Spur CEO’s R26 million payday, and Nvidia head under investigation
The rand was trading at R16.49 against the US dollar on the morning of Monday, 9 November 2026, stronger than where it closed last week.
South African shares ended Friday lower, with the JSE All Share Index losing 0.48% while the Top 40 Index lost 0.49%.
Investor attention remains on the country’s coalition negotiations following the conclusion of the local government elections.
ActionSA has rejected Helen Zille’s bid for the mayorship of Johannesburg, in which her party, the Democratic Alliance, won 35% of the vote.
On Wall Street, technology shares rebounded on Friday, lifting the Nasdaq by 1.09% despite the index still posting its fourth consecutive weekly decline.
October payrolls increased by 165,000 against a forecast of 65,000, while unemployment declined to 4.1%.
Annual wage growth of 3.1% lagged behind consumer inflation of 3.7%, while preliminary November consumer sentiment improved to 51.0 from 48.0.
In Europe, the STOXX 600 closed 1% lower on Friday, while Germany’s DAX declined 1.9%, led by a retreat in insurance shares.
German industrial output increased 0.7% in September, above expectations, while August’s expansion was revised down.
Asian markets saw sharp technology losses last week, with the Nikkei 225 leading the drop at 5.96%, while the Hang Seng dropped 1.27% and the Shanghai 1.10%.
China reported higher producer inflation and easing consumer inflation in October as rising energy costs met lower domestic demand.
In commodities, oil declined to around $97 per barrel after US President Donald Trump said renewed strikes on Iran were unlikely as negotiations progressed.
Gold advanced more than 1% on Monday to $4,122.77 per ounce as falling oil prices reduced inflation expectations.
On Monday morning, the rand was trading at R16.49 to the US dollar, R18.40 to the euro, and R22.05 to the British pound.
Important finance and investing news
Nvidia head under investigation: Nvidia’s board is launching an investigation into reports that CEO Jensen Huang may have been the target of foreign espionage, after the CEO was found to have a romantic relationship with an executive suspected of working for Chinese intelligence. [Wall Street Journal]
Spur CEO’s R26 million payday: Spur CEO Val Nichas has earned R26 million, thanks largely to a five-year strategy at the company paying off. This strategy cycle saw the group’s shares hit a record high as its restaurant network expanded to 751 locations. [BusinessDay]
China throws the US a bone: China has extended its pause on an additional 24% tariff on US goods for another two months, while a 10% blanket tariff will remain on US imports. This formalised an agreement between the two countries to prolong their trade truce until January 2027. [Yahoo Finance]
Paraguay’s digital bank meltdown: Paraguay’s digital bank, ueno, collapsed over the course of five days last week, freezing the savings of nearly 3 million people, almost half the country’s population. President Santiago Peña was impeached on Friday evening after attempting to resign. [Reuters]
Gauteng department in tender trouble: The Gauteng Department of E-Government is under scrutiny over the questionable partial awarding of an R80 million tender to preferred bidder Techex Digital Solutions, which is now the subject of litigation. [Mail & Guardian]
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