South Africa Financial News

Kevins for Fed Chair. Nope. Not going to happen. Meaning I see neither Kevin Hassett nor Kevin Warsh becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve in May.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: India’s avocado demand is surging, but domestic supply is still playing catch-up, keeping the country reliant on imports even as local cultivation expands.Government data show imports have more than tripled in two years, rising to $42.27 million in FY26 (till February), from about $27 million in FY25 and $13.5 million in FY24. Domestic output, meanwhile, has increased more gradually—from about 6,000 tonnes in 2023 to around 9,000 tonnes in 2026, experts said.The mismatch highlights a widening gap: rising health-driven consumption is outpacing India’s nascent production base, forcing the market to lean on overseas suppliers even as farmers begin to scale up planting.The area under avocado cultivation has expanded over the years, with farmers in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim and parts of Maharashtra responding to growing urban demand.

Mint explains what we know so far about the new variant, and how concerned you should be.The latest variant is a part of the Omicron strain that swept across the globe in late 2021. It was first detected in 2024 in South Africa but had remained dormant until now, causing it to be dubbed ‘cicada’ (after the insect that remains underground for long periods before suddenly emerging).It has an unusually large number of mutations in its spike protein compared to LP.8.1, the strain used as the basis for the 2025-26 vaccines.

Three of India’s mid-sized IT companies—Persistent Systems Ltd, Hexaware Technologies Ltd and Firstsource Solutions Ltd—are looking to scale up their business and employ more people outside the US, which makes up more than three-fifths of their business. This mirrors the trend of their larger peers shifting their focus from the US to Europe and growth markets including Asia and South Africa.From acquisitions and large deals to strategic employee hubs, India, Australia, South Africa and West Asia are emerging as the key hotspots for these mid-sized IT services companies earning $1 billion to $5 billion in revenue as they look to insulate themselves from macroeconomic tensions and tap new growth markets.Persistent Systems, the country’s ninth-largest IT services company, got about 80% of its $1.41 billion revenue from North America.

Mint’s Emerging Markets Tracker more consistently. As India grapples with these weaknesses, Vietnam—newly added to the tracker—has emerged as a formidable challenger.Vietnam has claimed the top spot in three of the past four months, marking a strong debut on the tracker.

The Estée Lauder Companies has signed an agreement to acquire the stake it doesn’t already own in Indian luxury beauty company Forest Essentials, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026, said Stéphane de La Faverie, president and chief executive officer of The Estée Lauder Companies.The deal completes an 18-year partnership with the luxury Ayurveda brand, which was founded by Mira Kulkarni.Forest Essentials sells Ayurvedic skincare and haircare products and competes with premium labels such as Kama Ayurveda. Estée Lauder had a 49% stake in the company in 2013, which it increased from a 20% stake it took in 2008.Speaking to Mint, La Faverie, said, “Today, this brand is the leader in prestige skincare in India, which is still a very small segment of the larger beauty business in India.

A new term that entered the lexicon after India’s budget for 2026-27 was the ‘orange economy.’ Synonymous with the creative economy, it is emerging as a formidable engine of growth that transcends traditional industrial boundaries. Once viewed as niche, the intersection of culture, technology and intellectual property now accounts for roughly 3.1% of global GDP and 6.2% of all employment.For a country like India, where recent budgetary initiatives recognize the strategic value of creative assets, the growth of this sector offers more than just economic expansion.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : India’s top two-wheeler makers, Bajaj Auto Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd and Hero MotoCorp Ltd, say deeper localization and flexible manufacturing will help them blunt the impact of higher tariffs in Mexico, India’s largest two-wheeler export market by value. Senior management at the three listed companies assured investors that exports to Mexico would not face material disruption, citing local assembly arrangements and the ability to shift production across geographies if required.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Young fans gathered in a sunny sports stadium chanting ‘DJ Bravo! DJ Bravo!’ is not an everyday sight in Goa, a state traditionally obsessed with football.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. JOHANNESBURG—The corporate exodus from what was supposed to be Africa’s breakout economy is accelerating, propelled by a toxic cocktail of corruption, lawlessness and poor infrastructure.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Going into the Union Budget 2026-27, expectations from the automobile sector were decidedly high. While the budget was not hostile towards the sector, it was not ambitious either.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Just a month after Mexico doubled tariffs on car imports, South Africa is considering the option, in a one-two punch that threatens Indian automobile exports of over $2 billion. The latest move, if it takes effect, will hurt India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, and Hyundai Motor India Ltd—For Maruti, South Africa is the largest export market, while for Hyundai, it is among the top five.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. JOHANNESBURG—For years, hundreds of illegal miners known locally as zama zamas prospected for gold on this patch of land on the outskirts of the city with hammers and chisels in hand-dug tunnels. Now, the site has been transformed into South Africa’s first new underground gold mine in more than 15 years, part of a global rush to boost production of a metal trading at record prices.

One, draconian limits on refugees: Admissions had grown under Joe Biden, swamping US support systems.On Trump’s first day in office, he pivoted to the other extreme with an executive order that shut the Refugee Admissions Program, leaving thousands of refugees stranded, including those with applications in process. The new admission rate is just 7,500.Trump has decried immigrants from what he calls ‘Third World’ countries and been vocal about a preference for White immigrants.

shorturl.at/EFYLw) The spirit of the court’s observations could explain many of India’s deficiencies. Poverty in the country results in a tendency to peg everything on it. So India’s plans are often of low calibre.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL)’s acquisition of South Africa-based Twizza (Pty) is less about shoring up near-term earnings and more about extending its growth runway beyond India. While the domestic business remains resilient, stiff competition is creating challenges.

McKinsey, the world’s foremost consulting company, so influential that it was referred to merely as The Firm. He was the first Asian and the first Indian to head the consulting giant during its glory years, when it still enjoyed a pristine reputation, before scandals like its advising of Purdue Pharma during the opioid epidemic and the Transnet affair in South Africa tarnished its name.During his sterling career, Gupta also helped set up institutions like the Indian School of Business (ISB) and the American India Foundation (AIF).

The mineral-rich country's main trading partners are the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and China, and its limited exports to the US comprise mainly of tobacco and sugar. «I will direct the Zimbabwean government to implement a suspension of all tariffs levied on goods originating from the United States,» President Emmerson Mnangagwa said in a post on X. This announcement was «intended to facilitate the expansion of American imports within the Zimbabwean market, while simultaneously promoting the growth of Zimbabwean exports destined for the United States,» he said. The total goods trade between the two countries amounted to $111.6 million in 2024, according to US government data.

Similarly, mined metal production at Vedanta's Zinc India division rose 4 per cent to 3,10,000 tonnes, driven by improved mined metal grades and mill recovery. The production of mined metal at the Zinc International division for the fourth quarter was 50,000 tonnes, up 52 per cent year-on-year, the company said in a statement.

India captain Rohit's form with the bat has put the MI team management in a tight spot. The same is for LSG skipper Pant whose extended dry run is not helping matters for the home side. With both the teams almost identically placed with a solitary win each in three games, the contest could boil down to who exploits the conditions better on the day. Given that the curators haven't been providing tailor-made pitches to the home sides — something that has caused frustration of the coaches and players in some franchises — the team that gets a head-start with the bat or ball in the power play overs could call the shots. The prolonged absence of MI pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah due to injury and the management maintaining a stoic silence on his return is only adding to the frustration of the Hardik Pandya-led side.

reciprocal tariffs for India to 26% from 27% announced a day before. Revisions have been made for atleast 14 countries including South Korea, Norway, South Africa and Thailand. As per a White House document, India’s reciprocal tariff was originally listed at 27%, as against the 26% that US president Donald Trump had shown during the announcement on April 2. However, the latest annex document shows that the tariffs have been revised down to 26%. The US’ trading partners will be subject to a global 10% tariff on April 5, after which only the countries listed in the annex would have their rates elevated to the revised numbers. Around 60 countries have been slapped with reciprocal tariffs. The measures announced by the US could lead to an overall contraction of around 1% in global merchandise trade volumes this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Thursday.