Abuja — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned the world is at a critical turning point, urging global leaders to redirect priorities from war to peace as military spending reaches unprecedented levels. In his New Year video message, Guterres said the international community is grappling with deepening chaos and uncertainty marked by growing divisions,…
Ben Powell, chief strategist for Middle East and Asia Pacific at BlackRock Investment Institute, at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) conference. Bloomberg | Getty Images The wave of capital pouring into artificial intelligence infrastructure is far from peaking, said Ben Powell, chief investment strategist for APAC at BlackRock, arguing the sector’s “picks and shovels”…
South Africa’s shift towards online retail accelerated over the Black Friday weekend, with consumers directing a greater share of their spending to e-commerce platforms than ever before. Standard Bank said online sales by its customers rose 75% year on year, contributing 23% to total retail sales over Black Friday weekend, including Cyber Monday, with value…
Some online payment platforms and local banks reported double- and triple-digit growth in spending on Black Friday. South African consumers shopped their way to another strong performance over Black Friday 2025, with online spending surging past the 2024 bargain-hunting weekend period. Online payment platforms and local banks reported double- and triple-digit growth on some platforms,…
The spending increase will stay in place for at least the next three years. Published On 1 Dec 20251 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The United States has announced a new trade deal with the United Kingdom that includes zero tariffs on pharmaceutical and medical products in exchange for…
As the holiday shopping season starts to kick into high gear, Americans are balancing Black Friday deals with lingering concerns about their own finances. Consumers are looking to shell out less this holiday season, new data from Deloitte shows. Surveyed shoppers said they plan to spend 4% less than last year between Black Friday and…
A momentous week in the technology sector made it clear there is no sign the boom in building artificial intelligence infrastructure is slowing — despite the bubble talk. Nvidia, whose processors are the AI revolution’s backbone, became the first company to surpass US$5-trillion in market value. Microsoft and OpenAI inked a deal enhancing the ChatGPT…
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during an Amazon Devices launch event in New York City, U.S., February 26, 2025. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Amazon shares soared 10.81% on Friday after the company reported an across-the-board beat for the third quarter and boosted its forecast for spending due to demand for artificial intelligence services. Cloud was a…
The South African gambling landscape is undergoing a revolutionary and concerning transformation as bettors rapidly shift from traditional land-based casinos to accessible online platforms. According to the National Gambling Board (NGB), this digital migration is now the dominant force in the industry, presenting major challenges related to addiction, legality, and regulation. The core of this…
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has pledged to spend more than $50 billion on artificial intelligence over the next three years. CNBC | Evelyn Cheng SHANGHAI — Chinese tech giant Alibaba is already recouping its investment on artificial intelligence in the company’s e-commerce business, vice president Kaifu Zhang told reporters on Thursday. The Chinese tech giant…
