trending lower today and are currently trading around the $4i31.09 mark
- $Trumpcoin is trending lower today, and currently trading around $6.19
(All prices quoted at approximately 07H30 Central African Time)
Other Headline News in Africa Today
Madagascar Coup Reported
The office of Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina, yesterday reported that there was an attempt to seize power by force under way in the country. The Indian Ocean Island nation has been in turmoil over several week now with large protest action, led by the youth raising issues of poor government leadership and corruption. An army unit known as CAPSAT has also claimed that it has taken over the leadership of the military command, and was also in control of all the armed forces – land, air, and naval. This is the same unit that played a crucial role in the 2009 Malagasy political crisis, which helped Rajoelina rise to power.
Madagascar was first hit by youth-led protests on 25 September against water and power cuts, but they have escalated to reflect wider dissatisfaction with Rajoelina’s government over high unemployment, corruption, a the cost-of-living crisis. Air France said it had suspended its flights to Antananarivo until at least Tuesday because of the security situation. The African Union said it was deeply concerned by the latest developments in Madagascar, and urged sides to resolve the crisis through dialogue.The protest movement, known as Gen Z Mada, has been rallying support mainly through social media, posing the biggest challenge to Rajoelina since his re-election in 2023.
