<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-505639" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A South African one rand coin sits on South African rand banknotes in this arranged photograph in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. The rand ended a tumultuous week on a positive note, gaining against the dollar for a second day and heading for its first weekly advance in four as technical indicators suggested recent declines are overdone. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 10 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s rand and bonds weakened on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced fresh tariff plans, adding to worries over a global trade war.



At 1011 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4650 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.2% weaker than its previous close.



The dollar was little changed after Trump said on Sunday he would introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the U.S., on top of existing metals duties.



Analysts said South Africa may face further risks after Trump signed an executive order cutting U.S. financial assistance to the country on Friday, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington&#8217;s ally Israel.



&#8220;SA needs to forge a path without US assistance, which this government must’ve foreseen as a real possibility given its geopolitical position towards Russia, BRICS and Israel/Palestine,&#8221; said ETM Analytics in a research note.



South Africa&#8217;s longer-dated bonds also slid, with the 2052 maturity falling as much as 0.47 cents to bid at 88.66 cents on the dollar at 1010 GMT in contrast to most African sovereigns, which broadly traded flat.



The shorter-dated maturities fell by smaller amounts and the 2025 was slightly positive.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 6.5 basis points to 9.13%.



On the stock market, the Top-40 index last traded about 0.1% higher.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov; Additional reporting by Libby George and Tannur Anders, Editing by Bhargav Acharya, Hugh Lawson and Sharon Singleton)

South African Rand Rebound Snaps Streak of Weekly Losses

South African rand, bonds slip on Trump’s new tariff threats

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/7PQPUDNLRFNEHOE2URISJZW7ZY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-584693"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of the Mild Hydrocracking Unit (MHC) at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, Feb 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s Dangote Oil refinery, Africa&#8217;s largest, could begin operating at full capacity in 30 days, the head of the refinery said on Monday.



The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery built by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in Lagos began processing crude into products, including diesel, naphtha and jet fuel, in January last year and started processing petrol in September.



It aims to compete with European refiners when operating at full capacity but had been struggling to secure sufficient crude locally.



Edwin Devakumar, head of the Dangote oil refinery said it was currently operating at 85% capacity and &#8220;we can go 100 percent in 30 days.&#8221;



Last year, the refinery turned to importing crude after it was unable to secure sufficient volumes despite an agreement with the Nigerian government to buy crude in the local naira currency.



It has asked for 550,000 bpd of crude for January-June this year from oil producers in Nigeria, according to the oil regulator, which has also said it would block export permits for oil cargoes from producers who fail to meet their stipulated supply quota to local refineries.



The Dangote Oil Refinery is exploring new markets for its refined products. Founder Aliko Dangote told a group of Nigerian professionals who visited last week that it was sending two cargoes of jet fuel to Saudi Aramco as part of its plans to expand.



&#8220;We are looking at all the markets right now,&#8221; said Devakumar.



(Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

7PQPUDNLRFNEHOE2URISJZW7ZY

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery to operate at full capacity in 30 days, executive says

<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="705" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1-705x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-584689" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1-705x800.jpg 705w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1-264x300.jpg 264w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1-79x90.jpg 79w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1-768x872.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sherrill.3-1.jpg 1246w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 705px) 100vw, 705px" /></figure></div>


03 February 2025, Johannesburg &#8211; Standard Bank has announced the close of a R567million deal to fund Eswatini’s 13,5MW Lower Maguduza Hydropower Project. The project was sponsored and developed by African Clean Energy Developments (Pty) Ltd (“ACED”) with the African Infrastructure Investment Managers (“AIIM”) managed IDEAS Fund and the Eswatini Public Service Pensions Fund (“PSPF”) as shareholders. ACED will continue to provide construction management services, with sister company Energy Infrastructure Management Services (EIMS Africa) being both the O&amp;M Contractor, and the operations phase management services provider to the project.



The bank acted as a mandated lead arranger for the transaction. The project enables Eswatini to achieve its ambitions of energy security by generating the power internally from its natural resources rather than relying on imports.



In recent years, the government of Eswatini has embarked on the development of additional generation capacity and Eswatini’s energy sector has undergone reforms in a move to liberalise its energy market, enhance energy security and improve access to reliable and affordable electricity.



“As the leading banking partner for the renewables sector in Eswatini, the financing of this project reaffirms our commitment to driving the just energy transition across this continent which we call home. It also tangibly demonstrates our determination to promote the responsible adaptation of renewable energy sources,” says Barry Schutzler, Head of Corporate &amp; Investment Banking for Eswatini at Standard Bank.



Eswatini imports approximately 80% of its power primarily from South Africa and Mozambique with 65% of its imported power specifically coming from Eskom. The project is one of the first independent power producers to close in Eswatini and helps shift the country away from reliance on imported coal into a renewable energy source.



According to <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hydropower.org%2Fregion-profiles%2Fafrica&amp;data=05%7C02%7Ckeshri.bapoo%40standardbank.co.za%7Ca8b4547f93e042231cf108dd3b7faaca%7C7369e6ecfaa642fabc0e4f332da5b1db%7C0%7C0%7C638732141715085459%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=ZZgUjOr2hvJitxvtTFZgziJVfMbSZrZB90tweH2yTyk%3D&amp;reserved=0">the International Hydropower Association</a> (IHA), hydropower accounts for 40% of power in the Sub-Saharan region. The IHA also notes that 90% of potential hydropower remains untapped on the continent, representing the biggest proportion of underutilised hydropower capacity in the world.



“This deal will unlock critical renewable energy development to support Eswatini’s energy security and access to affordable energy. It also assures the country’s steady journey towards reducing its reliance on traditional forms of energy and pivots it towards cleaner, sustainable sources of energy,” concludes Sherrill Byrne Executive Vice President for Energy and Infrastructure at Standard Bank.



“We are immensely proud to have achieved financial close and construction commencement on our first hydroelectric project, and our first project in Eswatini, in partnership with our very supportive lenders, shareholders, contractors, the EEC and all of our Eswatini partners and regulators. In addition to energy security for Eswatini, this project will also create jobs and support development locally” said James Cumming, Chief Executive Officer of ACED.

sherrill.3 1

STANDARD BANK LEADS DEBT FUNDING OF PIONEERING ESWATINI LOWER MAGUDUZA  HYDROPOWER PROJECT

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="696" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-820x696.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-584686" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-820x696.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-300x255.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-106x90.jpeg 106w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-768x652.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-1536x1304.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Luvuyo-Masinda-1-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Luvuyo Masinda is the CEO of Standard Bank Corporate &amp; Investment Banking</figcaption></figure>



20 January 2025: Global consensus does exist – in one way, at least. For a greener and more prosperous future for us all, rail transport must serve as the backbone of our transportation systems. In South Africa the pressing question is, how do we achieve this?



According to the <a href="https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Events/ATFforum/Rail_Infrastructure_in_Africa_-_Financing_Policy_Options_-_AfDB.pdf">African Development Bank Group</a>, rail transport, due to its energy efficiency, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower cost per-ton-kilometre, is expected to play a pivotal role in the conveyance of freight over long distances.



Investment in rail offers the dual benefits of economic development and climate impact mitigation. As we have seen in recently concluded climate talks, the two things can rarely be separated to ensure a sustainable and just transition.



Through the course of the past five years, South Africa has been on an exciting economic renewal journey.&nbsp;



Government policy initiatives such as Operation Vulindlela, the National Logistics Crisis Centre (NLCC) and the forward-thinking Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) have undoubtedly accelerated progress and added substantial momentum to match the government’s ambitions.



And yet, to unlock more of its economic potential, revitalisation and sustainability aims, the country will need substantial strategic investment in infrastructure.



Last year, the government highlighted the need to raise R1.6-trillion in public sector infrastructure investment and a further R3.2-trillion from the private sector to meet targets set out in the seminal National Development Plan by 2030.



The Ministry of Transport <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/39679/">highlighted the need</a> for substantial investments in rail infrastructure, estimated between R100-billion and R120-billion for Transnet, additionally a further R120-billion for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), to restore full functionality following the Covid-19 pandemic. These investments are critical to ensure improved efficiency of the rail network and to support key sectors such as mining and logistics which are pivotal for the country’s economic recovery.



While it is common knowledge that the South African railway network has faced substantial challenges it is essential to view these obstacles in light of the opportunities they present. The impact of COVID-19 and the associated economic pressures that followed cannot be underestimated in this regard. Similar challenges were experienced in other parts of the world.



However, amid these challenges, it’s important to recognise the immense opportunities that exist. Strategic partnerships with the public sector, can unlock significant value for both passenger and freight rail.



Public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a tangible opportunity to bridge the existing funding gap.



The National Treasury published amendments to the National Treasury Regulations (NTR) 16 last year, and key elements of municipal public-private partnerships (PPPs) legislation, to bring it in line with recommendations based on a complete review of the PPP framework. This evolution, in conjunction with the granting of access for third-party private operators to the core rail network in South Africa, is essential for driving further development and funding.



With extensive experience collaborating, with governments and public sector representatives across the Southern Africa and other continental regions. We know first-hand the potential for success through strategic financing initiatives and joint ventures. It’s time to act decisively and capitalise on these opportunities.



If the notion seems far-fetched, consider that most recently, the United States announced a US$600-million investment in new financing for a multi-country railway in Angola, and China made a similar commitment of US$1-billion in investment in railway infrastructure that spans Tanzania and Zambia. These examples illustrate the undeniable case for rail, a case that South Africa cannot overlook.



South Africa has run some of the most successful PPPs, with Alstom (ex-Bombardier Transportation South Africa) having been part of the original Gautrain PPP, bringing investments and global expertise. Alstom, with being the provider of the full Gautrain rail system, including the rolling stock and signalling and having maintained the entire Gautrain rail system throughout the concession period, with high levels of reliability and availability, has contributed significantly to its operational success. This capability can be leveraged to expand the rail network in South Africa bringing great efficiencies to the economy.



Alstom’s presence across Southern Africa includes impactful collaborations that have created jobs and added to the efforts to revitalise the rail industry and expand inclusion in the economies they operate in. For its part, Standard Bank has used its vast footprint across 20 African countries and six financial centres to advance the bespoke funding of numerous strategic projects. Ours is a partnership that has tangible output.&nbsp;&nbsp;



We believe that by aligning strategic priorities of the private sector with those set out by the government, and by nurturing a conducive investment environment, through targeted policy in rail, South Africa’s broader infrastructure ecosystem can become the bedrock of a sustainable, broad and inclusive economy that touches the citizenry at both a personal and freight level. &nbsp;



In conclusion, the path to unlocking South Africa&#8217;s economic potential and achieving vital sustainability goals is clear. By prioritizing substantial investment in rail infrastructure and embracing innovative funding models such as public-private partnerships, the nation can lay the groundwork for a stronger, more equitable future. The time to act is now; the opportunities are ripe for the taking.



We are clear-eyed and realistic about the nature of the challenges before the country, but we remain unrelentingly optimistic about what can be done when a collaborative effort is advanced.



Working together, we can continue to grow this country and continent that we collectively call home.

Luvuyo Masinda 1

WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN TRANSFORM THE SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAY NETWORK FOR THE BETTER  

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh-820x462.png" alt="" class="wp-image-584668" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh-820x462.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh-160x90.png 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh-768x432.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh.png 1480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The ArcelorMittal steel production plant in Ghent, Belgium, on July 27, 2024.  Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The excitement over artificial intelligence and U.S. President Donald Trump’s perceived friendliness to the stock market buoyed investor sentiment as recently as December. In 2025, it seems those animal spirits have somewhat evaporated.



Any time Trump brings up tariffs, investors have been reacting badly (for good reason). His threat of reciprocal tariffs on Friday — that is, imposing on other countries the same degree of duties that they place on the U.S. — sent stocks tumbling. New tariffs on steel and aluminum, which Trump says he will announce on Monday, are likely to sink stocks further.



Likewise, AI, the engine that drove stocks higher in 2024, seems to present investors with more uncertainty than opportunities this year. DeepSeek’s claim that its training required just a fraction of the billions of dollars that U.S. AI models suck up have thrown Big Tech’s investments — which will amount to more than $300 billion in 2025 — as well as their stock valuation into question.



While the main characters of the stock market remain the same as they were in December, they are steering markets in a different direction.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-need-to-know-today"><a></a>What you need to know today</h2>



New steel and aluminum tariffs Trump will announce on Monday additional 25% tariffs on all aluminum and steel imports into the U.S., according to comments to reporters on Sunday. Those will come on top of already existing levies. In a separate steel-related development, Trump said on Friday at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that Nippon Steel will invest in U.S. Steel, giving up its attempt to buy it. 



EV price cuts in China amid mixed price signals Consumer prices in China spiked 0.5% in January on an annual basis, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday. The figure is higher than the previous month’s 0.1% increase and the 0.4% expected in a Reuters poll. However, producer prices dropped 2.3% in January year on year — the same degree as December and steeper than the 2.1% estimate — for their 28th straight month of declines. Meanwhile, electric car companies in China are offering discounts and interest-free loans to boost sales amid a hotly contested industry and sluggish consumer sentiment in the country.



Uneven report for U.S. labor market The U.S. economy added 143,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls for the month dropped from an upwardly revised 307,000 in December was and below the Dow Jones 169,000 estimate. However, the unemployment rate edged down to 4% from 4.1% the prior month. Average hourly earnings in January were stronger than expected, coming in at 0.5% for the month compared with the 0.3% forecast.



Asian markets rise as U.S. slumps All major U.S. indexes ended last week lower after a losing day on Friday, when the S&amp;P 500 lost 0.95%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.99% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.36%. Stocks retreated after Trump mentioned the possibility of reciprocal tariffs on trade partners. By contrast, Asia-Pacific markets started the week higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added around 1.8%. Singapore’s Straits Times Index hit an all-time high, lifted by shares of Singapore’s largest bank DBS Group Holdings, which jumped 2.6% and touched a new record.



Spending billions on artificial intelligence SoftBank is close to finalizing a $40 billion primary investment in OpenAI at a $260 billion pre-money valuation, sources told CNBC’s David Faber. The cost efficiency of DeepSeek doesn’t seem to deter Big Tech: Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft have announced plans to spend a combined $320 billion on AI and data centers. Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, said on Friday that while DeepSeek is “the best work” he’s seen from China, “there’s no actual new scientific advance.”



[PRO] Inflation in focus this week The consumer and producer price indexes for January, out Wednesday and Thursday respectively, will be especially important to investors. January’s jobs report showed a higher-than-anticipated wage growth and the University of Michigan consumer survey revealed that respondents increased their expectations of the inflation rate a year to 4.3%, a one percentage point jump from January.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-finally"><a></a>And finally&#8230;</h2>



The world isn’t close to breaking free from coal — in some countries, demand for it is surging



“Nothing can destroy coal,” U.S. President Donald Trump&nbsp;said at the recent World Economic Forum. Statistics seem to prove him right. U.S. exports of coal&nbsp;have been rising steadily to satisfy growing global demand — which is expected to have breached another high of 8.77 billion tonnes in 2024 and will remain at similar levels until 2027, the&nbsp;International Energy Agency&nbsp;predicted. “The global shift away from coal remains challenging, largely driven by rising demand in Asia, even as Europe and the U.S. see significant declines in coal consumption,” said Dorothy Mei, project manager for Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Mine Tracker.

108099828-1739169444276-gettyimages-2163265359-raa-arcelorm240727_npbCh

Enthusiasm over Trump and AI appears to be waning

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404443" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Feb 10 (Reuters) &#8211; The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



Asian shares dithered and the dollar edged higher on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned more tariffs were imminent including on steel and aluminium, an inflationary move that could limit the scope for rate cuts.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-oil-prices">WORLD OIL PRICES</h2>



Oil prices ticked higher on Monday even as investors weighed U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s latest tariff threat, this time on all steel and aluminium imports, which could dampen global economic growth and energy demand.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-markets">SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s rand firmed on Friday after President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government would launch a second wave of reforms to try to boost economic growth. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenya-markets">KENYA MARKETS</h2>



Kenya&#8217;s shilling strengthened against the dollar on Friday, London Stock Exchange Group data showed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-democratic-republic-of-congo-war">DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO WAR</h2>



Leaders at an unprecedented joint summit of Eastern and Southern African blocs aimed at defusing the crisis in Eastern Congo urged all parties to hold direct talks, including with Rwanda-backed rebels whose advance has fanned fears of a wider war. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ethiopia-debt">ETHIOPIA DEBT</h2>



Ethiopia is in the &#8220;final stages&#8221; of negotiations with its creditors in an ongoing plan to restructure its debt, its finance minister, Ahmed Shide, said on Sunday. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mali-gold">MALI GOLD</h2>



Mali&#8217;s industrial gold production plunged 23% to 51 metric tons last year from 66.5 tons in 2023, the West African country&#8217;s mines ministry said. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rwanda-congo-war">RWANDA-CONGO WAR</h2>



Rwanda said on Friday it had proof of an intended major attack by the Democratic Republic of Congo and denied it was fomenting conflict inside its neighbour&#8217;s border.



((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering

African Markets – Factors to watch on Feb 10

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-584663" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/pexels-artempodrez-5716001-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



By Jeremy Bossenger of <a href="https://www.bossjansen.com/">BossJansen Executive Search</a>



Declining interest rates and higher pay packages for South African employees, is resulting in more disposable income for consumers which, in turn, is boosting the economy. But against this landscape, how are our highest earners coping with the choppy seas of leading a JSE-listed company; and what advice from PwC can help them draw the long straw? 



It’s been hard to miss the current good trajectory in the news related to salaries in South Africa. The average take-home pay of an estimated four million employees, as tracked by BankservAfrica’s latest Take-home Pay Index (BTPI), made a happy 11.9 percent leap from R15 367 in December 2023 to R17 202 in December 2024.



This upwards graph has clearly had a number of positive drivers, such as the suspension of load shedding, the ongoing recovery of business, inflation seeing moderation, and two interest rate cuts – making 2024 the most robust salary year in the country since 2020.



As a result of this occurrence, South Africa’s retail sales sector has also reflected decent growth, including in the purchasing rate of passenger vehicles. In effect, salary earners have stronger purchasing power now, because more take-home pay and lower consumer inflation (down from 5.3 percent in January 2024, to three percent in December 2024) means more disposable income, or “fun money”.



The result is that 2025 looks set to experience a significant gross domestic product (GDP) increase, of approximately 1.7 percent, due to improved household expenditure, more investment from consumers, and any policies that are applied to further boost the economy – such as more reliable power-generation capacity, better supply-chain systems on the rails and at the ports, and upgraded water infrastructure (particularly in the Gauteng province).



Consumers are also enjoying the benefits of an additional interest-rate cut, of 25 basis points, as of end January 2025. While <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/809242/awesome-news-for-take-home-pay-and-salaries-in-south-africa/">predictions</a> are that the average salary increase could reach 5.7 percent by the end of 2025 (up from 4.5 percent in 2023, according to the latest Quarterly Bulletin of the South African Reserve Bank), it all depends on a particular employer’s “financial health”, “employee performance”, and “talent-retention goals”.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-the-other-side-lives">How the other side lives</h2>



Peeping over the fence into the pay packages of JSE-listed company CEOs, reveals average earnings of approximately R250 940 per day and total monthly earnings of between R22.5 and R300 million across the nine sectors of technology, mining, banking, retail, insurance, hospitality, diversified (i.e. operates across multiple distinct business lines or industries), property, and education.



These pay packages exceed those listed in the PwC 2024 Directors’ Remuneration and Trends <a href="https://www.pwc.co.za/en/publications/executive-directors-report.html">Report</a> – i.e. a median total guaranteed pay packet for CEOs of the top 200 JSE-listed companies at R8 million per annum; and a median total remuneration package of R19.71 million annually, when short- and long-term incentives are applied to the mix.



However, it is important to note that these extremely high salary earners face equally high-level <a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/803609/the-best-paid-south-african-bosses-of-2024-earning-r251000-per-day/">challenges</a>: “economic constraints”, “political instability”, “high levels of inequality” (within their workforces), “fluctuating exchange rates”, “skill shortages” (particularly in STEM-related jobs ), and “unreliable infrastructure” (particularly freight and port-related, as mentioned above).



Although the financial rewards are vast, these <a href="https://www.bossjansen.com/press/executive-placements-in-south-africa-the-key-to-leadership-success/">corporate leaders</a> must keep the work of their institutions competitive in comparison to their peers, while also operating in a regulated and compliant manner in the face of ongoing digital transformation.



The PwC report advises that “organisations will face more of the same scrutiny, as well as new demands” in the year ahead. This scrutiny extends to: • an increased focus on fair pay and the reason for wage gaps within tight budgets; and • enhanced pay disclosure by companies to satisfy both regulatory and shareholder requirements.



Remuneration policy will be subjected to an ordinary shareholder vote every three years, and each company’s interim report will be subject to an annual ordinary shareholder vote. The reason for any wage gaps (i.e. gender-related, or between the highest- and lowest-paid employees) will also require disclosure.



Advice then, for CEOs running JSE-listed firms, is to meet up with your CFO and discuss:



• whether there is a need to review your current remuneration framework and policy;



• whether the current structure is suitable as far as attracting and retaining key talent is concerned;



• the importance of engaging with shareholders early, to disclose the rationale for changes to the remuneration policy (if any);



• the value of gaining shareholder input on ways to adopt ESG measures in incentive plans, without succumbing to diminished returns;



• the need to potentially include an emergency discretion clause in your remuneration policy, to allow for genuinely unforeseen and/or exceptional circumstances;



and



• the need to focus on areas that investors and shareholders identify as important, as far as these relate to performance, together with fair and responsible pay.



 The reality is that negative stakeholder perceptions of excessive executive pay packages, and/or non-traditional incentive plans, will persist – especially in the case of a lack of adequate underlying company performance.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chart-topper">Chart topper</h2>



Top South African earner for 2024 was former Naspers CEO, Bob van Dijk. His pay packet of R330 million, which equated to R904 109 per day, consisted of a basic salary of $1.4 million, a bonus of $1.4 million, and additional share options. A severance payment of $747 000 (R13.5 million) was also part of his compensation – deemed an appropriate payout for loss of office, following replacement by Fabricio Bloisi.



<a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/809242/awesome-news-for-take-home-pay-and-salaries-in-south-africa">https://businesstech.co.za/news/wealth/809242/awesome-news-for-take-home-pay-and-salaries-in-south-africa</a>



<a href="https://www.pwc.co.za/en/publications/executive-directors-report.html">https://www.pwc.co.za/en/publications/executive-directors-report.html</a>



<a href="https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/803609/the-best-paid-south-african-bosses-of-2024-earning-r251000-per-day">https://businesstech.co.za/news/business/803609/the-best-paid-south-african-bosses-of-2024-earning-r251000-per-day</a>

pexels-artempodrez-5716001

The scoop on salary trends in South Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="608" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/4ENW2NP2ONNYZIY6XS75LSUUHE.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-584630"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A drone view shows the families residing on Meyerskop farm, in Free State province, South Africa, February 6, 2025. REUTERS/Thando Hlophe</figcaption></figure>



FATENG TSE NTSHO, South Africa, (Reuters) &#8211; The township of Fateng Tse Ntsho houses some 7,000 Black South Africans, its huddle of corrugated metal roofs surrounded on all sides by vast tracts of mostly empty grassland owned by prosperous white farmers.



The contrast illustrates the gaping land inequalities that persist more than three decades after the end of white minority rule &#8211; and which an expropriation act President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month partly seeks to redress.



That law, which allows the government to confiscate land &#8211; in rare cases without compensation &#8211; has reignited racial tensions that have dogged Africa&#8217;s southernmost tip ever since European settlers began arriving nearly four centuries ago.



For nervous owners, it is an assault on property rights, a view shared by U.S. President Donald Trump, who last week wrongly stated that land had already been seized under it when he threatened to cut aid to South Africa. On Saturday, the White House went so far as to offer white farmers resettlement in the United States and &#8220;humanitarian relief.&#8221;



But the expanses of white-owned land in Free State province, dotted with tiny Black settlements like Fateng, illustrate why proponents deem&nbsp;the act&nbsp;necessary.



Fateng&#8217;s local councillor, Malefetsani Mokoena, 51, spends his days mediating disputes between landowners and Black rural folk who live among them. Tall and wiry, he is usually decked out in the red uniform of his party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which wants to nationalise the country&#8217;s gold and platinum mines and seize land from white farmers.



&#8220;Sometimes the white farmers don&#8217;t trust me,&#8221; he told Reuters in the township&#8217;s three-room brick municipal office. &#8220;But when we sit down and negotiate, we can work things out.&#8221;



One white farmer interviewed by Reuters, Danie Bruwer, confirmed that he and Mokoena were on good terms.



If a farmer has a sheep stolen, Mokoena finds the thief to get it back. A Black herder has his cows impounded for trespassing on white-owned land; Mokoena negotiates their release.



And, as with the 15 other farms in his caseload, if what Mokoena calls &#8220;farm dwellers&#8221; &#8211; squatters, legally speaking &#8211; face eviction or restrictions on their rights to graze animals, he finds them legal representation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-this-is-our-home">&#8216;THIS IS OUR HOME&#8217;</h2>



The mostly white-owned farms around here are among the nearly 26 million hectares &#8211; about three quarters of privately-owned land &#8211; still in the hands of whites, who make up 8% of the population. Only 4% of privately-held land is owned by Blacks who are nearly 80% of South Africa&#8217;s 60-million population.



On one white-owned farm, Meyerskop, 57-year-old herder Shadrack Maseko surveyed an expanse of hilly pasture stretching almost to the horizon. He complained of how it had been fenced off a decade ago by a new white owner to prevent cattle owned by Black South Africans grazing on it.



Maseko&#8217;s grandparents had come here in the early 1900s to seek work as farm hands, he told Reuters during a visit with the EFF councilor Mokoena.



The family had been there ever since, he said. His father, who died two years ago, was born here, as was Maseko.



&#8220;This is home,&#8221; he said, and then to illustrate the point: &#8220;Even some of our ancestors are buried here.&#8221;



The farm has changed hands between white farmers several times since Maseko&#8217;s family has lived there, and buyers had previously been happy for them to stay on and work, he said.



But in the past decade he and 14 other families living on Meyerskop have been in a dispute with the latest white owners over grazing rights for their 30-odd cows, details of which were corroborated by six other residents interviewed by Reuters.



In 2019, farm owners the Fonteintjie Trust and trustee Fourie Scheepers sought a court order to force them to sell most of their cows. It argued the animals were badly degrading the land, according to a copy of the application seen by Reuters.



Maseko said Scheepers had proposed another patch of land &#8211; a small area flanked by maize fields that Maseko indicated on a part of the farm &#8211; while the new owners moved their own cows to the old space. Maseko said the new patch was too small.



&#8220;No comment,&#8221; Scheepers replied via text message several times, when asked about the case.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-start-of-a-journey">&#8216;START OF A JOURNEY&#8217;</h2>



For many Black people, disputes like these reflect a legacy of inequality left by the colonial and apartheid eras, when they were dispossessed of their lands and denied property rights.



In 1913, a Native Land Act gave most farmland to whites, mostly Afrikaners of Dutch descent, leaving just 13% to Blacks. Then in 1950 the Afrikaner National Party passed a law removing 3.5 million Black people from their ancestral lands.



Thirty years of ANC government has created a class of super-rich Black businessmen, but done little for the poor majority.



&#8220;The idea (behind the act) is that our freedom was not complete in 1994 because the promise of&#8230;economic emancipation was not fulfilled,&#8221; legal expert Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said.



He noted that the act requires 17 steps before land can be expropriated. But for Kellie Kriel, CEO of Afriforum, a pressure group that represents the interests of the white Afrikaner community, that is not enough of a safeguard.



&#8220;The act creates a valid fear that it opens the road to &#8230; land grabs,&#8221; he said, adding farmers worry that the act&#8217;s guidelines could be abused.



Some white farmers, like Danie Bruwer, are more sanguine.



&#8220;It&#8217;s an emotional thing for the farmers &#8230; but it&#8217;s not so bad. Zero compensation is a last resort,&#8221; he said on his 1,000-hectare farm about 30 km (20 miles) from Fateng.A bigger problem, he said, is that without better support for farmers &#8211; hit hard by climate change, rising costs, corruption and stock theft &#8211; the act may not achieve much.



For Ngcukaitobi, that is not the point.



&#8220;It&#8217;s the start &#8230; not the end of the journey,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A reminder that what (people) fought for, what they went to prison for, what they died for, was not in vain.&#8221;



(Additonal Reporting by Catherine Schenck in Johannesburg Reporting by Tim Cocks, Editing by William Maclean)

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The stark divide that South Africa’s land act seeks to bridge

How Uniqlo Won Over North America

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="720" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IUCC463GH5NRJE7FUAD5QJ4DYE.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-584385"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 5, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s offer to rehouse white South Africans as refugees fleeing persecution may not spur quite the rush he anticipates, as even right-wing white lobby groups want to &#8220;tackle the injustices&#8221; of Black majority rule on home soil.



Trump on Friday signed an executive order to cut U.S. aid to South Africa, citing an expropriation act that President Cyril Ramaphosa signed last month aiming to redress land inequalities that stem from South Africa&#8217;s history of white supremacy.



The order provided for resettlement in the U.S. of &#8220;Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination&#8221; as refugees.



Afrikaners are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers, who own most of the country&#8217;s farmland.



&#8220;If you haven&#8217;t got any problems here, why would you want to go,&#8221; said Neville van der Merwe, a 78-year-old pensioner in Bothasig near Cape Town.



&#8220;There hasn&#8217;t been any really bad taking over our land, the people are carrying on like normal and you know, what are you going to do over there?&#8221;



The law seeks to address racial land ownership disparities &#8211; which has left three-quarters of privately owned land in the hands of the white minority &#8211; by making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest.



Ramaphosa has defended the policy.



White people represent 7.2% of South Africa&#8217;s population of 63 million, statistics agency data shows. The data does not breakdown how many are Afrikaner.



South Africa&#8217;s British rulers handed most farmland to whites. In 1950, the Apartheid-era National Party seized 85% of the land, forcing 3.5 million Black people from their homes.



Ramaphosa&#8217;s African National Congress (ANC), the biggest party in the ruling coalition, says Trump is amplifying misinformation propagated by AfriForum, an Afrikaner-led group.



The group, which lobbied Trump&#8217;s previous administration on their cause, said it was not taking up the offer.



&#8220;Emigration only offers an opportunity for Afrikaners who are willing to risk potentially sacrificing their descendants&#8217; cultural identity as Afrikaners. The price for that is simply too high,&#8221; AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel said on Saturday.



HOMELAND



Separately, the Solidarity Movement &#8211; which includes AfriForum and Solidarity trade union and said it represents about 600,000 Afrikaner families and 2 million individuals &#8211; expressed commitment to South Africa.



&#8220;We may disagree with the ANC, but we love our country. As in any community, there are individuals who wish to emigrate, but repatriation of Afrikaners as refugees is not a solution for us,&#8221; the Movement said.



Representatives of Orania, an Afrikaner-only enclave in the heart of the country, also rejected Trump&#8217;s offer.



&#8220;Afrikaners do not want to be refugees. We love and are committed to our homeland,&#8221; Orania said.



South Africa&#8217;s land policies since the end of apartheid have never involved forced seizure of white-owned land.



Still, some said they appreciated Trump&#8217;s offer.



&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a very nice gesture from Donald Trump to offer us asylum over there,&#8221; said Werner van Niekerk, 57, a carpenter in Bothasig, without saying whether he would be migrating to America.



Others saw the funny side.



&#8220;Some questions: is there a test to determine your Afrikanership? Must you hold AfriForum membership? &#8230; Will Elon help with some startup cash on the other side? &#8230; Are there bakkies (pick-up trucks) in the U.S.?&#8221;, author Pieter du Toit wrote on X, referring to South African-born billionaire and Trump aide Elon Musk.



(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Catherine Schenck; Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg and Shafiek Tassiem in Cape TownEditing by Tim Cocks and Giles Elgood)

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‘No thanks’, white South Africans turn down Trump’s immigration offer

Can New Orleans Save Its Homes From Flooding Again?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3921" height="2614" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/X4YJKMGDZRK23IBRDQASTJVC4Q.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-583990"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Donald Trump holds a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the East Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 7, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) &#8211; President Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut U.S. financial assistance to South Africa, the White House said on Friday, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington&#8217;s ally Israel.



The United States allocated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent U.S. government data shows.



South Africa&#8217;s foreign ministry said on Saturday the executive order &#8220;lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa&#8217;s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.&#8221;



The White House said Washington will also formulate a plan to resettle white South African farmers and their families as refugees.



It said U.S. officials will take steps to prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program for Afrikaners in South Africa, who are mostly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers.



South Africa&#8217;s foreign ministry said: &#8220;It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the U.S. for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the U.S. from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.&#8221;



Trump has said, without citing evidence, that &#8220;South Africa is confiscating land&#8221; and that &#8220;certain classes of people&#8221; were treated &#8220;very badly.&#8221;



South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who is close to Trump, has said that white South Africans have been the victims of &#8220;racist ownership laws.&#8221;



South African President Cyril Ramaphosa &#8211; who signed into law a bill last month aimed at making it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest &#8211; has defended the policy. He has said the government had not confiscated any land and the policy was aimed at evening out racial disparities in land ownership in the Black-majority nation.



Ramaphosa said South Africa &#8220;will not be bullied.&#8221;



South Africa has a history of colonial conquest and dispossession which pushed the Black majority into crowded urban townships and rural reserves.



The country&#8217;s British imperial masters gave most farmland to whites. In 1950, the Afrikaner National Party passed a law taking 85% of territory for themselves and kicking 3.5 million Black people off their ancestral homelands.



In the 30 years that the African National Congress has been in power, some land restitution has happened under a &#8220;willing buyer, willing seller&#8221; model, but critics have denounced it as painfully slow and accuse white landowners of hoarding.



White landowners still possess three-quarters of South Africa&#8217;s freehold farmland. This contrasts with 4% owned by Black people, who make up 80% of the population compared with about 8% for whites, according to the latest 2017 land audit.



Washington has also complained about the case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice, where it accused Israel of genocide over Israel&#8217;s military assault on Gaza that has killed tens of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.



Israel denies the allegations, saying it acted in self-defense following a deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants.



The White House cited that case as an example of South Africa taking positions against Washington and its allies.



The executive order signed by Trump will address human rights issues in South Africa, the White House said. Trump had threatened to cut off funding for the nation soon after taking office.



(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Steve Holland in Washington. Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg. Editing by Rosalba O&#8217;Brien, William MallaRrd and Mark Potter)

X4YJKMGDZRK23IBRDQASTJVC4Q

Trump signs order to cut funding for South Africa over land policy, ICJ case

How 20-year-old Google Maps aims to stay ahead using generative AI

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="4629" height="3099" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/H3WEQN4JI5IRFH4OUNIVSMUKW4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-583609"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A logo is pictured outside a building of the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) in Geneva, Switzerland, April 6, 2021. Picture taken April 6, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GENEVA, Feb 7 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;More than six million people could die from HIV and AIDS in the next four years if U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration pulls its global funding&nbsp;for programmes, the United Nations AIDS agency said on Friday.



Although a waiver was placed on HIV/AIDS programmes in&nbsp;last month&#8217;s&nbsp;U.S. foreign aid funding freeze, many concerns remained about the future of treatment programmes, the deputy executive director of UNAIDS told reporters in Geneva.



&#8220;There is a lot of confusion especially on the community level, how the waiver will be implemented. We&#8217;re seeing a lot of disruption of delivery of treatment services&#8221;, Christine Stegling said.



Trump put hundreds of millions of dollars&#8217; worth of foreign aid donations on hold for 90 days upon taking office on January 20. In the following days, the U.S. State Department issued a waiver on the President&#8217;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) &#8211; the world&#8217;s leading HIV initiative &#8211; for life-saving humanitarian assistance.



While welcoming the waiver, Stegling stressed the situation remains chaotic.



Amid a broader decline of funding, Stegling warned there would be a 400% increase in AIDS deaths if PEPFAR financial support is not re-authorized between 2025 and 2029.



&#8220;That&#8217;s 6.3 million people, 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths that will occur in future&#8230;Any penny, any cut, any pause, will matter for all of us&#8221; she said, urging U.N. member states to step in.



&#8220;In Ethiopia, we have 5,000 public health worker contracts that are funded by U.S. assistance. And all of these have been terminated,&#8221; Stegling said.



She highlighted that community clinics were facing the biggest interruption as they are &#8220;entirely dependent&#8221; on U.S. government funding.



She expressed concern that some people may not come forward for treatment, which could in turn increase new HIV infections.



U.S. donations account for the majority of global funding for the U.N. programme that operates in 70 countries, leading global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.



Trump&#8217;s administration says it is reviewing all foreign-aid programmes to see if they align with his &#8220;America First&#8221; policy.



(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Miranda Murray and Angus MacSwan)

H3WEQN4JI5IRFH4OUNIVSMUKW4

Six million people could die from HIV and AIDS if US funding stops, UN agency warns

The Swiss partnership on a mission to clean up space

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-583564" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Bank of England on 6 Feb. 2025, in London, England. Richard Baker | In Pictures | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India trimmed its repo rate by 25 basis points. A day prior, the Bank of England lowered interest rates by 25 basis points, following the European Central Bank’s cut of the same amount on Jan. 30.



Many economies seem to be settling into a lower-rate environment as policymakers look to boost economic growth. That’s in stark contrast with the U.S. — it’s unclear if the U.S. Federal Reserve would even deliver on its two rate cuts in 2025, forecast in December, given the uncertainties over the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies. Moreover, Trump seems to have backed off from applying pressure on the Fed.



Ahead of Trump’s inauguration, the&nbsp;U.S. dollar began strengthening and hit its highest level in more than two years, as measured by the U.S. dollar index. That’s already affected companies such as Amazon, which blamed the currency for weighing down its expected revenue in the current quarter.



The U.S. might have an edge over other economies and stock markets for now, but an edge can cut both ways.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-need-to-know-today"><a></a>What you need to know today</h2>



India’s first rate cut in nearly five years The Reserve Bank of India cut its repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in a livestreamed address Friday. The move, which was expected by economists, was the first time in nearly five years the central bank has lowered rates. The RBI forecast real economic growth to come in at 6.4% for the current fiscal year, the country’s lowest in four years, and 6.7% for fiscal year 2025-26.



Bank of England trims rates The Bank of England lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%, its first cut of the year. All members of the monetary policy committee voted to lower rates, but two out of nine had voted for a larger cut of 50 basis points. Central bank governor Andrew Bailey said he expects more cuts this year. The BOE also halved its growth forecast for the U.K.’s economy in 2025 to 0.75% from 1.5%.



Disappointing guidance from Amazon Amazon shares fell more than 4% after giving disappointing revenue guidance for the current quarter, citing difficulties posed by a strong U.S. dollar. It also announced plans to spend $100 billion in capital expenditures in 2025, mostly on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The tech giant beat earnings and revenue expectations for the fourth quarter — and is poised to surpass Walmart as the S&amp;P 500 company with the highest quarterly revenue.



Consecutive gains for S&amp;P 500 On Thursday, the S&amp;P 500 advanced 0.36% for its third consecutive winning day, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.51%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, lost 0.28%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated around 0.6% after the country’s household spending in December unexpectedly jumped on an annual basis, while India’s Nifty 50 was around the flatline after the RBI trimmed interest rates.



Trump’s focusing on yields, not rates The Trump administration is focusing on using fiscal policy to keep the 10-year Treasury yield low and isn’t “calling for the Fed to lower rates,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Wednesday interview with Fox News. That marks a shift from Trump’s original plan to “demand that interest rates drop immediately.”



[PRO] IBM outperforms Nvidia Not Nvidia, not Apple and not Amazon — the best-performing stock in the Dow over the past three months has been IBM, which climbed 27%. However, the tech company needs to do more in the field of artificial intelligence for its stock to continue performing well, according to one chief investment officer.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-finally"><a></a>And finally&#8230;</h2>



 How Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger got caught in Trump’s trade war with China



China has blacklisted the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, which could force the company to shut down stores and manufacturing in the country, in an early repercussion of Trump’s trade war. While China’s Ministry of Commerce began investigating PVH September for allegedly refusing to source cotton from the Xinjiang region, which has become notorious for its Uyghur detention camps, Beijing officially placed the company on its list of “unreliable entities” on Tuesday.

108098965-1738890135390-gettyimages-2197382389-city_bank-10-06-02-2025

Global central banks are lowering rates — the Fed might not be as inclined

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="425" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-498541" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24.jpg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24-300x177.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24-152x90.jpg 152w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenya shilling coins and notes are pictured inside a cashier&#8217;s booth at a forex exchange bureau in Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Feb 7 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya&#8217;s shilling strengthened against the dollar on Friday, London Stock Exchange Group data showed.



At 0715 GMT, the shilling was quoted at 128.25/129.25, compared with Thursday&#8217;s closing rate of 129.00/130.00.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo)

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