Business News Today
China Drops Several Trade Tariffs and Bans Easing Relations with US
IN the first major sign of easing of trade tensions between the US and China, yesterday saw the Chinese commerce minister announce the lifting of export controls on computer chips vital to car production, according to the country’s commerce ministry. Further exemptions have been given on exports made by Chinese-owned Nexperia for civilian use, it said, which should help carmakers who had feared production in Europe would be hit. At the same time, China has also paused an export ban to the US of some materials that are crucial in the semiconductor industry and suspended port fees for American ships for a period of one year.
On Saturday, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic announced in a post on X that China had agreed to “the further simplification of export procedures for Nexperia chips” and it would “grant exemption from licensing requirements to any exporter” provided the goods were for “civilian use”.
US Government Shut-down Ended
The U.S. Senate passed a 60-40 procedural vote late Sunday, with eight Democrats joining Republicans, to advance funding through to end of January, 2026, ending the longest government shutdown in history that began October 1 over disputes on Affordable Care Act subsidies. The dollar index steadied to around 99.6 on Monday after falling for three straight sessions, after the Senate passed the initial stage of the deal to end the government shutdown. The deal will see pay restored for federal workers but excludes ACA subsidy extensions, which expire on December 31 and could double premiums for 24 million enrolees and cause 5 million to lose healthcare coverage.
President Donald J. Trump called it a Republican victory, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Bernie Sanders opposed it. There has been a knock-on effect on international bourses this morning with The Nikkei 225 Index climbing 0.6% to above 50,500, while the broader Topix Index added 0.5% to 3,315, recovering part of last week’s losses.The breakthrough helped push Nasdaq futures up 1.2% while S&P 500 futures rose 0.7%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures and DAX futures were up more than 1% each, while FTSE futures gained 0.85%.
Nigerian Oil Revenue Falls
Figures in the fourth-quarter Budget Implementation Report show gross profit dropped to N1.08 trillion in 2024, down from N1.90 trillion the previous year a worrying decline of 43.3%. The performance was also 26.3% below the government’s target of N1.46 trillion, highlighting continued weak fiscal inflows from oil despite recent reforms implemented.Total oil and gas revenue before deductions stood at N15.07 trillion, missing the N19.99 trillion target by N4.93 trillion, or 24.7%. Compared with 2023, however, inflows rose sharply from N8.36 trillion, an 80% increase driven largely by higher royalties, penalties and exchange-rate gains following the Nigerian naira’s depreciation.Oil receipts rose from N3.35 trillion in the first quarter to N3.91 trillion in the fourth but remained below the projected quarterly average of N4.99 trillion. Officials said the shortfall reflected lower-than-assumed oil prices and production.
Breaking News Shorts:
- Blue Origin, the space exploration company, cancelled the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket planned for yesterday afternoon due to concerns with weather, and technical issues with launch pad equipment. The Jeff Bezos’ owned group will have another go at launching the mission this coming Wednesday. The first launch in January, saw the booster explode and this will be tested again this week, with the company seeking reusable rocket success.
- US direct foreign investments in Africa, now exceeds that of China, according to the John Hopkins China /Africa Research Initiative. U.S. FDI flows to Africa in 2023 were US$7.79 billion exceeding the US$3.96 billion from China. The top investment regions for Chinese were Niger, South Africa, Angola, Morocco, and the Republic of Congo. For U.S. FDI flowed mostly to Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria.
- The US government will take no part in the upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa, US president Trump posting on his social media network that it is a “total disgrace” that South Africa will be hosting the G20, and “no US government officials will attend”.
- The Board of the South African Road Accident Fund (RAF) has placed the Acting Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Governance Officer, and the Head in the Office of the CEO on precautionary suspension with immediate effect.“The decision was taken to allow for an independent and unhindered investigation into certain administrative and governance matters within the organisation,” said the board in a statement on Friday.
- Vodacom Group, South Africa’s major telecom group, reported a near 33% jump in interim profit today, with double-digit service revenue growth and a growing financial services income.The Vodafone owned company, had headline earnings per share, rose 33.3% to 467 cents in the six-month period ended September 30, up from 353 cents last year, despite a recent out-of-court settlement payment to a former employee, estimated to be in the region of R500 million (ZAR)
Markets by Numbers
Currency markets indicate the US dollar marginally softer today, with the Euro trading against the US dollar at 1.15579 while the Pound is trading at 1.31515 to the US dollar. The Yen is currently trading at 153.97 to the dollar. The rand (ZAR) is currently at R17.25 to the US dollar.
Commodities:
- Gold futures have jumped over 1.8% this morning, above the $4000 mark, and are currently trading around $4076.38.30 per ounce.
- Copper prices are up over 1.4% today, with prices currently around $5.0100
- Silver futures prices are trending over 2% higher today, and currently trading around $49.514
- Platinum futures are gaining traction today, up over 2.3%, and currently trading at $1577.10, While Palladium prices are trending 1.2% higher this morning and are currently trading around $1418.00 per ounce.
- Brent crude oil prices are trending upwards today, and currently at $64.17 with WTI trading higher at $60.32
- Cocoa futures have dropped sharply to below $6000 per ton, and currently trading around $5998.00 per ton.
- Coffee futures have gained 0,8% today, and are currently trading at around $4.1143 per pound
Crypto Currencies:
- Bitcoin prices have gained momentum this morning, up over 1.4%,, and currently trading at around $106281per coin
- Ether prices are trending over 0,7% higher today, and are currently trading around $3609.00
- $Trumpcoin is trending higher today, and currently trading around $8.135
(All prices quoted at approximately 07H45 Central African Time)
Africa News Briefs:
- An analysis of South Africa’s government executive spending (Presidency and ministerial staff) reveals that the annual cost to South African taxpayers exceeds R3.1 billion annually. The astounding figure, compiled through research by ActionSA and parliamentary replies, highlight what the party describes as the lavish use of taxpayer funds at a time when millions of citizens face unemployment and lack of basic service delivery across the country.
- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has finally acknowledged that two Kenyan activists who were “abducted” and missing for five weeks had been arrested by the state. Eyewitnesses reported seeing Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo being forced into a car by masked uniformed men after a political event. News of their release was confirmed on Saturday but up to that point the authorities had denied that they were being detained.
- The daughter of the controversial former South African president Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, will be appearing in court this week on terrorism related charges over her violent rhetoric posts she wrote on social media four years ago during deadly protests in South Africa. in 2021 Jacob Zuma was jailed on contention of court charges after he failed to appear in court to face charges. A week of anarchy in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces followed, leaving at least 300 people dead and causing massive damages, estimated at around $2.8bn. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla who is now a member of parliament in South Africa, was also linked to a 2023 report by the United Kingdom-based Centre for Information Resilience that alleged that Zuma-Sambudla was at the centre of a Russian backed twitter campaign to increase support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
