Prediction markets headed to the Supreme Court, and Northam invites more suitors for R122 billion takeover

After riding the high of breaking through the R16 against the US dollar mark earlier this week, South Africa’s rand ended Friday, 28 August, trading at R16.16/USD.

This is the weakest level the rand has reached in over a week, as the local currency came under pressure from a stronger dollar.

The greenback firmed on Friday in response to the hawkish tone struck by US Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh when he delivered his first Jackson Hole keynote.

Warsh highlighted persistent inflation concerns and emphasised a quieter, more purposeful communication strategy for the central bank without explicitly signalling near-term interest rate moves.

US Treasury yields climbed in response to this hawkish outlook, increasing the appeal of the greenback.

However, the same could not be said for Wall Street, whose indices edged lower following the address as investors parsed his remarks for clues on future monetary policy.

This saw the S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq end lower on Friday.

The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for 15 to 16 September, and market expectations that a hike will be announced then rose after Jackson Hole.

While Wall Street edged lower, the JSE ended Friday in the green, with the All Share Index up 1.17% and the Top 40 Index gaining 1.24%.

In commodities markets, Brent crude oil dipped slightly on Friday, settling at $89.31 per barrel. 

This modest drop capped a difficult week that saw the oil price suffer a weekly loss of over 5%, snapping a two-week winning streak as geopolitical risk premiums subsided.

Gold prices tumbled more sharply on Friday, dropping over 3% at one point to near $4,515 an ounce.

At the end of trading on Friday, 28 August, the rand was trading at R16.16 against the US dollar, R18.72 against the euro, and R21.87 against the British pound.

Important finance and investing news

Shein plays nice with China: After touting itself as a global company and seeking, then failing, to list in New York and London, Shein will now make its market debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday. [Reuters]

Corn and wheat prices surge to three-year highs: Corn and wheat prices have climbed to their highest levels since 2023. However, the forces driving these two rallies are notably different. [CNBC]

Northam Platinum invites more suitors: Following an unexpected, and unsolicited, takeover bid from what many assume to be Valterra Platinum, Northam said it would welcome proposals from other companies as well. It set a December deadline for interested parties to make their intentions known. [BusinessDay]

Trump secures ‘biggest oil deal in world history’ with Venezuela: US President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with Caracas that will give the US control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves. [New York Times]

Prediction markets receive a legal blow: On Friday, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sports-related event contracts are not “swaps”, rejecting appeals by Kalshi and Crypto.com to stop Nevada from halting their operations. Legal experts widely expect the case involving prediction markets to head to the Supreme Court. [CNBC]