South African rand gains on weaker dollar but tariff concerns linger
At 1451 GMT, the rand traded at 17.80 against the dollar , roughly up 0.5% on Tuesday's close.
This week's major focus for South Africa is whether it can negotiate a better trade pact as it faces a 30% duty on goods exported to the U.S., the highest rate among Sub-Saharan African countries.
The dollar last traded 0.3% weaker against a basket of currencies as investors held back from making big bets, still reeling over the disappointing July employment report but also on the look out for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision on appointments to the Federal Reserve.
Trump on Tuesday said he would soon announce a short-term replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, who announced her resignation on Friday, as well as his pick for the next Fed chair.
"The USD is losing its exceptionalism and is steadily finding itself on the defensive, allowing other currencies to make up lost ground," ETM Analytics said in a research note.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index (.JTOPI), opens new tab was up 0.5% and the wider All-share index (.JALSH), opens new tab up 0.4%.
South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond was little changed as the yield rose half a basis point to 9.68%.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
14 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ellison outlines vision for new Paramount with focus on content and technology
LOS ANGELES, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Paramount's new chairman and chief executive, David Ellison, outlined a plan to transform the century-old entertainment company into a technology-driven media enterprise in an open letter, opens new tab marking the completion of the merger with Skydance Media. Ellison said the company would work to transform Paramount by investing in growth businesses that are anchored in its storytelling, working to scale its streaming business globally, and reorganizing the company to make it more efficient. "We are in the midst of a generational change in our industry - and we understand Paramount has faced its own significant challenges, compounded by the reality of a merger process that stretched out over a considerable time period," Ellison wrote. "But that time of uncertainty is now behind us. Moving forward, we will work with conviction and optimism to transform Paramount into a tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley." Paramount Global and Skydance Media Thursday completed their $8.4 billion merger that was announced more than a year ago, capping a long drawn-out deal process marked by political scrutiny and shareholder concerns. Ellison said he plans to reorganize Paramount into three business units - studios, direct-to-consumer and TV media - to speed decision-making. He plans to move the company onto a single technology platform to reduce costs, and said the company would find efficiencies associated with labor, real estate and procurement, with the goal of achieving a previously announced $2 billion in cost savings. New Paramount will direct resources "to what matters most," Ellison wrote, delivering more movies, television series, sports, news and games to global audiences. Paramount will harness technology, not as a replacement for human creativity, but as a tool to amplify creativity. "From virtual production stages that unleash filmmakers' limitless imaginations, to AI‑assisted localization that brings shows to new language markets overnight, to a proprietary ad‑tech stack that maximizes yield across streaming and linear platforms, we will thoughtfully integrate these tools into every aspect of our work," Ellison wrote. Ellison said the company would prioritize growing its streaming business, increasing investment in high-quality exclusive content, which he called the "single biggest driver of subscriber growth." Sports is a key component of the streaming strategy, as a tool to retain subscribers and keep them watching. The company plans to move its subscription streaming service, Paramount+, and its free ad-supported PlutoTV service onto the same technology, to help save money and improve the consumer experience. Ellison laid out the company's core commitments, including to its embattled CBS News division. He acknowledged the journalists' "unwavering commitment" to the news business, and added: "We take immense pride in CBS News' legacy of impactful journalism and look forward to continuing to foster a newsroom culture where journalists are empowered, trusted, and equipped to do their best work." In its effort to gain regulatory approval of the merger, Skydance told the Federal Communications Commission that it would appoint an ombudsman to evaluate complaints of editorial bias or other concerns about CBS. It also offered assurances that they were committed to unbiased journalism. Democrat Anna Gomez, the FCC's dissenter, accused Paramount of "cowardly capitulation" to the Trump administration. She also said the FCC was imposing "never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions."
The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's planned 100% computer chip tariff sparks confusion among businesses and trading partners
President Donald Trump 's plans for 100% tariffs on computer chips that aren't made in the U.S. are stoking confusion among businesses and trading partners — boosting stocks for leading semiconductor companies while leaving smaller producers scrambling to understand the implications. The U.S. imports a relatively small number of chips because most of the foreign-made chips in a device — from an iPhone to a car — were already assembled into a product, or part of a product, before it landed in the country. "The real question everybody in the industry is asking is whether there will be a component tariff, where the chips in a device would require some sort of separate tariff calculation,' said Martin Chorzempa, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Trump said Wednesday that companies that "made a commitment to build" in the U.S. would be spared the import tax, even if they are not yet producing those chips in American factories. 'We'll be putting a tariff of approximately 100% on chips and semiconductors,' Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook. 'But if you're building in the United States of America, there's no charge.' Wall Street investors interpreted that as good news not just for U.S. companies like AMD, Intel and Nvidia, but also for the biggest Asian chipmakers like Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company that have been working to build U.S. factories. But it left greater uncertainty for smaller chipmakers in Europe and Asia that have little exposure to the AI boom but still make semiconductors inserted into essential products like cars or washing machines. These producers "probably aren't large enough to get on the map for an exemption and quite probably wouldn't have the kind of excess capital and margins to be able to add investment at a large scale into the United States,' Chorzempa said. The announcement came more than three months after Trump temporarily exempted most electronics from his administration's most onerous tariffs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a shortage of computer chips increased the price of autos and contributed to higher inflation. Chorzempa said chip tariffs could again raise prices by hundreds of dollars per vehicle if the semiconductors inside a car are not exempt. 'There's a chip that allows you to open and close the window," Chorzempa said. "There's a chip that is running the entertainment system. There is a chip that's kind of running all the electronics. There are chips, especially in EVs, that are doing power management, all that kind of stuff.' Much of the investment into building U.S. chip factories began with the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022, providing more than $50 billion to support new computer chip plants, fund research and train workers for the industry. Trump has vocally opposed those financial incentives and taken a different approach, betting that the threat of dramatically higher chip costs would force most companies to open factories domestically, despite the risk that tariffs could squeeze corporate profits and push up prices for electronics.
BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump calls for Intel boss Lip-Bu Tan to resign over alleged China ties
President Donald Trump has called on the head of US chipmaker Intel to resign "immediately", accusing him of having problematic ties to a social media post, he said CEO Lip-Bu Tan was "highly conflicted", apparently referring to Mr Tan's alleged investments in companies that the US says are tied to the Chinese military. It is unusual for a president to demand the resignation of a corporate which has received billions of dollars from the government to support semiconductor manufacturing in the US, did not respond to a request for comment. Mr Tan was appointed in March to turn around the tech giant, as it fell behind China and other competitors in chips development. A naturalised US citizen born in Malaysia and raised in Singapore, he is a venture capitalist well-known for his expertise in the semiconductor industry. In an update to investors this week, he said the firm would be scaling back its investments in manufacturing, including in the US, to match demand from customers. Intel has already cut thousands of jobs this year as part of an effort to "right-size" the firm. Shares in Intel fell more than 1.8% in morning trading after the attack from Trump, who has been critical of the firm previously and is preparing to raise tariffs on the chip industry. "The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem," Trump is known for targeting business leaders with public criticism to a degree unheard of in other presidents, but even by his standards, the demand that the leader of a private company resign is extraordinary. Responding to critics who said he had gone too far, the White House told the BBC: "President Trump remains fully committed to safeguarding our country's national and economic security. This includes ensuring that iconic American companies in cutting-edge sectors are led by men and women who Americans can trust."The president has been concerned about China taking advantage of US technology since his first term, but his policies have been mixed. He has recently threatened tariffs on semiconductors - a move almost universally opposed by the business community - while loosening some rules forbidding business with Chinese firms after pleas from tech giants such as Nvidia. In a statement earlier this week, Intel defended Mr Tan, saying he and the company were "deeply committed to the national security of the US and the integrity of our role in the US defense ecosystem". The statement was made in response to a letter that Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent to Intel's board seeking information about Mr Tan's hiring and his ties to China. Cotton said he was concerned "about the security and integrity of Intel's operations and its potential impact on US national security".He pointed to Mr Tan's role as the longtime chief executive of tech firm Cadence Design Systems, which pleaded guilty in July and agreed to pay $140m over US charges that its subsidiary in China had repeatedly done business with the country's National University of Defense Technology, violating US export controls. Mr Tan's ties to China were also the subject of a Reuters investigation in April, which found that he had invested at least $200 in hundreds of Chinese companies, some of which are linked to the Chinese military. The investments were made either personally or though his funds between 2012 and December 2024. A 2024 congressional report examining ties between US investment firms and Chinese businesses had also spotlighted some of the holdings of Mr Tan's San Francisco-based investment firm, Walden International. Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, a Trump ally, took up the attack on Mr Tan on Thursday, criticising Intel for delays in its plans for chip manufacturing in the US.
